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Africa Planned hydropower dam projects on the Congo River could generate as much as 40,000 megawatts of electricity, making the Grand Inga system the largest in the world, the Guardian reported. Securing financial backing and buyers for the electricity are still hurdles faced by developers, but the project is gaining momentum. Water levels on Lake [...]
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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 [...]
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For Water, Cities Look to Farms Conserving water on farms is the key to securing water for cities that face recurring shortages, according to a new study published in the journal Water Policy, National Geographic reported. The growth of both irrigated agriculture and cities in water-scarce regions has fueled these shortages, necessitating working relationships between [...]
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Water and Energy Storage In a column for Reuters, market analyst Gerard Wynn discusses the potential growth of hydropower pumping stations for storing energy and balancing electrical grids. The stations can use energy from intermittent sources such as wind and solar to pump water to higher elevations, releasing it at a later time to generate [...]
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A leak was discovered at yet another underground water storage tank used to contain radioactive wastewater from Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, The New York Times reported. The country is struggling to find places to store the contaminated water, but has promised not to release it into the Pacific Ocean. A Chilean court [...]
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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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Environmental Threats Natural disasters cost the world approximately $US 138 billion last year, the third consecutive year that economic losses from disasters have exceeded $US 100 billion, AlertNet reported. Floods and droughts accounted for almost 80 percent of disaster victims in 2012. Failure to address environmental threats like climate change, deforestation, air pollution, and water [...]
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Ethiopia is building a dam that will give the country control over the Nile River’s primary water source. The dam has far-reaching consequences for Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, and the millions of people who depend on the river, The Ohio State University’s Andrew Carlson reported, and raises questions about who owns the river. Shifting Scarcity in [...]
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Violence broke out between the Massai and Kikuyu tribes in Kenya over water access that left hundreds homeless and 80 dead. The Kikuyus are farmers who trade for a living, AlertNet reported, while the Maasai are pastoral herders, and water scarcity often leads to violent disputes over the two for regular access. However, encouraging signs [...]
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Rivers Vietnam and Cambodia urged Laos to halt its controversial Xayaburi dam project on the Mekong River at a recent meeting of the Mekong River Commission, the Guardian reported, citing NGO International Rivers. In 2012, Laos held a formal groundbreaking ceremony for the dam, which some fear could threaten food security and wildlife. A photo [...]
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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 [...]
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The long-term goal: a project with a power capacity greater than the world’s second-largest hydropower dam.
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Waste water recycling is a better option for Indian cities short on water than desalination, Economic Times reported. Reuse is practical in any location, cleans more wastewater than alternative methods, and is cheaper than desalination. Many proposed desalination plants in California have been halted by high construction costs, ‘huge’ energy requirements, regulatory wrangling and legal [...]
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Heavy downpours triggered floods and caused roofs to collapse in Pakistan, killing at least 50 people, Xinhua reported. The report suggests that heavy rainfall late in the monsoon season has become more common in Pakistan over the past few years. Agriculture The growing production of chemical pesticides in developing countries poses significant threats to human [...]
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In the worst attack since post-election violence in Kenya four years ago, 52 people—primarily women and children—were killed in an ethnic clash over land and water, AFP reported. Thousands more Chinese citizens living near the Three Gorges Dam may be forced to move as landslides sparked by changing reservoir levels become a serious problem, according [...]
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Global affected 20,000 farmers and ruined about 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres) of rice, according to United Press International. Bali’s environment is paying the price of a booming tourism industry, in which filed a lawsuit against Thailand’s state-run electricity company, which plans to buy nearly all of the power produced from Laos’ controversial Mekong River dam [...]
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Electricity-producing coal, nuclear, and natural gas plants account for the fastest-growing use of fresh water in the United States, according to a report from Oregon-based River Network, Bloomberg News reported. The study found that electricity produced by hydropower dams has the largest water footprint. The amount of Arctic sea ice is at a record low [...]
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Maryland is sitting atop an aquifer containing water that is a million years old, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) found, according to USA Today. Water levels in the deep aquifer have been declining as water managers abandon younger, shallower aquifers due to saltwater intrusion. India’s Jindal Power plans to invest $7.7 billion in hydropower [...]
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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 [...]
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Water supplies remain key to the global boom in gold mining, driven by high demand and near-record prices.
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