The Stream, December 9: Farming with Less Water

The United States Environmental Protection Agency linked hydraulic fracturing to groundwater pollution for the first time Thursday after finding chemicals used in fracking in a Wyoming aquifer, Bloomberg News reported. Some companies that use fracking to extract underground natural gas deposits dispute that the drilling method was the source of the contamination.

Farmers in California are finding innovative ways to conserve and manage water, a Pacific Institute report found. A collection of video interviews and an interactive database map show how agriculture is adapting to water scarcity.

The European Investment Bank spent €5 billion ($6.6 billion) to finance fossil fuel projects in 2010, almost two times the amount it spent in 2007, Bloomberg News reported, citing a statement from CEE Bankwatch Network.

The record-setting weather disasters that occurred in the United States in 2011 are likely a glimpse of the future, according to a new analysis by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Climate Progress reported.

The shale gas industry will use safer practices and cause less environmental harm once large energy companies take over work from the smaller operations that are currently in control, big oil company bosses told the World Petroleum Congress, according to Reuters.

Low-level radioactive water from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant may be released into the Pacific Ocean by March, MarketWatch reported. Tanks at the plant are reaching their capacity for storing the water.

As global climate talks wrap up in Durban, South Africa, the United States denies that it wants to delay a new international climate agreement, AlertNet reported. While many countries, including the European Union, want a new deal by 2015, the U.S. is hesitant to accept a set timeline.

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.

Codi Kozacek

A news correspondent for Circle of Blue based out of Hawaii. She writes The Stream, Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends. Her interests include food security, ecology and the Great Lakes.
Contact Codi Kozacek