Entries by Sarah Haughn

Leave it to Beaver: Arkansas Water Department Warns About Imposters

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As water grows increasingly precious to the southwestern United States, petty criminals are exploiting the crisis for profit. Residents of Fayetteville, Arkansas have been warned their water is not safe to drink. The information, however, does not come from the Beaver Water District officials. Scammers, imitating the district water testers, have recommended homeowners install expensive […]

Water Management is a Money Issue, World Bank tells China

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In a recently released report, the World Bank applauds China for recognizing its impending water scarcity crisis. It also suggests a series of solutions the nation should consider to improve the quality and availability of the resource. Among them, the Bank suggests that China’s problems might be solved through raising prices for water. According to […]

Understanding Zimbabwe: An Interview with Professor Timothy Burke

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In an interview with Circle of Blue, Swarthmore history professor Timothy Burke discusses the land, race and water politics behind Zimbabwe’s current Cholera crisis. He explains the complex history of colonization and corruption that caused the nation’s recent collapse, and explores possible roles the West may or may not play in solving the problem. A […]

The World’s Water: Hard Facts Point Toward the Soft Path

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Experts say water crises can be averted with better management, changes in attitudes by Sarah Haughn Circle of Blue On the horizon rests a dark cloud. It may or may not bring soothing rain. In California, experts at the Pacific Institute are doing their part to ensure it does. By most forecasts, the future looks […]

Thirsty Mauritanians Have Miles to Go before They Drink

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BOURA, Mauritania — In the face of desertification, the landscape of the coastal West African nation becomes more pockmarked by the day. Residents are intensifying their search for sources of water. When makeshift wells run dry, Mauritanians walk as far as 90 kilometers to find water, reports IRIN News. Digging new wells can be dangerous. […]

Rocky Mountain Oil Range: Is Water for Shale?

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The West harbors beneath its jagged peaks three times more oil than Saudi Arabia. As oil companies pray for permission to tap, officials worry the Colorado River cannot provide water enough to win the oil earthward. The oil is currently embedded in shale. When the shale heats, out seeps kerogen — a substance that can […]

Shrinking Sierra Snowpack Spells Another Dry Year for California

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The first measure of moisture in the Sierra Snowpack this season does not bode well for West Coast agriculture. A typical reading this time of year reaches around 12 inches. The recent statistic is a mere 10 inches. “Over the last two weeks, the snow has been good and there have been some strong storms. […]

Evaporation Station: Laser to Monitor Farm Water Use

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LOS ANGELES — Drop by vaporous drop, the amount of water farmers lose through evaporation can be significant. But a scientist and his students intend to measure this amount exactly, using a telescope-like laser called a large aperture scintillometer to monitor the losses. Jan Kleissl and his students from the University of California-San Diego believe […]

Dangerous Bedfellows: Cholera Stricken Zimbabwe Braces for Malaria Outbreak

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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — In Zimbabwe, the Cholera crisis has claimed more than 1,500 lives. Now aid workers fear Malaria brought on by intense seasonal rains. With heavy precipitation comes stagnant water — ideal breeding conditions for the mosquito that transmits the disease. With nearly 30,000 people suffering from Cholera in a country economically alienated […]

Opinion: Is There a Right to Water?

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Does water belong to the life-protecting litany of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights? If water is considered a human right, what does that mean for private companies — such as Veolia or Suez? According to an editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle, water’s journey to the U.N. General Assembly has been anything but […]

Could Fixing the Pipes Fix the Pockets of 400,000 Unemployed?

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Could money and maintenance problems in the United States manage their own solutions? The nation’s economy is struggling. Its infrastructure balances on the brink of collapse. Many of its citizens are unemployed. According to the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the federal government’s stimulus package should be spent on repairing these problems, or at least […]