The Stream, March 4: Honduras Activist Who Opposed Dams Is Murdered

The Global Rundown

A prominent environmental activist who opposed hydropower dams in Honduras has been killed. Farmers and herders in Tanzania are reaching peaceful agreements to share water in times of drought. A flash flood in Angola killed dozens of people. Greenland’s ice is caught in a feedback loop that encourages more melting, researchers found, and coastal cities around the world will need to find new ways to combine natural and man-made infrastructure to adapt to rising seas, experts say. Thousands of residents of informal suburbs in Texas do not have water and sewer services. Researchers are developing new technology that could increase the speed and accuracy of water filters.

“We must undertake the struggle in all parts of the world, wherever we may be, because we have no other spare or replacement planet. We have only this one, and we have to take action.” –Berta Cáceres, an indigenous and environmental rights activist in Honduras who campaigned against major hydropower dams, in an interview last year after winning the Goldman Environmental Prize. She was murdered in her home on Thursday. (Guardian)

By The Numbers

500,000 people Number who live in Texas’ colonias, unincorporated subdivisions where many residents do not have access to running water and sewage systems. The Atlantic

24 people Number killed in a flash flood in the city of Lubango, Angola on Thursday. The country is currently experiencing a severe drought. Reuters

Science, Studies, And Reports

The ability of Greenland’s ice to reflect sunlight, instead of absorbing it, could decline 10 percent by the end of the century, according to a new study led by researchers at Columbia University. As a result, the ice will begin melting faster, which in turn lowers the reflectivity even further. Guardian

New, ultra-thin water filters made from graphene could target specific contaminant molecules and increase the speed at which water is cleaned. Researchers are still developing the filters in the lab, but believe they will have widespread applications for household and industrial use. Reuters

On The Radar

Pastoralist herders and farmers in Tanzania are beginning to reach peaceful agreements to share water as droughts and land policies increase competition for scarce supplies. In one community, herders have also agreed to pay small fees in exchange for rice husks to feed their animals. Reuters

As sea levels rise, coastal cities in the United States should begin looking at ways to implement “hybrid edges” between urban areas and the ocean, according to Kristina Hill, a landscape architect at the University of California, Berkeley. Hill says developed areas will need to combine natural and man-made elements instead of relying solely on walls and traditional gray infrastructure. Yale Environment 360

Codi Kozacek

A news correspondent for Circle of Blue based out of Hawaii. She writes The Stream, Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends. Her interests include food security, ecology and the Great Lakes.
Contact Codi Kozacek