North Pole May Be Ice Free for First Time This Summer

The Arctic could be ice-free this summer for the first time in known history, National Geographic reports. The freeing of Arctic ice wasn’t predicted to happen until at least 2013, but last year’s summer conditions have expediated the process. If the ice-melts, new passages for shipping will temporarily open, but the ecological costs could be castrophic. Read more

Popularity: 7%

Water crisis could collapse Chinese capital

BEIJING - Beijing’s water crisis is so critical that the city is facing economic collapse and the need to resettle part of its population in coming decades, a leading development policy group said Friday. Read more

Popularity: 10%

Water access could trigger conflict

SINGAPORE - Singapore’s prime minister said on Tuesday that water security may be a source of conflicts, while launching an institute in the city-state to research Asia’s water problems. Read more

Popularity: 7%

Nevada rancher awarded $4.2M for ‘taken’ water rights

Reno, NEVADA - The U.S. Court of Federal Claims court has ruled in favor of a late Nevada rancher whose water rights were violated by the U.S. Government, the AP reports. Read more

Popularity: 4%

Frigid Future for Ocean in Saturn’s Moon

Enceladus, the sixth-largest moon of Saturn, may not be as wet and warm at its core as scientists had hoped. The tiny moon, whose diameter is roughly 500 km across, could fit in the length of the United Kingdom. Read more

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Lake levels won’t be fixed soon

STURGEON BAY, Wisconsin - Any possible large-scale engineering project that might help raise water levels on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron is decades away, a representative of an international study group says. Read more

Popularity: 4%

Water shortages create new niches for entrepreneurship

Los Angeles, CALIFORNIA - As water shortages begin to seriously threaten economic growth in places like California, new niches for the water quality industry are emerging. Read more

Popularity: 5%

Images: Circle of Blue collaborator featured in National Geographic

Nearly a year after four mountain gorillas were carried out of the forest — shot and burned — photojournalist Brent Stirton’s photographs of the event are featured on the cover of the July 2008 National Geographic. Read more

Popularity: 13%

Vanishing Lake Chad — A Water Crisis in Central Africa

by C.T. Pope

Once the third-largest source of freshwater in Africa, Lake Chad is disappearing according to new satellite images — putting millions of people in four Central African countries at risk of losing their primary water supply. Read more

Popularity: 15%

Water confirmed on Mars

TUSCON, Arizona - Scientists relishing confirmation of water ice near the surface beside NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander anticipate even bigger discoveries from the robotic mission in the weeks ahead. Read more

Popularity: 9%

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