Entries by Nadya Ivanova

The Stream, February 14: China’s Big Desalination Plans

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China plans to quadruple its desalination capacity by the end of 2015 in an effort to relieve chronic water shortages that threaten to upend its economic growth, China Daily reported. Meanwhile, Jordan is moving ahead with its Red Sea Water Desalination Project, which will extract 1.2 billion cubic meters of water from the sea, of […]

The Stream, February 13: Global Ice Melt

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Climate The global ice melt from 2003 to 2010 resulted in enough water to flood the entire United States in a foot and a half of melted ice, according to researchers from the University of Colorado. The U.K. Environment Agency has warned of a potential drought in England this summer after record low rainfall in […]

The Stream, February 9: Is Shale Gas a ‘Bridge Fuel’?

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A new study into the carbon footprint of shale gas operations adds more fuel to the debate about the technique’s environmental record, the journal Nature reported. According to the report, natural gas operations could leak enough methane to tarnish shale gas’s image as a cleaner alternative to coal. Floods Rivers in Bulgaria and Greece burst […]

The Stream, February 7: Extreme Weather

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Weather Extremes Thousands of Australians have been forced from their homes because of floods that have risen to record levels in some areas of Queensland and New South Wales, Reuters reported. While the coal industry is largely unaffected, agriculture and properties are likely to sustain significant damage. Bad weather has gripped much of Europe as […]

The Stream, February 6: U.S. to Require Disclosure of Fracking Chemicals

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The U.S. government will require natural gas companies to disclose the chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing on public lands, according to draft rules crafted by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Reuters reported. The eastern line of China’s South-North Water Diversion Project, which will transfer water from the Yangtze River Basin to the drought-prone […]

The Stream, February 2: Argentina’s Drought

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Shallow canals and low water levels in Argentina have grounded two bulk carriers, causing significant delays in the country’s major grains terminal, MercoPress reported. Concerns about water levels have prompted Argentina and Uruguay to agree to dredge the Martin Garcia canal deeper as the inevitable expansion of the Panama Canal will give rise to a […]

The Stream, January 31: Mining and Food Production

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Australia’s first law intended to protect prime agricultural land from mining has come into effect in Queensland, ABC reported. Though the law covers about 4 percent of the state’s land, critics say it will only apply to open-pit mining and not cover underground mining, exploration work or coal seam gas (coal-bed methane) production. Australia is […]

The Stream, January 30: U.S. Natural Gas Reserves

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Just how much natural gas is there in the United States? A recent report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration has sharply decreased previous estimates. The New York Times looks at the potential scenarios for the energy industry. The European Union has adequate legislation on shale gas exploration, according to a study commissioned by the […]

The Stream, January 26: The Shale Boom and the Economy

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The International Energy Agency will make shale gas recommendations in its upcoming global energy report this fall, Financial Post reported. U.S. Shale Boom U.S. President Barack Obama pushed support for shale gas drilling and clean energy technology in his State of the Union address. Bloomberg gives the highlights. Meanwhile, North Dakota’s shale oil boom has […]

The Stream, January 24: Boosting Food Production

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How can the world feed 9.5 billion people, the projected global population in 2050? The Guardian looks at a mix of new, somewhat radical scientific solutions: commercial algae farms, insects, desert greening and meat grown in a lab. Modernising agricultural technology is the key to boosting China’s food output, according to China’s Premier Wen Jiabao, […]

The Stream, January 23: Chevron Appeals $18 Billion Amazon Pollution Fine

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Chevron has filed an appeal with Ecuador’s Supreme Court to review a judgment that ordered the U.S. oil company to pay $18 billion in damages for polluting the Amazon, Reuters reported. Water Pollution The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will test the water at about 60 homes in a small town in northern Pennsylvania where residents […]

The Stream, January 19: Shale Gas and the Renewable Energy Sector

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Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found that shale gas production would undermine the still-emerging renewable energy sector in the United States, according to Yale Environment 360. Meanwhile, two groups of scientists at Cornell University are dueling over whether the climate impact of shale gas is bigger or smaller than coal’s, Associated Press […]