The Stream, March 7: Desalination, Ethanol and Dams

There are about 20 full-scale proposals for desalination plants in California, with several smaller facilities already in operation, but conservationists are up in arms. Reuters reports on some of the powerful interests pulling the strings of California’s water management.

In this article for the Guardian, Peter Bosshard, the policy director of the global environmental and human rights organization International Rivers, argues that China’s rampant dam-building is causing more damage than it fixes. While it will help China cut its carbon emissions, it will destroy the country’s great rivers and biodiversity.

Meanwhile, The Los Angeles Times is weighing the pros and cons of America’s reviving corn-based ethanol industry. As oil prices are soaring worldwide, ethanol production is gaining a fresh momentum, but some scientists warn that it can cause as much environmental damage as burning oil.

Turkey is launching today a water infrastructure project that will transfer 75 million cubic meters of water a year to Northern Cyprus via underwater pipes. The water from the Alakopru Dam will deliver to the arable land on the island and boost the country’s goods market.

A persistent drought is pushing many Somalians closer to the capital Mogadishu and other urban areas, where ongoing conflict threatens the civilian population, a U.N. human rights expert warns. Meanwhile, the post November election crisis in Ivory Coast is causing water woes in much of the country’s rebel areas, where electricity and water have been cut off.

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