 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
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: |
|
|
|
Looming storms are keeping communities along the Great Lakes on their toes. Even a small increase in rain will cause alarm to communities whom have been watching the rivers licking at uncomfortably high levels. Last week’s sudden downpours have caused 114 barges to break loose south of St. Louis and are blamed for at least [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
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 [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Drought Relief Farm fields across the Midwestern United States were quenched this week as heavy rainstorms over the central part of the country continued to relieve one of the worst droughts in U.S. history, Reuters reported. Grain prices, which were pushed up to record highs last summer due to the drought-damaged U.S. corn crop, could [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Invasive Species An interim report, released from a larger, U.S. federal study on invasive Asian Carp, has identified storm sewers, bird feces, and even Asian Carp sperm as possible sources of environmental DNA (eDNA) that could be behind positive eDNA hits found in the Great Lakes and Chicago waterways. Researchers are trying to iron out [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Storms spawned by Tropical Cyclone Oswald created “record turbidity levels” in Australia’s Brisbane River and forced the main water treatment plant for the city of Brisbane to close earlier this week, Bloomberg News reported. The plant is back online, but officials say water supplies for the metropolitan area remain tight. The legal case between Chevron [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Water Supply A new study about Andean glaciers found that the pace of ice retreat in the tropical Andes is “unprecedented,” putting the water supply for many South American communities at risk, the Guardian reported. The study, published in Cryosphere, claims that an average temperature rise of 0.7 degree Celsius over 70 years is behind [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Winter Storms An Israeli security barrier built mostly in occupied areas of the West Bank is blocking the drainage of flood waters after a winter storm, Reuters reported. The wall does have drainage channels, but many are closed or clogged with debris. Conditions for Syrian refugees have further deteriorated after the eastern Mediterranean region was [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
California The first measure of Sierra Nevada snowpack in 2013 showed promising signs for California’s water supply, with hydraulic fracturing in the Monterey shale may be in California’s future, according to this column posted by Reuters. The state government took the first steps toward expanded fracking by publishing draft rules for the practice on December [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Pollution A pig farm in the Chinese town of Houtonglong has polluted water sources, created health problems, and made it difficult for local farmers to raise other animals, the Guardian reported. As China’s appetite for meat continues to grow, ban production at 93 iron ore mines in Goa, which were found to be contributing to [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Scientists are beginning to study the ecological function of cities, tracking and measuring the flow of atmospheric gases, water, carbon, and pollutants through the urban ecosystem, Nature reported. The research could be essential for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and creating sustainable cities. Water Levels Global sea level rise is outpacing United Nations projections by 60 [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
President Obama Wins Re-election The U.S. energy industry is expecting stricter regulations during President Obama’s second term, with tighter rules for water management, emissions and drilling on federal land, Reuters reported. Nonetheless, the President is also expected to support the development of natural gas, and will likely give eventual approval for the Keystone XL oil [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
The worst flooding Nigeria has seen in 50 years has destroyed many of the crops in the country’s major food-producing region, which may lead to a food crisis, BBC reported. The floods have killed 200 people and displaced more than 1 million. Meanwhile, fall flooding in southern Pakistan has affected 5 million people, according to [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Oxfam has urged the World Bank to stop its support of large-scale land investments, the Guardian reported. The land purchased by international investors could grow enough food for 1 billion people, but is instead being used to grow biofuels or is left idle, according to a report Oxfam released Thursday. Researchers are hoping to gain [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Floods A recent spate of flooding in Thailand has raised concerns that the country is still not adequately protected against heavy rains and overflowing rivers, Reuters reported. Floods last year killed more than 800 people and shut down major industries. The largest weather field research project in European history aims to improve flash flood monitoring [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
The city’s new flood protection system was tested by the hurricane — and it passed.
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
A theme of food and water waste reduction, especially in agriculture, characterizes a large number of speeches and events as World Water Week in Stockholm continues, according to Environmental News Service. Hurricane Isaac is not on track to hydrate drought-stricken areas in the Midwest, contrary to many farmers’ hopes. Instead, it may saturate and ruin [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Circle of Blue reporter Codi Yeager-Kozacek, a native Michigander now living in southern Alabama, is having her first taste of a hurricane.
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Technology Desalination technologies are expanding as freshwater scarcity rivals carbon emissions as a major environmental hazard, and the industry is expected to be a $US 17 billion business within the next five years, according to Bloomberg. A report by the International Water Management Institute has proposed low-cost, small-scale irrigation strategies for farms in South Asia and sub-Saharan [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
This photo slideshow demonstrates the effects of coal extraction on water, vegetation and lifestyles in northwest China. A recent report from Greenpeace speaks out against the expansion of coal bases in the region, according to the Guardian. Safe Drinking Water Algal blooms are spreading in South Korean rivers. Although the cause of the blooms is up for [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
| About | | Staff | | In the News | | Ethics & Sponsorship | | Internships | | Board Members | | Contact | | Log In |