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Take Two The Bureau of Land Management’s revised regulations for hydraulic fracturing, aka fracking, on federal lands pleased almost no one outside of Congress. The proposal has three prongs: disclosure of chemicals in the fracking fluid, quality-control for well construction, and wastewater disposal. The BLM’s goal is to streamline the reporting process “without introducing unnecessary [...]
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Floods While changing rainfall and climate patterns have been linked to increased flooding around the globe, new research suggests that erosion due to deforestation and development also plays a role by making rivers less able to mitigate large storms, AlertNet reported. Increased erosion and sedimentation rates in rivers are related to a region’s economic growth, [...]
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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 [...]
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South America Nearly 400 millimeters (16 inches) of rain pummeled Argentina’s Buenos Aires province, causing widespread floods, power outages and 31 deaths as of Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. The extreme weather has prompted calls for investment in public water infrastructure projects. Tensions are rising in the Brazilian Amazon between government forces and the Munduruku [...]
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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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Researchers see great promise in eDNA testing to detect invasive and rare species at low abundance — including invasive Asian carp — but refining the tool is a long process.
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Yesterday Barbara Boxer (D-California) and Senate colleague David Vitter (R-Louisiana) submitted a new Water Resources Development Act. Last session of Congress, Boxer circulated a draft version of the bill, but it was not introduced. The act is a major piece of legislation. It authorizes billions in projects for the Army Corps of Engineers and sets [...]
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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 [...]
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Drought and reduced winter ice cover are contributing to declining water levels in the Great Lakes. As lakes Michigan and Huron hit record lows, a new report outlines what changes like this could mean for the region’s flora and fauna.
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Americas Water levels on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron have reached their lowest point since record keeping began in 1918, surpassing the previous record low set in 1964, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. While warm, dry weather has drawn lake levels down, dredging of the St. Clair River has also contributed to a long-term decline [...]
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in its first-ever inventory of the state of federal flood control systems, found that 22 percent of the levees surveyed were rated “unacceptable”, according to the Associated Press. The corps, claiming the threat of terrorism and sabotage, would not say why those levees were so rated. Some 40 percent [...]
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In the Midwest, low water levels are a growing economic concern for the region. CNN reports that the Great Lakes are expected to reach all-time lows in the coming months, and reached record lows in December of 2012. Cargo shipping industries have already been impacted by the past 13 years of dropping lake levels. As [...]
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Texas’ state water infrastructure was a frequent topic of discussion in the legislature’s opening week. From Gov. Rick Perry’s opening-day speech to an emergency-fund creation proposal, The New York Times reported, water-related construction projects and fees were pitched primarily by the Republican leadership. Shanghai Pollution Residents of two Shanghai districts continue to feel the effects [...]
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Circle of Blue’s senior editor Keith Schneider reflects on — and celebrates — this year’s body of work from our top reporters.
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Researchers hope the map is used to plan restoration projects that provide the greatest human benefits.
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Will farm land run out? The New York Times Dot Earth blog takes a sneak peek look at the forthcoming study, Peak Farmland and the Prospects for Saving Nature. The big idea? Trends show that population growth and farm land use are “decoupling,” that is to say that our demand for acres of farm land [...]
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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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Erin Huber grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, near the Great Lakes, where clean fresh water is abundant and tap water is sometimes taken for granted. As a humanitarian and an environmentalist, Huber spearheaded rooftop gardens and farmers’ markets, but eventually honed her focus to water. Huber founded the Drink Local Drink Tap (DLDT) campaign in [...]
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The Supreme Court seemed ready on Tuesday to overturn a lower court’s ruling in a case about stormwater pollution in the Los Angeles area, the Associated Press reports. Environmental groups had prevailed in an appellate court in their attempt to lay responsibility for polluted runoff at the hands of the county flood control district. Carp [...]
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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 [...]
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