The Stream, December 17: California Is 42 Cubic Kilometers of Water in the Red

The Global Rundown

Scientists have calculated that it would take more than the amount of water California uses in a single year to make up for water lost during the drought. The World Bank just approved a loan to Kenya for improved water access, and British Columbia just approved a controversial hydropower project. Oil is now worth less than bottled water, and an aerial photo of Brazil’s drought resembles a woman screaming.

“Words can’t express what it feels like to view a landscape as bleak and disturbing as the one in this photo. In the four years I’ve lived in Brazil, I’ve seen many extraordinary and terrifying things, but the current drought surrounding Sao Paulo for the past nine months surpasses all.” – Nacho Doche, Reuters photographer, on his photograph of a dried-up Brazilian reservoir, which he later noticed resembles a woman screaming. (BBC)

By The Numbers

$US 200 million Size of a World Bank loan to Kenya which will be used to finance a new dam and provide improved water access to residents in Kenya’s coastal region. Bloomberg News

$US 7.55 Billion Cost of a 1,100 megawatt hydroelectric dam approved Tuesday by British Columbia. The controversial dam has been on the table for more than 30 years.  Reuters

Science, Studies, And Reports

Scientists have calculated that approximately 42 cubic kilometers of water is needed to replenish what has been lost during California’s three year drought. Data from NASA’s GRACE satellite was used to make the calculation, the first of its kind. NASA

On The Radar

Falling prices have now officially made oil worth less than (bottled) water. A liter of oil now costs roughly 40 percent as much as a liter of Evian natural mineral water. The Independent

 Reuters photographer Nacho Doce took an aerial photo of one of Brazil’s ailing reservoirs back in November – and then later realized that the dried-up landscape resembled the face of a screaming woman. Brazil is currently suffering its worst drought in 80 years. BBC