GE – Shining light on water
May 30, 2008
BOSTON – Surging oil prices have captured the attention of consumers and leaders around the globe, but General Electric Co is already on to what it thinks will be the world’s next big worry — water. Read more
Analyzing Israel’s water crisis
May 30, 2008
JERUSALEM – One of the hardest things to do in a crisis is to think fast on your feet. By definition, a crisis is not amenable to advance planning. But a water crisis is not like other crises – it does not sneak up on you between one day and the next. When it comes to water, it seems like we are thinking well on our feet, but how well are we planning? Read more
Pakistan’s water woes worsen
May 30, 2008
ISLAMABAD – With the arrival of summer, the capital’s water crisis has assumed a new dimension leaving tanks and taps in thousands of homes in several sectors running virtually dry. Read more
Is Water Becoming the New Oil
May 29, 2008
“China’s water plans are a major problem for the Dalai Lama’s government in exile,” says a report released this month by Circle of Blue, a branch of the Pacific Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.
Himalayan water is particularly sensitive because it supplies the rivers that bring water to more than half a dozen Asian countries. Plans to divert water could cause intense debate.
“Once this issue of water resources comes up,” wrote Elizabeth Economy, director of Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Affairs, to Circle of Blue researchers in a report earlier this month, “and it seems inevitable at this point that it will – it also raises emerging conflicts with India and Southeast Asia.”
Mars probe expected to find water, possibly signatures of life
May 29, 2008
By C.T. Pope
Circle of Blue
Past, present, and possible future life on Mars may depend on water that’s most likely locked near the planet’s north pole. For the first time in human history, NASA’s Phoenix Lander will reach out and, scientists expect, touch extraterrestrial water – analyzing it for critical amino acids and other signs of life. Read more
Celine Dion and Tiger Woods among drought-stricken Florida’s top water users
May 28, 2008
PALM BEACH, FL — Celine Dion’s estate, on the drought-stricken central Florida coast, consumes enough water to fill a 50-gallon bathtub every four minutes, according to the Palm Beach Post.
Other top users of water include Tiger Woods, who uses 30 times the average each month on his Treasure Coast estate. Read more
Glacial melt releasing DDT back into water cycle
May 28, 2008
Despite a worldwide ban on DDT use, levels of the pesticide have remained constant since the 1970’s in Adélie penguins of the Western Antarctic Peninsula. The culprit: glacial runoff. Read more
Rural town begs for water
May 28, 2008
QUEENSLAND – A remote northwest Queensland community has made an urgent plea for reliable power and water.
Urandangi is 260km southwest of Mount Isa and has a population of about 60, which fluctuates with the movement of people across the nearby Northern Territory border. Read more
China working to clean water after quake
May 28, 2008
BEIJING – China has still to recover 15 hazardous radioactive sources and must focus on the fight to keep drinking water clean and contain chemical spills after May 12’s massive earthquake, a senior official said on Friday. Read more
China “quake lake” could force 1.3 million people to evacuate
May 28, 2008
BEICHUAN, China – New fears about the lakes formed after the quake have prompted Chinese officials to evacuate nearly 150,000 people from the town and county of Beichuan in Sichuan province.
While the death toll from the quake has been officially revised to 67,183, up to 1.3 million people may have to be evacuated from areas downstream if the barriers collapse entirely, the China Daily reported. Read more
