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The Stream, August 15: Cholera Spreads in Somalia

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A cholera epidemic is spreading in drought- and famine-hit Somalia,…

Supreme Court Ruling Tests Boundaries of Water Supply and Energy Production Along Montana-Wyoming Border

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Montana and Wyoming have taken their transboundary water dispute to the Supreme Court. Wyoming won the first round. But others await in a case that will help decide how much water is really available to generate energy and to produce food in one of the nation’s driest regions, as well as who has access to that water.
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The Stream, August 11: Australia’s Climate Change Debate

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Climate-change wrangling in Australia has descended into death…
Susitna River approved for Dam

Alaska Governor Authorizes $4.5 Billion Dam Project

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Throughout many parts of the United States, old dams are being removed. But in Alaska, the state legislature and the governor want to build what would be one of the nation’s tallest hydroelectric facilities. If built, the 200-meter dam on the Susitna River would be the nation’s fifth tallest.
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The Stream, August 10: Toxins in Drinking Water

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There are about 6,000 toxins that the U.S. Environmental Protection…
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China to Cap Energy Use by 2015 in National Low-Carbon Plan

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The energy target will be the highlight of a document to come later this year, as well as a cornerstone of China's efforts to curb soaring greenhouse gas emissions, which currently stand at a quarter of the global total. Cutting coal consumption will inevitably also cut water use, as coal is China's largest industrial user of water.

Infographic: Wild Rice is Keystone Species for Upper Great Lakes Region

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Wild Rice is an aquatic grass that is harvested annually for…
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The Stream, August 4: The Debt Deal and the Environment

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The debt deal reached by the White House and the U.S. Congress…
Wild rice on the Bad River Reservation in northern Wisconsin is in the floating leaf stage by early June, with a single shoot lying on the water’s surface. This is considered one of the most critical—and and dangerous—stages in the rice’s life cycle. The plants are just beginning to change physiologically from exchanging gases with the water column to exchanging gases with the air. Therefore, they are very susceptible to heavy rains and flooding events that can either rip out the young plants by the roots, or drown them. June 6, 2011.

Where Food Grows on Water: Environmental and Human Threats to Wisconsin’s Wild Rice

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For generations, the upper Great Lakes region has boasted harvests of wild rice, growing in Lake Superior and other watersheds within the basin. But disease, dams, and climate change are now endangering the uncultivated bounty.
UNESCO

United Nations Urges Ethiopia to Suspend Gibe III Dam Construction

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In June, a committee concluded that the construction of the dam endangered the existence of Lake Turkana, the largest desert lake in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Coal Conversion in the Rust Belt: Will It Be a Diamond for Small Ohio River Town?

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An energy company has plans to withdraw water from the Ohio River, the potential site for a coal-to-liquid fuels conversion plant, which would be the first of its kind in the United States and the sixth in the world. Though it will bring jobs to the region, the proposal is facing strong opposition from environmental groups.
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U.S. House Passes Bill to Accelerate Decision on Tar Sands Keystone XL Pipeline

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If the Republican-sponsored bill passes the Democrat-controlled Senate, the final decision could come by the beginning of November.