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Decades of groundwater pumping have left one of the San Luis Valley aquifers in a perilous state. To restore its health — and the foundation of the local economy — valley leaders are developing a plan to pay farmers to fallow up to 16,000 hectares. But with commodity prices soaring, will anyone go for it, or will the state have to step in?
Understanding the interplay between water, food, and energy is crucial for business, policy, data, science, environment, and human welfare. In 2011, the Circle of Blue team brought you exclusive, top-of-the-line reporting from the coal mines of northern China to the deepest intrigue of the Wikileaks documents, from the Texas drought to East Africa’s famine, from […]
The Japanese government plans to open a robot-run super farm in the tsunami-hit Miyagi prefecture, Wired UK reported. The so-called “Dream Project” will feature unmanned tractors and robotic farmers, and will channel back the carbon dioxide produced by the machinery to crops to boost their growth. Canada’s natural resources minister accused opponents of a project […]
United States The release of toxic chemicals into the environment increased 16 percent in the United States during 2010, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s newest annual Toxics Release Inventory, UPI reported. The U.S. EPA may retest water in a Pennsylvania town for contamination from nearby natural gas drilling operations, Reuters reported. The EPA stated […]
News headlines are often dominated by the big, unexpected events — BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, for example, or Japan’s earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear catastrophes in 2011 — but some events come with advance warning. Here is a preview of the water news to look for in 2012. Photo © Aubrey Ann Parker/Circle […]
Poyang Lake, China’s largest freshwater lake, currently has less than 200 square kilometers (77.2 square miles) of water surface area due to drought, Xinhua reported. Record low water levels on the Ganjiang River, which feeds into the lake, could cause water shortages in nearby cities. Israeli companies can use the West Bank’s natural resources for […]
Houston’s ailing pipeline system lost more than 18 billion gallons of water during the height of last year’s Texas drought, Houston Chronicle reported. There are no clear studies on the environmental impacts of Sudan’s multi-billion dollar Merowe Dam on the Nile River, Inter Press Service reported. Scientific American explains the environmental toll of meat consumption. […]
Chicago’s Sewers The sewer district for metropolitan Chicago has set a timetable for a completing a four-decade-old tunnel and reservoir project that will reduce sewer overflows into Lake Michigan, according to an agreement signed in December with the U.S. Justice Department. By 2029 the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District must complete the remaining two reservoirs in […]
Pipeline Expedition The U.S. House of Representatives passed a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut. Included in the deal was a provision requiring President Barack Obama to make a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days. Earlier this year, the president said he would delay any action on the proposed 1,700-mile oil […]
The European Union’s environment committee voted to decrease the supply of emissions allowances in Europe’s emissions trading system in order to increase the price of carbon, EurActiv reported. The EU hopes the price hike will provide an incentive for investment in low-carbon technology. About 87 percent of the world’s population has access to improved drinking […]
The Texas state water plan, released every five years, recommends spending $53 billion on hundreds of water infrastructure projects to ensure an adequate supply through 2060. The state, the Associated Press reports, is relying on municipal governments to carry out much of the plan. But with local budgets pinched and costs rising (the 2007 plan […]
Not all zombies are fictional, and some are potentially really dangerous – at least to our pocketbooks and environment. These include zombie water projects: large, costly water projects that are proposed, killed for one reason or another, and are brought back to life, even if the project itself is socially, politically, economically, and environmentally unjustified.
