Entries by Nadya Ivanova

The Stream, February 14: Rivers in the Sky

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has joined forces with NASA to study the “rivers in the sky,” the narrow regions in the Earth’s atmosphere that transport enormous amounts of water vapor, sometimes enough to flood an area the size of Maryland 1 foot (0.3 meters) deep. Can water become a player in Afghanistan’s stability? […]

The Stream, February 11: Middle East Blue Peace?

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Can the water crisis get Middle Eastern countries to cooperate? A new report for the Swiss and Swedish governments argues that Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Israel will have little choice but work together to solve their impending water problems. Meanwhile, Jordan plans to battle its water scarcity with seawater greenhouses, solar power […]

The Stream, February 10: Hydropower Push

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a draft plan outlining how it will go about examining the risks of shale extraction. Though several American cities have banned hydraulic fracturing over worries for water contamination, drilling for oil and gas is enjoying a bonanza in several U.S. states. Growing opposition to an open pit gold mining […]

The Stream, February 9: Drought in China

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China barely gets mentioned in world food reports despite being the biggest grain producer, but on Tuesday the United Nation’s food agency issued a special alert, warning that a dire winter drought is now threatening China’s wheat crops. And the world’s food security, The New York Time explains. Meanwhile, intense monsoon rains have destroyed at […]

The Stream, February 8: Food for Thought

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Crop shortages are just another ingredient in an explosive mix that might fire up social and political unrest à la Tunisia and Egypt in other parts of the world, the Guardian reports. As the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization announced that food prices hit a record high for a seventh consecutive month, world media are […]

The Stream, February 7: Drilling for Oil, Gas and New Life Forms

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Despite the abundance of water in the Great Lakes, some areas in the region could face severe water shortages as a result of growing demand and approaching climate change, a five-year study by the U.S. Geological Survey says. In some places, like the Chicago-Milwaukee metro area, groundwater levels have plummeted about 1,000 feet and could […]

The Stream, February 4: Revisiting the Bushmen

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An appeals court in Botswana ruled that the Bushmen in the arid Central Kalahari Game Reserve can now drill wells for water, in what is the latest chapter of a painful legal battle for water access against the Botswana government. Fred Pearce, author of “When the Rivers Run Dry,” finds yet another river on the […]

The Stream, February 3: Australia After the Storm

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While a blizzard forced many in the Midwest to hole up in their homes, thousands in northern Australia evacuated ahead of the monster cyclone Yasi that raged Wednesday in the the country’s already waterlogged coastal regions. The damage to crops in Queensland pushed global commodity prices to record highs. And while The Australian published a […]

The Stream, February 1: Weather Extremes and Budget Balances

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While ordinary Chinese flood train stations, bus terminals and airports, and pour out their money to buy presents, decorations and food for the Chinese New Year, media outlets are streaming news about the persistent drought that threatens China’s major wheat-producing regions. But the Year of the Rabbit can open on an optimistic note as well, […]

Report Urges 10-Year Freeze in Mekong Hydropower Projects

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The study responds to the growing private sector interest in the Lower Mekong Basin.

Hydropower Has Uncertain Future in Scotland’s Renewable Energy Ambitions

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Does Scotland’s clean energy transition hold fresh water?