December, 2011
The Stream, December 30: Great Lakes Water Levels May Drop
Written by Codi Yeager-Kozacek
Friday, 30 December 2011 08:00
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Water levels are expected to rise on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in the next six months, but unusually warm winter temperatures may lead to less ice cover and more evaporation, ultimately reducing Great Lakes water levels, The Detroit News reported, citing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ latest forecast.

Wasting natural resources, such as water and energy, will create further economic crises, according to the European Union’s environment commissioner, the Guardian reported.

Essar Energy plans to build eight new coal-fired power plants in India, arguing that people there cannot afford to pay for clean energy, the Guardian reported.

The United States will hold ten lease sales for offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in an attempt to reduce dependency on foreign oil imports, according to Bloomberg News. Lease sales were suspended after the BP oil spill in 2010.

China will focus on more efficient agricultural practices to promote food security and social stability, Xinhua reported. Plans include increasing spending on water-related infrastructure.

Australians are not spending as much money due to high food and utility prices, and the retail market is hurting as a result, Bloomberg News reported.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

 
The Stream, December 29: Cleaning Up The Potomac River
Written by Nadya Ivanova
Thursday, 29 December 2011 09:51
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Washington, D.C. is ploughing ahead with a $2.6 billion underground project — its biggest public works project in more than 40 years — aimed at helping clean up the polluted Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay, according to Reuters.

Iran’s threat to halt traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz — which is the passageway for about a third of the world’s seaborne-traded oil — would probably hurt the country most, according to Bloomberg. Iran has threatened to close the waterway if the West moves to toughen sanctions, including an oil embargo to pressure Iran to abandon its nuclear program.

China is increasing restrictions on foreign investment in its refining sector but is encouraging participation in developing unconventional oil and gas resources, Reuters reported, citing guidelines published by the National Development and Reform Commission.

Singapore is making plans to provide water taxi services for commuters traveling to the central business district of the city-state, The Telegraph reported. Currently, the only water taxis using the Singapore River are for tourists.

Climate Progress summarizes the top 10 clean energy stories of 2011.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

 
The Stream, December 28: Water Policy Plans
Written by Codi Yeager-Kozacek
Wednesday, 28 December 2011 08:00
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Thailand is creating an $11 billion fund for flood water management and infrastructure, Reuters reported. Another $1.5 billion will be set aside for insurance.

China invested nearly $53 billion in water conservation in 2011, Xinhua reported, citing China’s Ministry of Water Resources. The central government’s investments were a 70 percent increase over spending in 2010.

Denmark said it will pursue legally binding environmental policies during its upcoming European Union presidency, despite economic woes, according to EurActiv.

Reuters takes a look at the record-breaking weather disasters of 2011, and how extreme weather may play out in 2012.

U.S. states are competing to attract companies that use natural gas to create their products—such as chemical plants—amid the shale gas boom, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Extensive flooding in northern Australia stranded hundreds of people and derailed a train that may have been carrying hazardous chemicals, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

 
The Stream, December 27: Global Groundwater Levels
Written by Nadya Ivanova
Tuesday, 27 December 2011 07:50
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Groundwater levels have dropped dramatically in many places across the globe over the past nine years, with the biggest decline in parts of California, India, the Middle East and China, where expanding agriculture has increased water demand, ScienceNews reported.

Nitrate pollution in the River Thames is so high that a clean-up would mean massive changes to land use and management, which would compromise food security and take decades to implement, according to the Natural Environment Research Council.

Who owns Florida’s water? The Orlando Sentinel reports on the intensifying debate over how to regulate the state’s scarce water resources.

Brazil has fined Chevron $5.4 million for breaching the terms of the oil company’s environmental license when tackling an offshore spill at a well it drilled in November, Reuters reported. The fine comes on top of another charge imposed on Chevron for causing the spill off the coast of Brazil.

At least two people were killed and eight wounded in clashes between protesters and police during demonstrations over a proposed gold mine in eastern Indonesia that locals fear will threaten forests and drain water resources, Reuters reported.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

 
The Stream, December 26: Energy Use Across Europe
Written by Nadya Ivanova
Monday, 26 December 2011 07:00
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By 2100, global climate change will shift nearly 40 percent of land-based ecosystems from one major ecological community type — such as forest, grassland or tundra — to another, according to a new NASA study, Science Daily reported.

A new interactive graphic by the Open Knowledge Foundation shows how energy is produced and consumed across Europe.

The Guardian reviews Britain’s environmental year 2011.

Rising consumption in Asia and the United States has driven global natural gas use by 7.4 percent from its 2009 slump to hit a record 111.9 trillion cubic feet ­in 2010, according to a new report from the Worldwatch Institute.

See photos of the water patterns in the snow above Ems in central Switzerland.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

 
Federal Water Tap, December 26: Keystone Deadline
Written by Brett Walton
Monday, 26 December 2011 06:00
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Pipeline Expedition
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut. Included in the deal was a provision requiring President Barack Obama to make a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days. Earlier this year, the president said he would delay any action on the proposed 1,700-mile oil conduit until 2013.

Alaska Dam
The developers of an Alaska mega-dam will begin the formal licensing process this week. On December 29, the Alaska Energy Authority, a state public corporation for energy development, will submit a pre-application document to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project. Licensing is expected to take three and a half years for the 700-ft tall dam on the Susitna River.

Mapping Drought
This fall, a national center for drought research released an updated version of its comprehensive drought-effects database. Funded by the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the University of Nebraska-based Drought Impact Reporter combines media reports with statistical analyses to show how a lack of rain is hurting wildlife, tourism, water supply and agriculture, among other areas. The university also hosts the Drought Monitor, which focuses on near-term weather patterns.

Ag Pollution
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a report on how to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous pollution in the nation’s waterways. According to NPR, the USDA laid out a set of guidelines for putting farm fields on a fertilizer “diet.” The guidelines, however, are just that—they will not be mandatory.

Foreign Development
In the last six weeks, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency doled out a number of grants for water and energy projects. The agency gave money for coal bed methane extraction in Turkey and for technical assistance to a wastewater treatment plant in Cartagena, Colombia. The agency also brought water management officials from South Africa to the U.S. to discuss water use in the mining sector.

Federal Water Tap is a weekly digest spotting trends in U.S. government water policy. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

 
The Stream, December 23: Water Concerns In Argentina
Written by Codi Yeager-Kozacek
Friday, 23 December 2011 08:00
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Water access and use are a concern in Argentina, where 11 percent of the population does not have a piped water source and the average consumption per person is more than three times that of Brazil, the Guardian reported, citing a study by Green Cross Argentina.

Shell spilled an estimated 20,000 barrels of oil off the coast of Nigeria, making it the country’s largest spill since 1998, Reuters reported. The oil threatens the Niger Delta, a region that needs the world’s most extensive oil clean-up effort, according to a U.N. report published earlier this year.

Findings from an independent panel supported water management actions by the United States Army Corps of Engineers that led to widespread flooding along the Missouri River last summer, Reuters reported.

Thailand flood victims are suing the government and its agencies for mismanagement of the recent flood crisis, according to AlertNet.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service will kill 434,000 lake trout that were meant to be released in the Great Lakes, The Wall Street Journal reported. Officials feared the fish could contaminate the waters with rock snot, an invasive algae.

Sri Lanka’s Upper Kotmale Hydropower Plant will be completed next month, producing up to 150 megawatts of electricity, Xinhua reported.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

 
The Stream, December 22: Mercury Emissions Cuts Benefit Water
Written by Codi Yeager-Kozacek
Thursday, 22 December 2011 08:00
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Emissions
The United States passed new rules to cut mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, Reuters reported. Mercury emissions can accumulate in water and cause health problems.

Airlines traveling to and from Europe will be required to buy carbon permits from the European Union’s emissions trading system starting in 2012, an EU court ruled, according to the Guardian.

Mining
Peru will continue the environmental assessment of the controversial Newmont gold mine, which some citizens believe will adversely affect local water supplies, according to Bloomberg News. The country’s finance minister said it cannot afford to lose mining investments.

Texas communities are finding ways to extract money from the Eagle Ford shale boom to build and improve infrastructure, Bloomberg News reported.

Dams
A Google Earth video by International Rivers and Friends of the Earth International looks at the impact dams could have on a world increasingly stressed by climate change.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

 
The Stream, December 21: Raising The Price Of Carbon
Written by Codi Yeager-Kozacek
Wednesday, 21 December 2011 08:00
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The European Union’s environment committee voted to decrease the supply of emissions allowances in Europe’s emissions trading system in order to increase the price of carbon, EurActiv reported. The EU hopes the price hike will provide an incentive for investment in low-carbon technology.

About 87 percent of the world’s population has access to improved drinking water, but 672 million people will still lack improved drinking water sources by 2015, a new study from UNICEF and the UN World Health Organization found, Xinhua reported.

Mercury deposition in lakes is greater close to large cities in the United States, according to a U.S. Geological Survey study that compared remote lakes to lakes near urban centers.

Virginia continues to debate a ban on uranium mining after a new study outlined the possible health and environmental risks, according to The Washington Post. The proposed mining area currently supplies drinking water to local communities.

Persistent drought and rising temperatures due to climate change are killing trees in Africa’s Sahel region, putting local people at risk, the Guardian reported.

Australian mining company Santos could invest $16 billion developing coal-seam gas in New South Wales, according to Businessweek.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

 
The Stream, December 20: Water Rights Lawsuits
Written by Brett Walton
Tuesday, 20 December 2011 07:50
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New Mexico is suing the federal government over water allocations from a Bureau of Reclamation water project. The state, according to KRQE in Albuquerque, claims that the project is supplying irrigation districts in Texas with more water than is legally permitted.

Oklahoma’s water resources agency has authorized its legal representatives to sue to adjudicate water rights in several river basins in the southeastern region of the state, the Oklahoman reports.

Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel has kicked off a 10-year plan to replace 900 miles of water mains, according to Chicago News Cooperative. The city will borrow money and raise rates by 90 percent over the next four years to pay for the public works program.

Water rights in India should be separated from land rights, argues a new report from the public policy arm of India’s leading private-sector infrastructure development company. The full report will be available here.

A judge in Brazil has lifted a construction moratorium on a controversial dam in the Amazon region, the BBC reports. The judge, who halted work at the dam site in September, ruled that the company had proved that construction would not affect the fishing industry downstream from the Belo Monte dam.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.