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Droughts, floods and other natural disasters are creating huge economic losses around the world, totaling about $US 2.5 trillion this century, according to estimates by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Bloomberg BNA reported. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged businesses to take steps to reduce disaster risk exposure when investing in new buildings [...]
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The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the world’s atmosphere reached a daily average of 400 parts per million (ppm), according to measurements taken at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, the Guardian reported. The measurement is the highest recorded at the observatory, and scientists believe similar CO2 levels have not been seen for several [...]
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Steam-generating electric power plants, the biggest source of industrial water pollution in the United States, will have several options to reduce the amount of toxic substances in their wastewater, under a proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule released on Friday. EPA estimates that the rules would lead to a 15 percent reduction in pollutants discharged to [...]
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Water-Food-Energy A drought in Vietnam has uncovered tensions between water users in the country’s energy and agricultural sectors, Radio Free Asia reported. Despite a directive from the prime minister, the operator of a hydropower dam has refused to send more water downstream to drought-hit farms. While South Africa’s mining sector receives much of the blame [...]
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The Chinese government recently decided to construct five new dams on rivers flowing to neighboring countries – effectively negating the bilateral water treaties that its neighbors agreed upon. Professor and commentator Brahma Chellaney argues in The Washington Times concerns about water wars and biodiversity disruption follow the decision Pacific Islands A freshwater shortage in the [...]
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While Brazil’s major crop growing areas are producing a record soybean harvest, the country’s northeast region is still suffering a severe drought, Aljazeera reported. This photo slideshow focuses on the heavy toll being paid by cattle ranchers. Pollution Clean-Up China is setting aside $US 16 billion over the next three years to reduce pollution in [...]
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The humanitarian agency lacks the money to serve the millions displaced by the Syrian civil war.
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U.S. environmental regulators often consider water in mile-deep aquifers too deep for regular use, so they often grant permits allowing energy and mining companies to inject pollutants directly into the aquifers. Mexico City now plans to extract drinking water from a mile-deep aquifer of its own, ProPublica reported, challenging the premise of U.S. regulators’ pollution-permitting [...]
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Africa Water service, as well as electricity and phone service, has been cut in Timbuktu, the latest casualty of the ongoing conflict in Mali, CNN reported. The Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA), a group active in northern Mali that opposes the government, blamed the outages on “terrorist” sabotage. Following a devastating drought in 2009, pastoral [...]
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The Washington Post reports that rain, runoff from the season’s first snowfall, and restored flow release levels, have contributed to a rise in the alarmingly low water levels of the Mississippi River. As of yesterday, the St. Louis channel, the river was at 12 feet deep, up from 10.5 feet on Monday. The fear is [...]
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The increasing demand for water, food, and energy is one of four “megatrends” that will shape the next 15 to 20 years, according to a National Intelligence Council report that looks at the forces creating “tectonic shifts” in how the world works. Many countries will not be able to avoid food and water shortages without [...]
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Because of the scant days left in the legislative session, a bill to reauthorize a national drought information system will most likely not be acted on, Zachary Kurz, the communications director for the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology told Circle of Blue. The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) was created by Congress [...]
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State and federal regulators need to consider the cost of remediation, program success and public health.
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The Carbon Disclosure Project of London, UK has released the Water Disclosure Report 2012 which summarizes the voluntary water use reports of 318 companies from around the world. 53 percent of participating businesses reported experiencing “detrimental water-related business impacts.” Notably, the findings revealed that “the Energy sector has recorded the lowest response rate of any [...]
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The Government Accountability Office recommends that the two federal agencies that run the three main assistance programs for rural water systems better coordinate their application requirements. This would save rural communities time and money, the GAO says. Water-Energy The GAO also evaluated federal progress on the connections between water and energy. Having written five reports [...]
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Sea level rise and increasing floods are forcing families living on India’s Sundarbans islands to look to the mainland for a future, according to AlertNet. United States Consecutive years of drought have convinced some farmers in Kansas to give up on corn, Bloomberg News reported. The state planted the fewest acres of corn in three [...]
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Interest in water investments is on the rise around the world. Some private sector groups are helping governments meet tougher environmental standards, Reuters reported, while other investors view water as an alternative tool to bonds and equity markets. Pollution, Shortage Crises in India Yesterday the government of Tamil Nadu made an official move to take [...]
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India A water shortage in India’s Cauvery River Basin has pitted the state of Karnataka against its southern neighbor, Tamil Nadu, the Times of India reported. The states rejected water sharing suggestions from the Cauvery River Authority and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, with Karnataka arguing that it cannot release any water downstream without jeopardizing its [...]
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Sometime this week, the House of Representatives will consider H.R. 3409, which its sponsor, an Ohio Republican, has dubbed the Stop the War on Coal Act of 2012. The bill would prevent the Interior Department from issuing regulations until December 2013 that might cut jobs in the coal sector or restrict the industry’s access to [...]
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The largest U.S. city without fluoridated water takes a step toward getting it.
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