Peter Gleick: Doing Desalination Wrong: Poseidon on the Public Dole

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Many people believe that desalination of seawater is the ultimate solution to California (and the planet's) water problems. I've written about desalination in previous posts (see here and here), and have made it clear that I love the idea. In theory. And in select locations.

Climate Change Is Water Change — Water Experts React to Barcelona Negotiations

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Climate Change Is Water ChangeWater experts have convened in Barcelona to ensure water management strategies are integrated into global climate change negotiations – so far their efforts have fallen on deaf ears.

India’s Leaders Argue Over River Linking Plan

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Attempts to mitigates drought and climate change in India by connecting its northern and southern rivers.

Rio Grande Threatened by Radioactive Run-off

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Rio Grande Threatened by Radioactive Run-offRadioactive waste is trickling toward New Mexico’s Rio Grande River from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, serving as a grim reminder of the site’s Cold War history, and potentially threatening northern New Mexico's drinking water.

Qatar Food Company Signs $1 billion Deal to Use Sudan Farmland

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Sudan-Farmland-290Qatar furthers the trend of Gulf Arab Countries off-shoring their agricultural production to secure food supplies for its citizens and other populations in the Middle East and Northern Africa. Qatar’s Hassad Foods signed a deal last week, worth potentially $1 billion, to develop 20,000 acres of land in northern Sudan, Reuters reports. Cultivation could expand to 250,000 acres.

More Bad News for Arctic Sea Ice

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More Bad News for Arctic Sea IceA recent expedition to the Beaufort Sea revealed that “multiyear” Arctic sea ice is in effect, nonexistent, Reuters reports. Multiyear ice has “stiffer” composition than first year ice, and makes navigation through Arctic regions extremely difficult, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

Water Experts Prep for UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen

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Copenhagen Experts at an international water and energy conference in Copenhagen this week hope to pool their resources and hone their message for the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference. The three-day water and energy conference is being hosted by the International Water Association (IWA) and runs through today. The London-based non-profit organization brings together global water professionals to develop effective and sustainable approaches of water management.

Peter Gleick: Who Is Stealing California’s Water?

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Someone is stealing our water. Many someones. But who and how much? No one knows today, mostly because the agency responsible for keeping an eye on water rights and use--the State Water Resources Control Board--is blind, deaf, and dumb. Blind, because they don't look. Deaf, because they don't listen to or act on most requests to investigate water rights allocations and use. Dumb, because they don't talk about these issues. "Asleep at the switch," as a colleague describes it.

Climate Change Burden-Sharing Must Not Compromise Developing World’s Growth, India’s PM

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Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Barack Obama earlier this year.Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that developing countries will not compromise their financial growth for climate change, and that, instead, rich countries need to ensure access to clean technologies.

Peter Gleick: Water use in the United States has Leveled off: New Remarkable Numbers Released

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New numbers on total water use in the United States in 2005 have just been released by the U.S. Geological Survey, which does an assessment of water use every five years.

Michigan Group Seeks to Curtail Great Lakes Mining

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A Michigan environmental advocacy group is collecting signatures for a ballot measure to limit mining around the Great Lakes. The group, the Michigan Save Our Water Committee, hopes to collect 400,000 signatures on a statewide petition by May so its question will make the 2010 general election ballot.

U.S. Water Use Declines, But Points to Troubling Trends, Says USGS Report

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U.S. Geological Survey's newest five-year report (2000-2005) reveals positive trends and potential problems for U.S. water use.