Entries by Sarah Haughn

Operators strike against bottled water tax in Fiji

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FIJI – One of the world’s major exporters of bottled water, FIJI Water shut down its plant in protest of what they believe is an illegal 20 cent per liter tax, the Fiji Daily Post reports. The company announced that it has neither sold nor exported any water since July 1. A statement issued by […]

Tenacity and technology: Current freshwater crisis has solutions, Scientific American article explains

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As demand for water skyrockets and droughts abound, an article in the recent Scientific American presents a six-point plan to mitigate the world’s water woes. Water infrastructure must change for the better, it declares. Author Dr. Peter P. Rogers, senior adviser to the Global Water Partnership and professor of Environmental Engineering and of City and […]

Hurricane Dolly diminishes drought in San Antonio

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SAN ANTONIO – A river of rain that swept into San Antonio, Texas on the winded wings of Hurricane Dolly provided enough precipitation for the Edwards Aquifer Authority to lift mandatory drought restrictions, reports the San Antonio Business Journal. Although the lift gives the public more freedom to use water as they please, authorities still […]

Australia Water Commission Considers Scarcity Pricing

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AUSTRALIA – When water is scarce, Australians might face steep charges for usage rather than traditional restrictions imposed during times of drought. The National Water Commission is also considering locational pricing as an option to regulate water consumption, ABC News reports. “The basic mechanism is that as prices go up, people will respond to that,” […]

Tips from Thames: Water company making surplus in time of resource deficit

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ENGLAND – Britian’s largest water company, Thames Water, split around $2 million in bonuses last year, the Guardian announces. “The company’s financial performance had been strong, capital spending had increased and the programme of replacing London’s Victorian-era water mains was accelerating,” expounded the spokeswoman for Thames Water. Read more here. Source: The Guardian

Destroying wetlands could set off “carbon bomb”

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Often eyed for their development potential, wetlands contain 20 percent of the earth’s carbon and nearly 800 billion tons of greenhouse gases, an environment correspondent from Reuters reports. Paulo Teixeira, coordinator of the Pantanal Regional Environment Program in Brazil, called a release of such content “a carbon bomb” that could significantly speed climate change. The […]

Three Gorges exodus complete

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BEIJING – After four years of migration, over 4 million people have been evacuated from their homes to make way for the waters of China’s gargantuan hydroelectric project. At 2,309-meters in length, the dam should provide affordable energy to a rapidly developing nation. Critics, however, point to the negative impacts of human displacement, geologic alteration […]