Entries by Codi Kozacek

Oil and Water Don’t Mix in Lake Malawi Border Dispute

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In the search for oil and natural gas, Africa’s third largest lake has become a political battlefield. ESA via Flickr Creative Commons Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa, is one of the African Great Lakes that lies in the Eastern Rift Valley. It is more than 700 meters (2,300 feet) deep at its deepest […]

The Stream, August 17: Has Work Resumed on Laos’ Mekong Dam?

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Despite assurances from Laos that work on its controversial Xayaburi dam on the Mekong River would halt pending further impact studies, the Thai developer building the dam said yesterday that construction has continued, Reuters reported. A drought affecting 11 provinces in Cambodia has damaged 4,811 hectares (11,888 acres) of rice seedlings and threatens 101,365 hectares […]

The Stream, August 15: Difficulty of Cleaning Urban Waterways

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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is starting to tackle Superfund cleanup projects involving heavily polluted sites hidden beneath urban waterways, The New York Times reported. The sites, often contaminated by years of industrial waste dumped into the water, are among the most difficult and expensive to restore, and come with the risk of […]

Food Shortages Loom Again in Somalia, But Refugees Can’t Escape Water Crisis

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Poor rains have led to crop failures in Somalia, and the threat of food price increases could push parts of the country back into famine. Meanwhile, there is little relief for those who fled to neighboring Kenya, as the refugee camps there are facing water shortages.

The Stream, August 10: Rain Collapses Section of China’s Great Wall

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Rains and Floods Continue in Asia Days of heavy rain caused a 36-meter (118-foot) Rain from Typhoon Haikui, meanwhile, has destroyed more than 7,500 homes and 388,000 hectares (958,000 acres) of cropland across four provinces in eastern China, Xinhua reported, citing government sources. Flooding in North Korea isman-made disaster due to poor urban planning and […]

The Stream, August 8: Rice — A Bright Spot for Global Food

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Global affected 20,000 farmers and ruined about 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres) of rice, according to United Press International. Bali’s environment is paying the price of a booming tourism industry, in which filed a lawsuit against Thailand’s state-run electricity company, which plans to buy nearly all of the power produced from Laos’ controversial Mekong River dam […]

Watching World Droughts and Food Stocks

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The world food situation isn’t looking good right now. squeezing agricultural production in Italy’s Po River delta and continue to cause food insecurity in the Horn of Africa (more on that coming up soon at Circle of Blue.) Furthermore, the poor performance of monsoon rains is pushing India toward drought. India relies on the monsoon […]

The Stream, August 3: Floods Wipe Out North Korea’s Drinking Water

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More than 3 million Syrians will require food aid over the next year due to conflict that has caused $US 1.8 billion in losses to the country’s agriculture sector, Bloomberg News reported. The conflict, coupled with a drought, could see grain import requirements reach 5 million metric tons. A drought and heat wave could up […]

The Stream, August 1: Urbanization and Rainstorm Connection

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China China canceled plans for a pipeline that would have dumped wastewater from a paper mill into the sea near Qidong, Reuters reported. Shrinking glaciers will likely put more pressure on northwestern China’s already stressed Tarim River Basin, which gets suspend its quotas for corn ethanol, warning that such quotas will push food prices even […]

The Stream, July 27: Is India Facing Drought?

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A new study found that only 30 percent of Arctic sea ice loss in the last few decades can be attributed to natural causes, meaning the remaining monsoon rains fall 22 percent below average, Reuters reported. Water shortages have contributed to 300 millimeters of rain (11.8 inches), Xinhua reported. Meanwhile, two 35-mile tunnels to divert […]

The Stream, July 25: An Atlas of World Water Risk

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Business An ‘new gold’ for the 21st century, banking on scarcer supplies and an exploding global population to drive demand, MarketWatch reported. North America The Premier of British Columbia has said that the Alaska’s proposed Pebble Mine, which could pollute one of the last pristine wild salmon fisheries in the world. A Mexican town is […]

Meddling With the Environment Puts Rio Tinto on Mock Olympic Podium

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Environmentalists and workers’ unions are angry that Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest mining companies, has been chosen to supply the 2012 Olympic medals. Photo: Eyes on Rights via Flickr Creative Commons Workers from Unite the Union and the International Transport Federation joined workers locked out by Rio Tinto Alcan at the company’s Alma, […]