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Denmark has pioneered wind power for commercial use over the last three decades — today the European country produces almost half of the world’s wind turbines. During a three-hour tour of the Middelgrunden Wind Farm off the coast of Copenhagen, Circle of Blue caught up with political and business leaders, such as Anders Soe-Jensen President of Wind Systems A/S, who are interested in expanding this alternative energy sector.
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The governors of Georgia, Alabama and Florida announce progress toward a water-sharing plan.
A recent meeting by the governors of Georgia, Alabama and Florida may help break a long-running dispute over how much water the Atlanta region can use and the source for that water.
The governors asked their negotiating teams to work out a water-sharing plan that could be presented to state legislatures for approval early next year following Tuesday’s two-hour meeting, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. No details of the potential agreement were released, and Congress will need to give final approval to any accord.
Tuesday’s action comes on the heels of a Georgia water panel’s findings that the state does not have the time or money to meet a judge’s 2012 deadline for finding new water sources for metro Atlanta. The state’s Water Contingency Task Force said in November that it would take at least eight years and a huge financial investment to replace the water being withdrawn from Lake Lanier — the federal reservoir in northern Georgia that currently supplies most of the region’s water.
In July, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson ruled that Georgia communities had been wrongly permitted to withdraw large amounts of water from the reservoir for decades, even though Congress didn’t authorize its construction for that purpose. He imposed a 2012 deadline to reduce withdrawals from the lake to 1970 levels, when the metropolitan population was one-third its current size of 5 million residents.
The water dispute has included a flurry of legal maneuvers among the states, including a long-shot effort by Georgia to rework its border with Tennessee to gain access to the Tennessee River, based on claims that the original border was improperly drawn.
Sources: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Southern Political Reporter
Read more about the water conflict amongst these three states from Circle of Blue.
Almost half of the funds for Pakistan will be spent on irrigation and water infrastructure projects, report states.
Improved irrigation systems and water infrastructure projects are primary goals for the U.S. aid package to Pakistan, according to a U.S. State Department report released yesterday.
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South Asian paradise Maldives is one of the main countries most immediately threatened by climate change. With roughly 80 percent of its 1,200 islands one meter above sea level, Maldives’ President Mohamed Nasheed has become a spokesperson for lowering atmospheric carbon dioxide levels to 350 ppm.
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Drier summers, more frequent droughts force some farmers off their land and threaten the nation’s harvests.
Farmers on the edge of poverty in China’s rural provinces face a bleak future in the wake of warmer temperatures, more frequent droughts and infrequent rainfall. The changing climate is forcing many harvesters into poverty or keeping them from climbing out, while convincing others to leave their farms for the cities.
Read more ...Circle of Blue’s Aubrey Ann Parker reports on-the-ground from the Global Day of Action and reveals the truth behind sensational headlines that played up police arrests in Copenhagen.
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Copenhagen, host of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, claims to be one of the world’s greenest cities. It has extensive public transportation, a strong bicycle culture and plans to be carbon neutral by 2025 through progressive blueprints that reduce carbon emissions 20 percent by 2015 compared to 2005. Klaus Bondam, mayor of technology and sustainability for the city of Copenhagen, explains the city’s ethos, commitment to sustainability and its rapid plans to move from coal to wind energy. Bondam said leaders must be willing to be innovative to sustain their cities and countries.
“There’s a factor about political courage — you have to have as a local government or a national government that has a courage to take some initiative,” he said.
A below-average monsoon has brought government-imposed limits on water use and public anger in Mumbai, a city that already faces low water levels.
The Maharashtra state government has announced that no new water connections for buildings taller than seven stories will be authorized until Mumbai’s supply augmentation project is complete in 2012, the Times of India reports.
The new restrictions follow a decision by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) – Mumbai’s water utility – to reduce residential supplies by 15 percent and business supplies by 30 percent until June 2010.
“With the burgeoning population in Mumbai, the demand for water will increase in coming years. We need to be prepared for the worst,” said chief minister Ashok Chavan to the Times of India. “You should realize that there has been less rainfall during the last monsoon. Also, the rains were delayed by two months.”
The residential cuts have prompted at least one large protest. During a demonstration against the cuts earlier this month, one man died and a dozen people suffered minor injuries, Reuters reports. Many of the 18 million people living in greater Mumbai have water service only a few hours per day.
City officials have three large water projects planned to increase Mumbai’s water supply. The Middle Vaitarna project – consisting of a 105-meter dam and 35-kilometer tunnel – is under construction and will be completed in 2012. The project will supply 455 million liters per day (MLD) – a 13 percent increase. Meanwhile the Gargai  (455 MLD) and Pinjal (865 MLD) projects will commence as soon as the Middle Vaitarna project is complete. These dams – 120 km and 130 km from Mumbai, respectively – have been fast-tracked due to the water shortage.
But some city officials are having second thoughts about the Gargai dam because the cost might outweigh the benefits, the Indian Express reports.
“The water yield is very low and it will be too costly to build a dam for Gargai,” said one official to the Indian Express. “We would have to go for a weir and divert some water from Pinjal into it.”
But large-scale engineering projects are not the only way forward, some argue.
Mumbai resident Naveen Chandra has constructed a water harvesting system for his apartment complex. The system of tanks and pipes traps rainwater, which is used to flush toilets, water gardens and wash cars. As a result, water use from the city grid has dropped 30 to 40 percent at his complex.
“The only answer for Mumbai is to do rainwater harvesting,” Chandra, a retired engineer, told the BBC. “You don’t let rainwater go into the sea.”
In October 2002, the BMC made water harvesting systems mandatory for buildings with a ground area over 1,000 square meters. In 2007 the mandate was extended to buildings greater than 300Â square meters in size. However, the program has been poorly implemented because of a lack of monitoring, the Telegraph of India found.
Experts warn that if conservation methods aren’t implemented soon, the city’s water crisis will worsen.
Source: Times of India
Read more South Asia coverage from Circle of Blue
Thursday, 17 December 2009 17:28
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Steven Solomon, author of the forthcoming book, WATER: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization, examines water’s integral role as a planetary climate regulator. Solomon sounds a warning for climate change deniers including Sarah Palin, as well as for those leaders, like President Barack Obama, who have been slow to act.
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