Entries by Christian Thorsberg

HotSpots H2O: Argentina’s Paraná River Drops to 77-Year Low, Resulting in Economic Loss and Wildfires

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By Christian Thorsberg, Circle of Blue The Paraná River stretches through the heart of central South America, arising in Brazil and extending over 3,000 miles through Paraguay and Argentina. The continent’s second-longest river behind the Amazon, the Paraná is a workhorse, supporting rainforest diversity, Indigenous ancestral homes, and Argentina’s economy: over 80 percent of the […]

HotSpots H2O: Indigenous Communities, Biodiversity Along Brazil-Peru Border Threatened by Highway Construction

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Christian Thorsberg, Circle of Blue Canopied by rubber trees and sprawling vines with apple-sized nuts, Acre state in northwest Brazil frames earth’s portrait of natural beauty. To the north and west, montane forests sweep atop the Andes, the mountain home of thousands of endemic animal species, not least endangered tapirs and giant armadillos. Eastward, across […]

HotSpots H2O: Kazakhstan’s Lake Balkhash Is Disappearing, Continuing a Trend of Desiccation in Central Asia

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In 2021, over 3 million people are feeling the effects of a hydrological vanishing act: the shrinking of the blue waters of Central Asia’s largest lake into a dehydrated landscape of greens and browns.

HotSpots H2O: Anishinaabe Activists and Allies Resist Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline, a Project that Threatens Wetlands and Ignores Treaty Territory

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In northern Minnesota, the new Line 3 corridor, proposed by the Canadian oil company Enbridge, cuts directly through wetlands and waterways that are already struggling in unusually dry conditions.

HotSpots H2O: Farmer-Herder Violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt Persists, a Consequence of Drought and Climate Change

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Conflict in Nigeria’s central state is a consequence of extreme heat and worsening droughts, byproducts of climate change.

HotSpots H2O: The Toto, One of the World’s Smallest Ethnic Groups, Face Water Shortages Along the India-Bhutan Border

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Christian Thorsberg, Circle of Blue The Himalayan foothills of West Bengal are home to some of the world’s most precious and resilient wildlife. Rare birds take sanctuary in the forests lining this eastern Indian state, a birdwatcher’s paradise; Bengal tigers and Indian gaur roam free, few in number  yet breathtaking in real form; and an […]

HotSpots H2O: When War Destroys Water Systems, Children Suffer the Most

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When water and sanitation networks are destroyed during armed conflict, children are harmed the most, according to a UN agency report.

HotSpots H2O: Israeli Airstrikes Intensify Palestine’s Water, Humanitarian Crises

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Christian Thorsberg, Circle of Blue In late April, as Ramadan prayers were drawing to an end near Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate, scores of Israeli nationalists chanting “Death to Arabs” disrupted the religious gathering and instigated a night of violent attacks against Muslim worshippers. Israeli police sprayed heavy jets of skunk water–a foul-smelling, murky concoction described as […]

HotSpots H2O: Amid American West Megadrought, Montana’s Reservoirs Are Running Dry

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An extreme megadrought is sweeping across the American West, a consequence of climate change that is threatening urban water allotment, indigenous water security, and ecosystem balance.