If you are not happy with the results below please do another search
After a year of deep droughts, worsening pollution, rising sea levels, and floods, water was finally recognized as perilous to nations and the international economy. By Keith Schneider Circle of Blue JOHANNESBURG — In the last days of 2015, the Famine Early Warning System Network, a forecasting tool, reported that the deepest drought experienced by […]
The Global Rundown El Nino, the global phenomenon causing extreme weather from Asia to Africa, has peaked and will likely diminish by the middle of the year. Floods in England last month inundated thousands of properties, and a new report urges the government to tighten restrictions on new buildings in flood-prone areas. Meanwhile, officials in […]
The Global Rundown Extensive flooding occurred in Missouri, killing more than a dozen people. High water levels on a number of major rivers in the Midwest United States could cause trouble for industrial areas in the South, while insurance companies are expecting to pay billions of dollars for flood damages in Britain. Egypt, Ethiopia, and […]
The Global Rundown China is pursuing a lawsuit against a local environmental department over its failure to address pollution, the first time the country has sued a government department in a public interest case. India is considering a law to limit groundwater and surface water use, Australia approved the expansion of a controversial coal terminal […]
Bankruptcies, project shutdowns, regulation, and emission limits curb enthusiasm for fossil fuels. By Keith Schneider, Circe of Blue Images from space of the Kusile and Medupi power stations, under construction in South Africa, show rows of partially completed turbine plants, a pick-up sticks jumble of big tower cranes, and an armada of trucks. The stunningly clear […]
The Global Rundown The city of Flint, Michigan, declared a state of emergency to garner state and federal support to address its lead contaminated drinking water. Nearby Detroit showed little sign of forgiving the debt owed on city residents’ water bills, and water companies in South Africa stopped service to 30 villages that failed to […]
The rate of storage expansion has slowed since the mid-20th century Hoover Dam was not the first dam built in the United States, but the concrete wall across Boulder Canyon, on the Colorado River, was symbolic of an era. As the graphic below shows, reservoir storage capacity in the United States expanded dramatically in the […]
A new and huge city focuses on getting cleaner. Photo © Keith Schneider / Circle of Blue An apt message for a new office park in Shenzhen. In 2014, provincial and national economists valued Guangdong Province’s annual economy at $US 1.1 trillion, which is more than Indonesia’s gross domestic product, and accounts for 10.4 percent […]
The Global Rundown Storms brought extreme rainfall and floods to northwest England over the weekend. Water supplies are dwindling in southern Australia’s reservoirs due to a drought, forcing farmers to have water delivered. South Africa plans to increase water rates next year in an effort to upgrade its water infrastructure. Ten countries in Africa have […]
Supporting deals focus on low-carbon energy, natural resource protection, and disaster risk reduction. Photo courtesy UNclimatechange via Flickr Creative Commons Approximately 25,000 official delegates from countries and organizations around the world are in Paris to negotiate the first legally binding global climate accord. Additional deals aim to make the overarching agreement a reality. Countries, businesses, […]
Better management, research, and funding is needed.
The Global Rundown The World Bank announced a $US 16 billion plan to invest in climate adaptation projects in Africa, and a new report warned that current carbon reduction pledges are too weak and will be costly for developing countries. South Africa’s economy nearly went into recession this year as major industries declined and drought […]
