The Stream, July 30: Report Predicts Future German Water Scarcity Due to Climate Change

Germany
Higher temperatures and shifts in the timing of precipitation will create increasing water scarcity problems in eastern and southern Germany, according to a report by a parliamentary committee, Bloomberg News reported. Water supplies in Germany are also threatened by growing contamination from pesticides and pharmaceuticals.

Hydraulic fracturing poses too great a danger to groundwater and the environment and should not be allowed, according to Germany’s Environment Agency, Reuters reported. The agency is making recommendations to federal lawmakers as they debate rules for fracking and other extractive industries.

Drought
Recurring droughts in Kenya , combined with population growth and more restrictions on the movements of pastoralists, are severely undermining food security in the country, the Guardian reported. A recent report found that many areas of Kenya are suffering a malnutrition rate of more than 20 percent, and in some regions, one in four children is acutely malnourished.

Following a severe drought in the 1990s, a grassroots campaign to think proactively about water led to a 27 percent decline in water use in Zaragoza, Spain, even as the population grew by 12 percent, the Guardian reported. The report is part of a series of articles about smarter urban water use.

United States
Debates about which waterways the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has jurisdiction over are costing the agency time and money and resulting in delayed enforcement of environmental laws, Inter Press Service reported. The EPA’s efforts to define its authority have been met with significant citizen backlash and legal challenges.

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