The Stream, June 4: Water Riot in India

Conflict
A Hindu youth who washed himself with water meant for food preparation for Muslims leaving Friday prayers set off riots between the two religious groups in India’s most populous state. The Indian Express reports that 4 people were killed in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh.

Aid workers in Africa’s Sahel worry that the tens of thousands displaced by a political crisis in Mali will stress resources in the neighboring countries that have welcomed them. ClimateWire reports that the circumstances show the connections between water, food, climate change and conflict.

Research
Water with arsenic levels at the federal limit of 10 parts per billion caused developmental defects in the offspring of pregnant and lactating mice, according to research from Woods Hole and Dartmouth University. Though the tests were done on mice, the researchers told Fox News that they are seeing more and more evidence that the federal drinking water standard for arsenic might be too high to adequately protect human health.

IPS News spoke with Achim Steiner, the executive director the the U.N. Environment Program, about environmental protection, the upcoming Rio +20 conference, and putting a price tag on nature.

A research fellow with the Stockholm Environment Institute talks about the tools his organization is developing to help countries manage the water-energy-food challenge.

On Saturday, ground was broken on the first phase of the US$1 billion Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project. When completed, the 450-kilometer (280-mile) pipeline will deliver water to an estimated 250,000 people.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton