 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Food and Water The amount of food wasted each year contains approximately 170 trillion liters (45 trillion gallons) of water, according to a new report from the World Resources Institute, NPR reported. Fruits and vegetables account for the largest share of water lost through food waste. U.S. subsidy policies meant to conserve water by encouraging [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Peru Plans for a $500 million water project in Peru could divert rainwater across the Andes from the Amazon Basin to the country’s dry coast, turning the desert there into farmland, Reuters reported. The Olmos Irrigation Project is slated to start in 2014, and is one of seven large projects Peru has planned to increase [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Southern farmers are making changes now to wean themselves from the Ogallala Aquifer, a water source that gave rise to industrial agriculture and modern life on its plains.
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
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 [...]
| 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: |
|
|
|
Fish and Pharmaceuticals A new study in Sweden found that the presence of low levels of human anti-anxiety drugs caused wild European perch to become aggressive and isolated, Reuters reported. Trace amounts of pharmaceuticals can pass through wastewater treatment plants and are found in waters around the globe. Mining Water scarcity and stricter environmental regulations [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
United States In his State of the Union address yesterday, President Obama promised to take action on climate change, even if Congress refuses. “The fact is the 12 hottest years on record have all come in the last 15. Heat waves, droughts, wildfires, floods — all are now more frequent and more intense,” he said. [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
A new study says that cross-border evaporation can be added to the list of supply and policy problems that water and land managers in the arid Southwest US. should ponder.
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Technology Researchers at Michigan State University are developing flexible films that, when placed in sandy soil, could increase water retention efficiency by up to 20 times, Gizmag reported. The technology aims to boost crop production during droughts, and may have the added benefit of protecting groundwater from agricultural chemicals and fertilizers. Water Supply and Infrastructure [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Irrigation canals have been severely damaged, large poultry farms have been destroyed, and now close to 10 percent of Syrians who remained inside the country’s borders are in need of food assistance — these are just a few of the side effects of the ongoing conflict in the war-torn country that will likely have ramifications on food security for years to come.
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
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 [...]
| 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: |
|
|
|
Free power, water, fertilizer, and chemicals encourages abuse of resources for world’s number two rice and wheat producer.
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Climate change and population growth will force the basin to add new supplies, harness demand, and change operational agreements, officials say.
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
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 [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
This summer’s massive drought left Mississippi River levels unusually low, threatening barge traffic. If levels at the Mississippi’s midpoint drop too low, all barge traffic would stop, which could force job cuts, raise fuel costs, and cut into U.S. food supplies. Water-Sipping Crops In the state of Karnataka, India, farmers are using a specialized paddy [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
Forecasters are predicting a “devastating landfall” for Hurricane Sandy within 100 miles of New York City. Flooding has already begun in New York, Virginia and elsewhere, The New York Times reported, as “One of the biggest storms of our lifetimes is unfolding right now,” anchor Kelly Cass said on the Weather Channel. Elsewhere, the world [...]
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
As in much of the Great Plains, farmers here are adapting to new conditions.
| Help share our stories: |
|
|
|
| About | | Staff | | In the News | | Ethics & Sponsorship | | Internships | | Board Members | | Contact | | Log In |
