 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
At a conference in Bonn, Germany, water scientists warned that the majority of the world’s population will be dealing with water shortages within two generations, the Guardian reported. The shortages will affect both developed and developing countries, driven by climate change, over-use and pollution. Natural Disasters The United States could see as many as 11 [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Poultry farms may not be creating as much water pollution as previously thought, according to research that challenges U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards used to forecast pollution in water systems, USA Today reported. The research could change the implementation of federal programs meant to clean up dead zones in bays and rivers, such as the [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
The salinity of Bangladesh’s water supply is increasing, especially in coastal areas, due to sea level rise and natural disasters like floods and cyclones, according to a World Bank study, AlertNet reported. Families in remote areas sometimes have to walk miles to get safe drinking water. U.S. Water Supply The final measure of California snowpack [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Water Disputes China is once again eying the Nu River (Salween River) for dam development, which could cost 60,000 people their homes, Reuters reported, citing government officials. The river is part of a UNESCO protected area due to the region’s high level of biodiversity. India and Bangladesh remain embroiled in a dispute over the sharing [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Water-quality protection measures were among the 46 conservation-related measures passed by local and state voters around the country yesterday. The Trust for Public Land summarized prominent results, WaterWorld reported. The city of San Francisco will not have to create a plan to destroy the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir’s dam. More than 77 percent of voters overturned [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Food Security Approximately 12.5 percent of the global population–or one in every eight people–went hungry between 2010 and 2012, according to a report on food insecurity released by the United Nations, AlertNet reported. This is a 6.1 percent drop from the period 1990-1992, but progress toward eradicating hunger has been slowing in recent years due [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Turkey is building a $US 700 million pipeline to transfer water from a dam on its Mediterranean coast to Cyprus, Bloomberg News reported. The pipeline will run 107 kilometers (66 miles) under the sea to bring 75 million cubic meters (19.8 billion gallons) of water to the northern part of the island, which is controlled [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Polluted drinking water may have sickened more than 1,000 people in an Egyptian town, though official government estimates say only 56 people were affected, the Egypt Independent reported. The incident sparked protests. The United Nations Green Climate Fund Board will meet August 23 for the first time to lay the groundwork for how the $US [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Sustainable health for the poor is Dr. Dibalok Singha’s mission. As director of Dushtha Shasthya Kendra Bangladesh (DSK Bangladesh), he focuses on providing piped drinking water to people living in slums, such as those in Dhaka. The organization focuses on health solutions, but it is also very aware that the first step to preventing disease [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
New research based on 30 years of observation suggests that Harmful algal blooms are occurring with greater intensity in Switzerland’s Lake Zurich, illustrating the threat climate change poses to Europe’s inland lakes, according to research from the University of Zurich, United Press International reported. This ‘perfect storm’ of rising water consumption and diminishing natural supply [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
San Francisco is considering an ordinance that would require owners of new and renovated buildings with water fountains to install special bottle-filling taps, according to Associated Press. The measure is part of the city’s efforts to increase the water supply in cities and rural areas across the country, Bloomberg reported, citing government officials. Heavy rains [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
A severe drought has gripped one of North Korea’s breadbasket provinces, raising fears of a worsening food crisis, AFP reported. The country suffers chronic food shortages, often exacerbated by floods, droughts, mismanagement and dwindling international aid. Ensuring food supplies for China’s growing population and economy is expected to be a key goal for Chinese Premier [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Asia Pakistan’s plans to divert 86 percent of the Neelum River’s water to produce hydropower could leave the Kashmir city of Muzaffarabad without enough river flow for drinking water and sewage disposal, AlertNet reported. Water quality is extremely poor in five of China’s major bays, including the Yangtze and Pearl River estuaries, according to an [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Agriculture Groundwater depletion in major food-producing areas of the United States could threaten food security, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that maps where and when groundwater is being used, PhysOrg reported. A new, interactive data portal released by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Water Pollution Hydraulic fracturing for shale gas should take place at least 600 meters down from aquifers used for water supplies, according to a new study published in the journal Marine and Petroleum Geology, the Press Association reported. Heavy municipal and industrial pollution in a river in the Indonesian province of West Java is threatening [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
India’s proposed mega project to link more than 30 rivers and divert waters from wet to dry areas has triggered worries in neighbouring countries, according to the BBC. Energy-hungry Nepal has approved the China Three Gorges Corp.’s controversial $US 1.6 billion hydropower project after the Chinese state-owned company threatened last month to withdraw its investment, [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
This is the second time the court has promoted the mega-project that would link the major rivers in the north with those in the south as a way to better manage water, moving it from areas of perceived surplus to areas without sufficient supplies.
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Energy A bill meant to speed up approval of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline passed the United States House of Representatives, Bloomberg News reported. Those opposed to the pipeline, which would carry crude oil from Canada’s tar sands to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico, say it could harm the environment. In this Guardian video, [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Vast mineral wealth and growing demand from China are driving a huge mining boom in Mongolia, where the International Monetary Fund predicts the economy will grow an average of 14 percent a year between 2012 and 2016, The Economist reported. The rapid growth could impact the region’s aquifers. The mismanagement of groundwater resources could threaten [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Developing the United Kingdom’s shale gas reserves is incompatible with the country’s climate change goals, according to a new study from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research in Manchester. The carbon cost of developing just 20 percent of U.K.’s proven shale reserves would offset about 15 percent of the government’s greenhouse gas emissions budget [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
| About | | Staff | | In the News | | Ethics & Sponsorship | | Internships | | Board Members | | Contact | | Log In |