Epidemiologist Michael Abramson, who led the research, found that the participants who texted more often tended to work faster but score lower on the tests.

Yet there were still many traps along the way. In what is now Iraq, the Sumerian civilization (one of the world’s first) withered and died as the irrigation systems it invented turned the fields into salty desert. Some two thousand years later, in the Mediterranean basin, chronic soil erosion steadily undermined the Classical World: first the Greeks, then the Romans at the height of their power. And a few centuries after Rome’s fall, the Classic Maya, one of only two high civilizations to thrive in tropical rainforest (the other being the Khmer), eventually wore out nature’s welcome at the heart of Central America.

For areas that are not functioning properly, changes have to be made to allow themto recover (e.g., acquire adequate vegetation). A change such as increasing vegeta-tion cover results in changes that improve function. Recovery starts with having theright elements present to dissipate energy, which puts the physical process intoworking order and provides the foundation to sustain the desired condition.Each riparian-wetland area has to be judged against its capability and potential. Thecapability and potential of natural riparian-wetland areas are characterized by theinteraction of three components: 1) hydrology, 2) vegetation, and 3) erosion/deposition (soils).

The components of this definition are in order relative to how processes work on theground.When adequate vegetation, landform, or debris is present to dissipate energy associ-ated with wind and wave action or overland flow, then a number of physical changesbegin to occur, such as reduced erosion, floodplain development, and improvedflood-water retention. As physical aspects of an area begin to function, they start theprocess of developing wetland characteristics. These physical aspects have to befunctioning properly to sustain characteristics that provide habitat for resourcevalues.

The changes inflicted on soils by human-induced erosion over many years are sig-nificant and have resulted in valuable land becoming unproductive and often eventuallyabandoned (

This principle equally applies to the laws of our country; we should never violate basic rights even if the consequences aren’t immediately evident.

multiple scandals have highlighted some very shady practices being enabled by consent-less data-mining — making both the risks and the erosion of users’ rights clear

Earlier this year it began asking Europeans for consent to processing their selfies for facial recognition purposes — a highly controversial technology that regulatory intervention in the region had previously blocked. Yet now, as a consequence of Facebook’s confidence in crafting manipulative consent flows, it’s essentially figured out a way to circumvent EU citizens’ fundamental rights — by socially engineering Europeans to override their own best interests.