Global Rundown
- Southern California’s wildflower season has begun slowly, with the iconic fields receiving only one-sixth of the winter rainfall needed for a colorful spring.
- On the French island territory of Martinique, soaring food and water prices — and lasting inequality — continue to drive frustration at the mainland government.
- Small-scale gold mining in Sudan, exacerbated by conflict and rising global prices, is wreaking havoc on waterways, soils, and human health.
- So-called “watermelon snow” in the Chilean Antarctic is actually a pink microalgae that contributes to a feedback loop of melting snow and ice amid changing climate conditions.
The Lead
Sudan is Africa’s third-largest producer of gold behind South Africa and Ghana. But unlike those two countries, Yale Environment 360 reports, 85 percent of its production comes from small-scale “artisanal” mines, operated in rural areas by workers who employ techniques — largely due to a lack of knowledge, time, money, or some combination of the three — with little regard for public health nor environmental safety. The roughly two million people who mine in Sudan are simply trying to sell enough of the metal — which is currently trading for high prices on the global market — to make a living in a country riven by civil war.
Mercury and cyanide, the most common toxic chemicals for gold extraction, are used in thousands of mines across Sudan, though they rarely stay in the refinery mills. Floods, including devastating events in 2022 and 2024, have washed the pollutants into agricultural soils, irrigation reservoirs, freshwater sources, and even the Nile River. Data collected during a 2022 visit to the mining town of El-Ebeidiya revealed an estimated 1,500 pounds of mercury were released into the environment each day. These samples were collected within 150 feet of village homes.
“A fifth of the drinking water they tested contained high levels of mercury, as did more than a quarter of urine samples and 7 percent of blood, mostly taken from young children,” Yale Environment 360 reports.
Recent WaterNews from Circle of Blue
- The Blue Planet: Quarterly Report: Trump Cracks Global Order — President’s second term ushers in period of worldwide tumult.
- Opinion: ‘Most Momentous Day’ in EPA History? Spare Me. — Administrator Lee Zeldin sets off pernicious assault on America’s quality of life.
This Week’s Top Water Stories, Told In Numbers
100,000
Number of visitors who flocked to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve in 2023 during a single “superbloom” weekend, the Guardian reports. The spectacle, which typically begins in late March in southern California, sees thousands of native wildflowers bloom synchronously, suddenly coloring eight miles of hillside fields orange and red. But this winter, the reserve — which requires at least six inches of rain for a lush spring — has received less than an inch. With such little rain, the arrival of both flowers and tourists has been slow. Local communities enjoy an economic surge during superbloom seasons. This year, they’re not counting on the same infusion of cash.
50
Rough percentage of households on the island of Martinique, a French territory in the Caribbean, who are considered “water poor” by United Nations guidelines. These families spend more than three percent of their income on water bills, as the island’s tap water — which is largely undrinkable due to aging infrastructure, pollution, and a lack of filtration services — “costs on average 28 percent more per cubic metre than in mainland France,” Reuters reports. Residents often resort to buying bottled water, which itself costs roughly twice as much or more per package compared to a similar purchase in Paris. These sky-high prices have been met with protests; others have called for the island’s independence. French officials have promised to “open up” Martinique’s economy. Both water and wealth in the former colony are intrinsically tied to a lasting history of race and class divisions.
On the Radar
Antarctic researchers are finding an increasing abundance of so-called “watermelon snow” near the southern pole and the furthest edges of South America, El País reports. As the region warms, reddish microalgae are finding the pole habitable and contributing to a positive feedback loop of melting. Whereas white snow and ice reflect the sun, colored snow absorbs more heat, triggering more melting. Glaciologists studying the phenomenon warn that continued atmospheric warming will further the retreat of ice across the Antarctic continent — together, the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets account for more than 68 percent of Earth’s fresh water.
Fresh: From the Great Lakes Region
Lamprey Workers Rehired: The Great Lakes Fishery Commission has received the necessary approvals to rehire the 37 U.S. Fish and Wildlife workers — 12 probationary and 25 seasonal — who control sea lamprey populations in the region, Michigan Public reports. The workers were originally laid off in February by the Department of Government Efficiency, and roughly six weeks of sea lamprey mitigation have been lost since. It is also unclear how many workers will choose to return to their jobs, and when. Invasive sea lampreys, which once pushed Great Lakes’ fisheries to the brink of extinction, remain a pervasive threat to native fish and regional ecosystems.
Superior, Wisconsin: The community of roughly 26,000 people is the only one in the state whose water utility service is privately owned — making it ineligible to access the more than $1 billion pot of loan forgiveness the federal government pledged last year for Wisconsin to replace its lead pipes, Wisconsin Public Radio reports. Some lawmakers are seeking an exemption from this state law in order to make the privately owned utility eligible for loan forgiveness. But Superior’s city council struck down this effort, and is instead in favor of buying the utility outright. The community pays some of the highest water rates in the state, and putting the service in the city’s hands is an attractive long-term notion. But others warn that the process could take years, stalling lead pipe replacements as prices remain high.
Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television, Michigan Public and The Narwhal work together to report on the most pressing threats to the Great Lakes region’s water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Find all the work here.
- One of Canada’s biggest copper mines plans to expand. B.C. says it won’t need an environmental assessment — The Narwhal
- PFAS bill protecting utilities companies passes in Indiana House and Senate — Great Lakes Now
- Seven tribes in Michigan withdraw from federal talks over Line 5 tunnel permit — Bridge Michigan / Interlochen Public Radio
- UP gas generators would be classified as clean energy under bills in state House committee — Michigan Public