Entries by Nadya Ivanova

The Stream, April 26: The Water-Energy-Food Nexus

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Food has quickly become the hidden driver of world politics, Foreign Policy writes, and the world is losing its ability to soften the effect of its resource shortages. How do food, energy, population and water policies fit the big puzzle? Saudi Arabia, one of the countries most at risk of water and grain shortages, has […]

The Stream, April 25: In Hot Water

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The Financial Times reports on the growing local opposition to the Indian government’s plans to build a nuclear power installation on its western coast. Villagers fear that radioactivity and hot water from the facility will damage agriculture, fishing and health. Meanwhile, Japan created a no-go zone around its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. South Africa […]

The Stream, April 22: Water Pollution Accidents

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China’s water sector, the world’s third largest, with an estimated value of $48 billion, is attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from multinational and domestic firms, a Reuters analysis says. More than half of China’s water needs treatment before it can be used in households, farming or industrial operations. Pumping From the Red […]

The Stream, April 21: Blowin’ in the Wind

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Reuters published a lengthy report on China’s plans to unlock its reserves of shale gas, particularly in the energy-rich Sichuan Basin. A recent report by the U.S. Energy Information Agency estimated that China holds the world’s biggest shale gas reserves, significantly higher than the United States, which is experiencing a shale gas boom. But does […]

The Stream, April 20: Damming the Rivers

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Despite international pressure to freeze the development of the controversial Xayaburi Dam on the Lower Mekong, energy-hungry Laos is determined to forge ahead with the construction of the $3.5 billion hydropower project, which is expected to generate 8 percent of Southeast Asia’s power by 2025, Reuters reports. Chinadialogue gives more background information. Damming the Rivers […]

The Stream, April 19: Power Cuts, Golf Booms

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Despite promises to curb power rationing, much of China is on the brink of the worst energy shortages for years, as insufficient coal supply, rising coal prices and waning hydropower capacity are set to affect power output before the summer peak. Do the blackouts signal deeper structural problems for China’s energy future? This commentary for […]

The Stream, April 18: The Water Factor

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Environmental groups are up in arms over the State Department’s updated environmental analysis of a proposed oil pipeline project from Alberta, Canada, to Texas. The study drew similar conclusions to a draft environmental impact statement issued by the State Department last year, which said that the controversial project “would result in limited adverse environmental impacts […]

The Stream, April 15: Regulating the Natural Gas Industry

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Cuba’s worst drought in 50 years has depleted reservoirs by about 80 percent and forced the government to deliver water in Havana with trucks, UPI reports. The Cuban capital’s water supply infrastructure is in need of a major overhaul, as 70 percent its water pipes are leaking. Shale Gas Several Democratic senators have urged the […]

The Stream, April 14: Shale Gas

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The French government will support parliamentary motions to revoke shale gas drilling permits in the country. The government has already imposed a freeze on exploration of shale gas until June pending study of the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing. Meanwhile, public opposition is delaying ExxonMobil’s plans to drill for shale gas in Germany. This commentary […]

The Stream, April 11: The Fracking ‘Battleground’

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Peru, the world’s third-largest copper producer, has rejected an environmental study for a controversial copper mining project. Local farmers are up in arms over concerns about the surrounding area’s water supplies, Reuters reports. South Africa Shale gas exploration is causing a public outcry at South Africa’s parched Karoo region. Several petrochemicals companies are eyeing the […]

The Stream, April 7: America’s Abandoned Gas and Oil Wells

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Foreign Affairs analyzes why food subsidies have prevented and provoked revolutions in the Middle East. How did rising grain prices break the Arab world’s “democracy of bread”? America’s abandoned wells This week, ProPublica reports on the environmental impact of America’s hundreds of thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells. According to studies, the wells can […]

The Stream, April 6: Africa’s GM Food Trials

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Rising population and chronic water shortages are forcing Jordan, one of the world’s driest countries, to pursue unconventional water strategy that is “environmentally unfriendly” and “chaotic,” according to experts. Jordan is considering tapping into the ancient Disi aquifer — despite concerns about high levels of radiation — and exploring the feasibility of building a controversial […]