The Stream, June 25: Human Rights Groups Ask UN to Stop Detroit Water Shutoffs

Human rights groups have sent a report to the United Nations arguing that water shutoffs by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department are violating the human right to water, the Detroit News reported. Half of the city’s water accounts are overdue, and the city has so far shut off 4,500 of the 46,000 customers that received shut-off notices.

Agriculture
The flow of agricultural products from dry, irrigated crop regions to markets in wetter regions of China is exacerbating water scarcity, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, BBC News reported. The report identified several areas and crop types that could be irrigated more efficiently.

Pesticides are so widely and excessively used that they are a threat to beneficial insects that are crucial for food production, says a new report by an international group of scientists that form The Task Force on Systemic Pesticides, the Guardian reported. The study asserts that pesticides in soil and water are killing insects like bees, worms and dragonflies.

Climate Change
Rising sea levels are increasing erosion in the Ganges Delta, threatening Bangladesh’s Bhola Island and its population of 1.7 million, Reuters reported. Officials plan to begin monthly sonar surveys to check on large sandbags that are shoring up the island’s land, which is only 2 meters above sea level at its highest point.

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