The Stream, March 4: Water + Energy

With just a few days before China unveils its development plan for the next five years, should the world’s biggest energy consumer rein in its energy intensity targets to reflect its current reduction capacity or should it pump up its goals? Chinadialogue presents two opposing views.

Indian activists are up in arms over a U.S. mission to privatize water in India’s $50 billion water market. They worry that the commodification of water will come at the expense of the traditional idea of water as a public good and a natural resource, and will sacrifice sustainability and ecological benefits for profits, according to Alternet.

Tensions are also rising between Vietnam and Laos over the proposed construction of the Xayaburi Hydroelectric Power Project in the lower Mekong, UPI reports. While Laos considers it a boon for the energy sector and the economy, Vietnam sees it as an ecological disaster.

Eight months after the devastating floods in Pakistan that affected millions, the country is still struggling to rebuild homes, lives and infrastructure, and to replant the fields and clear the remaining water, the head of the United Nations Development Programme told Radio Australia. Tune in to learn more.

EPA vs. the House Republicans: The simmering tensions over the proposed EPA and other budget cuts continue to dominate debates in the Senate, where many Republicans say that EPA’s regulations on clean air and water hurt U.S. business, and EPA argues the cuts would endanger public health.

And from cuts back to spending. Namibia plans to invest in a second desalination plant in the uranium-producing Erongo region, as well as in a dam near the border with South Africa, Bloomberg reports.

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.