About Claire Cosgrove

Dr Claire Cosgrove, Ph.D., is an independent Environmental Scientist and Educator. Looking to establish a consultancy company: “Cultural Awareness, Environmental Mindfulness”. Formerly a Professor of Environmental Sciences in the College of Engineering at AMA International University, Salmabad, Kingdom of Bahrain. Before moving to the Middle East in 2009, Dr Claire was a Research Scientist based in the USA at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville and at Georgia Institiute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr Cosgrove has lived and worked in a number of countries such as South Africa, USA, New Zealand and the Middle East. Her research work has covered air pollution, weather modification /cloud seeding, rainfall modelling and simulation and flood forecasting, to name a few areas of interest.

The Amazing Benefits of Rainwater Harvesting

Rainwater harvesting, or collection of rainfall, is not a new concept.  It is simply the collection of water in regions of the globe where there is frequent and regular rainfall. The collected water is stored for use at a later date. Typically, rainwater runs across the rooftops of buildings and is collected in rainwater tanks. This is very common in rural areas for local consumption. Water can also be collected in dams and reservoirs for community usage on a long-term basis. The collection of rainwater from the roofs of buildings can easily take place within our cities and towns. Initial … Continue reading

The Significance of Groundwater Atlas in Water Management

Groundwater atlases are becoming a necessary resource for identifying natural reservoirs of our most precious natural resource – water.  A groundwater atlas for the USA was published was published by regions i.e. several states in the 1990s culminating in the 2000 release of the Groundwater Atlas for the U.S.A. It describes the location, extent as well as the geological and hydrological characteristics of aquifers across the United States. An African Groundwater Atlas, a project undertaken by the British Geological Survey, released the atlas in 2014 making groundwater information and data available across the globe. Abu Dhabi released its groundwater atlas … Continue reading

Restocking the Seas around Bahrain through Fish Farming

The marine waters around Bahrain have been showing a decline in fish stock for several decades. But in the first decade of this millennium, restocking has become a routine practice endorsed by the former Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife (now the Supreme Council for the Environment). In recent years, the fishing industry in the Kingdom of Bahrain is starting to really look up with the restocking of the waters from farmed fish. Requirements of a Fish Farm Fish farming means growing fish in fixed enclosures (tanks, ponds or cages) exposed to the natural climatic conditions … Continue reading

Artificial Reef Construction in the Arabian Gulf

Coral reefs around the globe are highly sensitive to abiotic and biotic factors that alter the natural balance of the marine ecosystem. This in terms threatens coral species with the effect of ‘bleaching’ which is slowly destroying the coral communities. As the ecosystem deteriorates, this in turn impacts the fisheries industry which in the Arab Gulf is a major source of local revenue and a major food source for the people of the region. Artificial Coral Reefs To counteract the susceptible marine ecosystems, a very innovative and creative approach that has been tried and tested in other parts of the … Continue reading

Starvation in Poor Countries – A Pandemic Deadlier than Covid-19

The world has been propelled on a fast track journey of dealing with Covid-19 across the developed world where the pandemic has created chaos and mayhem of astounding proportions. The faint light that gave hope was the fact that this was happening in the developed regions of the globe where people do have access to health services, adequate housing, well stocked warehouses, communications networks, financial assets and funds (even if diminishing under economic stress), and so forth. Now Covid-19 has reached into the areas which the learned persons write of as informal settlements. The Onslaught on Vulnerable Masses Let us … Continue reading

Impact of COVID-19 on Slums and Informal Settlements

An estimated one billion people across the globe live in slums or informal settlements. As much of the world is already braced and battling with coronavirus crisis, there are others perplexed as to how this one billion people can possibly deal with the current pandemic. The general recommendations to global population are to wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, if sick to self-isolate, and when out and about to practice social distancing of keeping 2 meters away from other persons. Three simple directives or are they? How feasible are these recommendations for people living in informal … Continue reading

Is Lockdown a Viable Option to Control the Coronavirus in Africa?

The African nations have had plenty of recent infectious disease outbreaks such as HIV and Ebola to learn ways of tackling an epidemic. Therefore, they might be better equipped in mental fortitude to handle the current coronavirus crisis. One significant factor that the African people are aware of is that the communities must be actively involved in responding to the virus outbreak. Some nuggets of truth already learnt from previous experience with infectious diseases is that the outbreaks can be released differently in different communities and environments. This is in part due to the social conditions of the people concerned. … Continue reading

Impact of School Closure on Marginalized Children

We are seeing schools close as a protective measure of reducing the potential exposure to the coronavirus across the globe. This is due to the fact that schools could be a major source of transmission from one child to another child within a classroom, from one classroom to the whole school, to within the families and the greater community. And all at a very speedy rate of transmission of Covid-19. The action of closing schools is an acceptable move in the more developed sectors of the global community as children tend to all have access to the internet, and in … Continue reading

New and Larger Wave of Locusts Threaten East Africa and Beyond

Before the current pandemic that the world is battling, East Africa and neighbouring regions of the globe experienced the biggest locust infestation in the past 70 years. That event was devastating. Then the Covid-19 pandemic started to move across the globe. And just as a viral plague can resurface if adequate measures are not taken and sustained for a long enough period of time to interrupt the spread of the virus, the locusts have returned. The locust plague has reappeared in East Africa and is said to be 20 times the strength of the earlier infestations. The Fight for Food … Continue reading

How To Save The World From Plastic Pollution

There is not one solution, we all know that. But let’s take a look back in time for a possible solution to plastic pollution. In a past-era, we had a solution that worked. Why not try that option once again. The returnable, refillable container of last century that was a sure thing introduced by Coca Cola in the 1920’s. It ensured customer satisfaction and more importantly, customer loyalty. Coca Cola sold its desirable liquid in expensive bottles that the company needed to be returned for the next drink batch, and the batch after that, and the batch after that one, … Continue reading

Desert Locusts Are Swarming With Greater Ferocity

The latest outbreak of locusts over eastern Africa has been ongoing since the beginning of this year. It is considered by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the UN as the worst outbreak of locusts in 70 years. The threat of the desert locust is extreme urgent as it’s a major threat to the food security in the region. Bearing in mind, that this region is extremely vulnerable to the predominant subsistence lifestyle. It also appears that new breeding may have occurred in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia which will intensify the infestation. The question that are foremost in minds … Continue reading

Soil as the Foundation of a Healthy Earth

A special day, a day to reflect on how critical and important the soil is for everyone on the planet. Soil is a life-giving and a life-sustaining component of all our environmental ecosystems. Yet most people look at soil with disgust, thinking it is just dirt, acting as if it’s the dirtiest component of the natural world.  I beg to differ and will set out information to inform our readers of just how crucial soil is to our very existence. Soil is so critical in our survival. It controls the food security of the planet. It ensures the sustainability of … Continue reading