Circle of Blue: Reporting the competition between water, food, and energy in a changing climate

Uniting classic journalism and data literacy, Circle of Blue informs global audiences about the growing competition between water, food, and energy in a changing climate.

Breaking Water News

Water Groups Lauded a Side Agreement at the Paris Climate Conference. Then It Languished.

October 5, 2021

The fate of the Paris Pact reveals the difficulties in incorporating water into global climate agreements.

As Drought Grips American West, Irrigation Becomes Selling Point for Michigan

September 27, 2021

Michigan farmers irrigate with 187 billion gallons of groundwater a year. Is the state prepared for more?

In Climate Talks, Plans to Keep Planet from Overheating Should Not Ignore Water

September 23, 2021

Carbon-reduction plans, if not well designed, can worsen water scarcity and pollution.

Toxin Levels Spike, Prompting Drinking Water Emergency in Northern California

September 22, 2021

Cyanotoxins in the state’s second-largest freshwater lake soared this month amid a hot, dry summer.

The Town that Flood-Proofed Itself

September 17, 2021

Ottawa, Illinois learned how to keep its residents out of harms way. But on the river’s edge, safety has often required sacrifice.

Latest Stories

Water Groups Lauded a Side Agreement at the Paris Climate Conference. Then It Languished.

October 5, 2021

The fate of the Paris Pact reveals the difficulties in incorporating water into global climate agreements.

As Drought Grips American West, Irrigation Becomes Selling Point for Michigan

September 27, 2021

Michigan farmers irrigate with 187 billion gallons of groundwater a year. Is the state prepared for more?

In Climate Talks, Plans to Keep Planet from Overheating Should Not Ignore Water

September 23, 2021

Carbon-reduction plans, if not well designed, can worsen water scarcity and pollution.

Toxin Levels Spike, Prompting Drinking Water Emergency in Northern California

September 22, 2021

Cyanotoxins in the state’s second-largest freshwater lake soared this month amid a hot, dry summer.

The Town that Flood-Proofed Itself

September 17, 2021

Ottawa, Illinois learned how to keep its residents out of harms way. But on the river’s edge, safety has often required sacrifice.

Dam Battles Converge on Cambodia’s 3S Rivers

September 15, 2021

The rivers are an ecological bounty in the Mekong watershed. But technical reviews pay little attention to environmental costs of dam building.

‘The Opportunity Is Now’: Water Advocates View Upcoming UN Climate Conference as Moment of Relevance

September 15, 2021

Water was overlooked in past global climate talks. Advocates are focusing on the Glasgow meeting to highlight water’s indispensable climate role.

‘Eyes in the Sky’ Help Police California Water Use

September 9, 2021

Satellite data is one monitoring tool regulators turn to in this very dry year.

Amid Extreme Heat and Drought, Line 3 Pipeline Construction Puts Water At Risk

September 3, 2021

State agencies insist — though scientists and indigenous leaders furiously disagree — that waterways won’t be affected.

Hurricane Ida Damages Louisiana Water Systems, Cuts Water Service

September 1, 2021

Nearly two hundred water systems, large and small, are experiencing outages after the powerful storm.

Colorado River Forecasts Not a ‘Crystal Ball’

September 1, 2021

Computer models inform key decisions in the Colorado River basin. But they cannot predict the future.

Droughts Push More People to Migrate Than Floods

August 24, 2021

World Bank report sheds light on the nuanced connections between “water shocks” and human migration.

More WaterNews

What’s Up With Water — October 18, 2021

In South Africa, garbage and high levels of bacteria are contaminating the country’s rivers, and environmental activists are struggling to hold government officials accountable.

In the Middle East, Israel and Jordan have signed an agreement extending their long record of water cooperation.

In China, yet another province has been hit by major flooding. This time the damage is in Shanxi, a province west of Beijing that is China’s largest coal producer.

In the United States, flooding is also a threat, and a new study has identified major infrastructure systems that are vulnerable to rising waters.

Circle of Blue · What's Up With Water - 10.18.21

Daily Summary of Global Water News

New data reveals West Virginians will disproportionately suffer from flooding as climate change worsens.
A recent analysis shows the impact of agricultural runoff on S. waterways.
Iraq will cut its crop planting area in half this year due to drought.
Michigan’s State Senate is investigating the governor’s handling of a lead water crisis in Benton Harbor.

An aging canal system along the U.S.-Mexico border could significantly increase water shortages in the region in the coming decades.

Weekly Digest of U.S. Water Policy and Trends.

- Federal agencies warn water utilities about the risks of cyberattacks.
- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decides that an odd-looking Colorado River fish is no longer endangered.
- USDA distributes $272 million in grants and low-interest loans for rural water and sewer systems.
- The EPA releases a report on monitoring wastewater for SARS-CoV-2.
- Senators urge the EPA to strengthen guidance for industrial discharge of PFAS chemicals.

And lastly, congressional hearings this week on PFAS chemicals, rural economies, Colorado River drought, and the upcoming UN climate conference.

HotSpots H2O examines regions and populations that are most at risk from water-related unrest and conflict. It reveals the challenges individuals confront — and the solutions they discover — as they face the greatest challenge of the 21st century: water.

HotSpots H2O: As Famine Looms in East Africa, Humanitarian Groups Call for Urgent Action

October 18, 2021

Drought has left millions in the region facing food insecurity—and conditions are expected to get worse.

HotSpots H2O: New Report Urges Policymakers to ‘Wake Up to the Looming Water Crisis’

October 11, 2021

Current rates of progress on water, sanitation, and hygiene would need to quadruple to meet UN targets.

HotSpots H2O: Years-Long Drought Pushes Brazil to the Brink

October 4, 2021

The country’s worst drought in nearly a century is choking commerce, threatening ecosystems, and diminishing hydroelectric power generation.

HotSpots H2O: ‘Global Indigenous Agenda’ Calls for Water, Land, and Resource Governance at 2021 IUCN World Congress

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September 13, 2021

The newly released “Global Indigenous Agenda for the Governance of Indigenous Lands, Territories, Waters, Coastal Seas and Natural Resources,” authored by the IUCN Indigenous partner organizations, outlines five goals that together seek to strengthen the relationship between Indigenous land rights and sustainable environmental conservation.

Circle of Blue is a partner of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets covering climate

How the world responds to water challenges in the next months and years will have effects for generations.

Delhi is thirsty, even parched. As the 3rd largest population center in the world, its 25 million people need water, and lots of it, to survive. It’s clear that how India responds in the next months and years will have effects for generations. How will it manage the intensifying competition between water, food and energy in a changing climate?

It’s clear that getting enough water day-by-day is foremost on people’s minds. When the challenge is so great and children so thirsty, people often take their water sources into their own hands. Some entrepreneurs bring water by tank pulled by a tractor, and sell at an inflated rate. Others drill their own unsanctioned wells, some even in the middle of the street.

ChokePoint:

The conflicting demand for water, food, and energy is the defining challenge of our century. Global Choke Point, a collaboration between Circle of Blue and the Wilson Center, explores the peril and promise with frontline reporting, data, and policy expertise.

No one is better positioned to deliver groundbreaking knowledge on the critical resource of global water than Circle of Blue.

Ian Bremmer, President, Eurasia Group

Changing the face of journalism.

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

The combining of journalism, science, data, design and convening power is an innovative model that works.

Hon. Jane Harmon, President, Wilson Center

To respond to the world’s greatest, most urgent challenges, we need trusted information, clear context, and solutions-focused dialogue. Circle of Blue cuts through the complexities of global development. Through knowledge and informed action, we can make a better future.

Henrik Skovby, Executive Chairman, Dalberg Group

I am happy that this meeting is taking place, for it represents yet another stage in the joint commitment of various institutions to raising consciousness about the need to protect water as a treasure belonging to everyone, mindful too of its cultural and religious significance.

Pope Francis