The Stream, March 15: On Weather Extremes, Land Grabs and Nuclear Power

Climate Change
Australia should brace itself for higher temperatures and more weather extremes, such as intense rainfalls and droughts, according to a government report. The more chaotic weather will be an especially big challenge to miners and farmers, who are already building bigger holding dams for flood waters and altering cropping practices.

About 3.7 million Americans risk being hit by more frequent coastal flooding in the coming decades as sea levels continue to rise because of climate change, The New York Times reported.

Agriculture and Water
The irrigation of Chinese farm fields with water pumped from underground aquifers is responsible for 33 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, the Guardian reported, citing a new study by U.K. and Chinese scientists.

Though millions of hectares of farmland in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America have been leased to foreign countries, sovereign wealth funds and private corporations over the last five years, there have been no legal agreements on how water will be used on the acquired lands, according to a new study from the Stockholm International Water Institute. How will the global rush for agricultural land affect transboundary waters?

Energy
Japan’s former Prime Minister Naoto Kan writes about the Fukushima disaster and the changing view on nuclear power.

6th World Water Forum
Water campaigners have criticized the 6th World Water Forum ministerial declaration for failing to define water and sanitation as human rights, the Guardian reported. Follow Circle of Blue’s updates from the forum in Marseille, France.

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