Entries by Codi Kozacek

The Stream, May 5: Strong El Niño Predicted with Implications for Water

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Climate There is a more than 70 percent chance that an El Niño weather pattern will develop later this summer, and forecasters are now suggesting it may be one of the strongest in decades, Reuters reported. A climate scientist at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) said that water temperatures in the Pacific […]

The Stream, May 2: Mining Water Recycled for Drinking in South Africa

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Business and Water Scarcity A $US 130 million water treatment plant in Witbank, South Africa is recycling 30 million liters of water a day from a coal mine to supply drinking water for approximately 80,000 people in the city, Bloomberg News reported. The mine and treatment plant are operated by Anglo American, but other mining […]

The Stream, May 1: Train Derailment Spills Oil into Virginia River

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Pollution An unknown quantity of crude oil spilled into the James River in Lynchburg, Va., early this morning, potentially threatening drinking water supplies downstream in Richmond, The New York Times reported. The derailment is the latest accident involving train cars carrying crude oil, an increasingly common method of transporting oil from North Dakota’s Bakken shale […]

The Stream, April 30: Beijing Raises Water Prices

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Water Supply New water rates will go into effect in Beijing next month, more than doubling the rates per cubic meter from about $US 10 to $US 25 for some of the city’s largest industrial and commercial users while increasing residential rates just $US 0.16 per cubic meter, Reuters reported. Government officials hope the increase […]

The Stream, April 29: Flash Floods Affect Thousands in Afghanistan

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Middle East More than 120 people were killed and at least 40,000 were affected by flash floods in six provinces across Afghanistan this past week, AlertNet reported. The floods were caused by heavy rainfall in the region, which is vulnerable to seasonal floods. Environmental issues have been largely absent from political agendas in Pakistan, despite […]

The Stream, April 28: Island Is First in World Fully Powered by Wind & Water

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Infrastructure A small island in Spain’s Canary Islands chain plans to become the first in the world to be completely powered by wind energy and hydropower, Phys.org reported. By this summer, the island will power its cars, households, businesses and desalination plant by using wind turbines and a hydroelectric system to store excess wind power. […]

The Stream, April 25: Chile Looks to End Privatization of Water

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Water Suppliers Chile’s president, Michelle Bachelet, is attempting to pass a bill that would restore water as a purely public resource, replacing laws passed in 1981 that allow water privatization, the Santiago Times reported. Activists say that water privatization is hurting some of Chile’s poorest residents. Rain storms and state intervention have relieved pressure on […]

The Stream, April 24: Andes Mining Projects Could Threaten Water Supplies

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Mining Large gold mining projects proposed for the Colombian Andes pose threats to unique páramo ecosystems, and subsequently water supplies for the country’s capital and other cities, Yale Environment 360 reported. Mining directly in the páramo is banned in Colombia, but conservationists worry that mining nearby could cause cyanide contamination of water supplies. Global mining […]

The Stream, April 23: First U.S. City to Directly Recycle Wastewater for Drinking in Texas

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Africa Ethiopia decided not to accept financial help from Egypt for funding the Grand Renaissance dam on the Nile River, Reuters reported. The decision gives Ethiopia complete control over the controversial hydropower project, which Egypt has opposed due to concerns about water availability downstream. Seismic testing for oil is slated to begin April 26 in […]

The Stream, April 22: India Predicting Normal Monsoon Despite El Niño

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India’s government is predicting a normal monsoon season this year, with rains at 96 percent of a 50-year average, Bloomberg News reported. The possibility of an El Niño weather pattern forming this summer is not expected to affect the rains, though it has caused droughts in the past. China The quality of groundwater in China […]

The Stream, April 21: Cholera-Contaminated Water Is Haiti’s Unresolved Crisis

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Water Contamination Cholera in Haiti’s waterways is a persistent and neglected crisis nearly four years after United Nations peacekeepers allegedly introduced the disease following the devastating 2010 earthquake, The New York Times reported. Clinics treating those affected by the disease have been closing, and large funding shortfalls are leaving communities without necessary water purification tablets […]

The Stream, April 18: China Report Says One-Fifth of Farmland Polluted

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Pollution Heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium and nickel are some of the most common pollutants contaminating approximately 19 percent of arable land in China, according to an official report, The Wall Street Journal reported. The contaminants are deposited in the soil by water and air, and some of the most polluted areas are in […]