Entries by Andrew Maddocks

Clean Water Act Leaves Waterways Vulnerable to Pollution

As many as half of the nation’s largest water polluters might be exempt from the Clean Water Act’s requirements because Supreme Court decisions never clarified what waterways the act protects.

‘Superberg’ Detaches from Antarctic Glacier, Could Disrupt Ocean Currents

A giant iceberg collided with a branch of the Mertz Glacier in east Antarctica earlier this month, breaking off a 965-square-mile ‘superberg.’

Charting Asian Carp’s Course

Four species of Asian carp were first imported into Arkansas in the early 1970s. Since then the voracious, rapidly multiplying fish have migrated northwards, edging ever-closer to the Great Lakes.

Drought in Australia Connected to Snowfall in Antarctica, Researchers Find

Relationship between Australia’s drought and Antarctica’s increased snowfall offers clues to human contribution to global warming. Scientists have linked a severe, decades-old drought in Australia to increased snowfall in East Antarctica.

Major Nevada Pipeline Project in Limbo

Plans for a major freshwater pipeline for the Las Vegas Valley hit a legal roadblock.
A ruling from Nevada’s Supreme Court last week has threatened the fate of a massive pipeline project once hailed as critical to Las Vegas’ freshwater supply

Reforms Could Lead to Huge Water Savings for California, Pacific Institute Says

Replacing inefficient appliances in homes and upgrading wasteful agricultural equipment could save one million acre feet of water in California, according to a Pacific Institute report released Monday. These reforms could also save the parched state six to eight million acre feet by 2020.

Relief Organizations In Haiti Prioritize Water Distribution

Aid groups send purification and desalination systems to prevent dehydration, disease in the devastated country.

Relief organizations are rushing to provide clean water to the more than two million inhabitants of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Freshwater Crisis Not Included in Final Copenhagen Accord Despite Calls For Action

The current climate accord negotiated at the United Nations conference in Copenhagen is dangerously inadequate, asserted a team of international environmental organizations. During a talk at the Bella Center, where the climate conference was held, the Global Water Partnership, Global Public Policy Network on Water Management, Stockholm International Water Institute, and the Stakeholder Forum teamed up to warn that stakeholders were about to make a dangerous mistake – not mentioning the freshwater crisis at all in the historic negotiating text.