More Bad News for Arctic Sea Ice
October 31, 2009
A recent expedition to the Beaufort Sea revealed that “multiyear” Arctic sea ice is in effect, nonexistent, Reuters reports.
Multiyear ice has “stiffer” composition than first year ice, and makes navigation through Arctic regions extremely difficult, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). Read more
Water Experts Prep for UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen
October 31, 2009
Experts at an international water and energy conference in Copenhagen this week hope to pool their resources and hone their message for the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference.
The three-day water and energy conference is being hosted by the International Water Association (IWA) and ends today. The London-based non-profit organization brings together global water professionals to develop effective and sustainable approaches of water management. Read more
Peter Gleick: Who Is Stealing California’s Water?
October 31, 2009
Someone is stealing our water. Many someones. But who and how much? No one knows today, mostly because the agency responsible for keeping an eye on water rights and use–the State Water Resources Control Board–is blind, deaf, and dumb.
Blind, because they don’t look. Deaf, because they don’t listen to or act on most requests to investigate water rights allocations and use. Dumb, because they don’t talk about these issues. “Asleep at the switch,” as a colleague describes it. Read more
Climate Change Burden-Sharing Must Not Compromise Developing World’s Growth, India’s PM
October 29, 2009
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that developing countries will not compromise their financial growth for climate change, and that, instead, rich countries need to ensure access to clean technologies, the AP reports. Read more
Peter Gleick: Water use in the United States has Leveled off: New Remarkable Numbers Released
October 29, 2009
New numbers on total water use in the United States in 2005 have just been released by the U.S. Geological Survey, which does an assessment of water use every five years. Read more
Michigan Group Seeks to Curtail Great Lakes Mining
October 29, 2009
A Michigan environmental advocacy group is collecting signatures for a ballot measure to limit mining around the Great Lakes.
The group, the Michigan Save Our Water Committee, hopes to collect 400,000 signatures on a statewide petition by May so its question will make the 2010 general election ballot. The state election board approved the group’s petition form earlier this month. Read more
U.S. Water Use Declines, But Points to Troubling Trends, Says USGS Report
October 29, 2009
U.S. Geological Survey’s newest five-year report (2000-2005) reveals positive trends and potential problems for U.S. water use. Read more
Changing Climate Complicates Central Asian Water Management
October 28, 2009
Glaciers in Kyrgyzstan are melting at a faster rate and creating new challenges for water management in Central Asia, the BBC reports.
Glacier mass in Kyrgyzstan’s Tien Shan Mountains has decreased 20 percent in the last 50 years with most of the melting occuring in the past two decades. Read more
China Resettles 300,000 for Plans to Redirect Water North to Combat Drought
October 27, 2009
The operators of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River have pushed back filling the reservoir for winter storage for a week to discharge more water for drought-stricken areas downstream, Xinhua reports.
Nearly 1.5 million people in the Hunan, Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces have reported drinking water shortages over the last month. Read more
Oklahoma, Arkansas Poultry Industry Continue Court Battle Over Water Pollution
October 27, 2009
Oklahoma’s lawsuit against 11 poultry companies, including Tyson Food Inc., continues to take interesting twist and turns in court as more witnesses testify. Read more
