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Chile denied a recent report on deals to export water to Qatar, ABC News reported. The report included a quote by Chilean Ambassador Jean Paul Tarud saying, “Chile has some of the largest fresh water export capabilities in the world.” Public backlash in Chilean social media followed the report. Chile has been suffering from drought [...]
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To kick off World Water Day 2013, the United Nations released an analytical brief about global water security and the global water agenda. The report includes a working definition of “water security” as “The capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of and acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, [...]
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Asia and the Pacific Lack of access to safe water in Pacific countries and stressed rivers in Asia are threats to the regions’ water security, according to a new study from the Asian Development Bank and the Asia-Pacific Water Forum. The study found that 75 percent of countries in Asia and the Pacific currently lack [...]
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For more than 15 years, Stacey Travis was a television producer for networks like FOX, A&E, and AMC. Until, that is, she drastically switched careers in 2006, when doctors in Uganda and South Sudan told her about the water-related illnesses that plague these nations. Travis felt compelled to help and soon after founded Drop In [...]
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While working as an editor and writer at COLORS Magazine, Rose George was assigned to work on Cacas, a coffee table book featuring photographs of animal and human feces, for which “caca” is slang. Through the project, she discovered Sulabh International, an organization in India that provides public toilets and works to liberate those whose [...]
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Wine turned Peter Thum to water. While working on a project in South Africa involving two wineries, Thum saw the difficulties that many people experienced just trying to get clean water every day. “I did a bit of research and began to see the size and magnitude of this problem,” he says. So he decided [...]
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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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Rohini Nilekani began her career as a journalist and writer. But upon marrying Nadan Nilekani — co-founder of the Indian tech-consulting firm Infosys — and coming into some money, she sought a cause to support financially. “I was looking for an area that would make sense to me and that would also have some kind [...]
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Myanmar’s forests, river systems, and the wildlife they support may face challenges as the country becomes more democratic and open to foreign investment, Yale Environment 360 reports. Early moves suggest the government is taking care to protect the environment, but conservationists worry that a “Wild West” scenario could unfold. Africa Rice crops in western Kenya [...]
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Extreme Weather Suburbs, towns and farms outside of Rome flooded Wednesday after the Tiber River overflowed its banks and heavy rains backed up sewers and canals, Reuters reported. Widespread flooding has swamped Italy after strong storms passed through the country last weekend, killing four people. Farmers worry that increasingly frequent and severe flooding, coupled with [...]
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Food Security Approximately 12.5 percent of the global population–or one in every eight people–went hungry between 2010 and 2012, according to a report on food insecurity released by the United Nations, AlertNet reported. This is a 6.1 percent drop from the period 1990-1992, but progress toward eradicating hunger has been slowing in recent years due [...]
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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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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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U.S. Drought Continues The drought has literally hit home in the rural Midwestern United States, where some citizens are turning on their faucets to find their wells have dried up, The Associated Press reported. The Missouri government will subsidize the drilling of new wells for more than 3,700 farmers and ranchers hit by extreme drought, [...]
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Food prices This summer’s drought in the United States will cause corn yields to drop 17 percent compared to 2011, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Consequently, the USDA expects corn prices to rise 39 percent to $8.90 per bushel. Soybean supplies and prices will face similar consequences, The Wall Street [...]
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Brian McSorley, Oxfam’s humanitarian coordinator, promotes water, sanitation, and hygiene programs in Northern Kenya. This includes Dadaab refugee camp, where 88,000 people rely on Oxfam to provide facilities. “Water keeps us alive. But get too little, or too much, or the wrong kind, and results can be catastrophic — drought, floods, crop failure, children dying [...]
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A new study found that only 30 percent of Arctic sea ice loss in the last few decades can be attributed to natural causes, meaning the remaining monsoon rains fall 22 percent below average, Reuters reported. Water shortages have contributed to 300 millimeters of rain (11.8 inches), Xinhua reported. Meanwhile, two 35-mile tunnels to divert [...]
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Posted on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
We’re bombarded with numbers every day. But seeing a number and understanding it are two different things.