Entries by Andrew Maddocks

Rockefeller Foundation Seeking 2013 ‘Innovation Award’ Nominations

The Rockefeller Foundation’s 2013 nomination portal highlights Circle of Blue, winner of the Centennial Innovation Award last year for our innovative journalism model.

The Stream, January 21: Federal Fracking Regulations Revised by Interior Department

Revised federal rules will guide drilling for oil and gas on public lands. Interior Department officials announced the revision Friday, The New York Times reported, and said the updates will require chemical-use disclosures, methane-emissions control and drilling-wastewater management. Wetlands Investment China is effectively protecting its drinking water through forest, wetland and stream preservation. That according […]

The Stream, January 17: Heavy Monsoon Rains Flood Jakarta

Jakarta sits at a standstill after the heaviest monsoon rains in five years caused widespread severe flooding. Four people were killed and 20,000 evacuated, The Guardian reported, and more rain is forecast for the next few days.

The Stream, January 14: Texas Legislators Focus on Water Issues

Texas’ state water infrastructure was a frequent topic of discussion in the legislature’s opening week. From Gov. Rick Perry’s opening-day speech to an emergency-fund creation proposal, The New York Times reported, water-related construction projects and fees were pitched primarily by the Republican leadership. Shanghai Pollution Residents of two Shanghai districts continue to feel the effects […]

The Stream, January 10: New Rules Tackle Bacteria in U.S. Water Supply

U.S. federal regulations, set to take effect within three years, target pathogens in tap water, revising current rules to better target pathogens that can sicken people. Roughly 155,000 public water systems must comply with the Environmental Protection Agency rules, Scientific American reported, which add tests for E. coli.

The Stream, January 7: Pollution Leads to Connecticut Lawsuits and China Alerts

Jurors in New Hampshire are expected to hear a lawsuit accusing two oil giants of major groundwater pollution. The trial against Exxon Mobil and Citgo, The New York Times reported, is expected to be the most complex and time-consuming in New Hampshire’s history, with 50,000 exhibits, more than 100 lawyers, and 230 witnesses. More than […]

The Stream, January 4: Water, Agriculture Investments on the Rise

Investors funneled more money into the remains woefully underfunded. Detroit, for example, will be $US 84 billion short of the funding it needs to properly upgrade its sewer system over the next eight years, PBS NewsHour reported. Banning the Bottle Concord, NH, became the first U.S. town to highest water content of any ever analyzed. […]

The Stream, December 27: Evaporation to Exacerbate Western Water Shortages

Temperatures nudged higher by climate change will increase evaporation levels from plants and soil in the American west, a new Columbia University study predicted. Higher evaporation rates, the Los Angeles Times reported, will dry out land and reduce water runoff into rivers and streams by about 10 percent in California, Nevada, Colorado River headwaters and […]

The Stream, December 20: Coal — World’s Top Energy Source by 2017

By 2017, coal will supplant oil as the world’s top energy source, the International Energy Agency predicted. In the next five years, the world will increase its coal consumption by roughly the equivalent of the U.S. and Russia’s combined consumption today, driven primarily by growth in China and India. Read a report from Circle of […]

The Stream, December 17: India Faces Severe Warming by 2100

India’s climate outlook in the upcoming century is bleak, according to an analysis of eighteen different climate models reported in The Hindu. Average annual surface temperatures are expected to rise by 4-7 degrees Celsius, part of a warmer world with heat waves severe drought, and major floods, according to a World Bank-sponsored report. Read the […]

The Stream, December 13: Drier Future Ahead for Colorado River-dependent States

A federal report said that demand for Colorado River water will far outpace supply by 2060. Drought, climate change, and population growth, the Los Angeles Times reported, will create a supply-demand gap greater than five times the amount of water Los Angeles consumes every year. Economics and Pricing Chicago nonprofits are one step closer to […]

The Stream, December 10: U.S. Intelligence Analysts: Water, Food, Energy Shortages Will Transform World by 2030

Shortages in water, food, and energy comprise one of four “megatrends” that U.S. government intelligence analysts said would cause radical economic and political changes in the next 18 years. The other trends, Bloomberg reported, include the United States’ fade from dominance, the rising power of individuals over the state, and a booming middle class. U.S. […]