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Archive for March, 2011
Cochabamba Still Thirsty
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 22nd, 2011
Inter Press Service: There is still no apparent solution to the unsatisfied demand for drinking water in Cochabamba, 11 years after this central Bolivian city made international headlines with a popular uprising that halted the privatisation of water service.
There is still no apparent solution to the unsatisfied demand for drinking water in Cochabamba, 11 years after this central Bolivian city made international headlines with a popular uprising that halted the privatisation of water service.
Only 326,504 people,...
Peak Water Has Already Come and Gone
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 22nd, 2011
Inter Press Service: Canadian Kevin Freedman is celebrating World Water Day Tuesday by living on 25 litres of water a day, instead of the North American average of 330 litres per day. And he has enlisted 31 others in his "Water Conservation Challenge" to go water- lean, using just 25 litres per day for cooking, drinking, cleaning, and sanitation for the entire month of March.
"People in Canada and the U.S. have no idea how much water they use or how much they waste," Freedman told IPS.
"Although people live on...
Population growth, climate change raising odds of war over water, forum hears
Posted by Winnipeg Free Press: None Given on March 22nd, 2011
Winnipeg Free Press: The potential for violent conflict to erupt over fresh water is rising as the global population grows against a backdrop of climate change, an experts forum heard Tuesday.
Until now, speakers said, disputes over water have typically led to co-operation between affected parties but higher demand and lower supplies could alter that pattern for the worse.
"Water resources in themselves have rarely been the sole source of conflict or war," said Bob Sandford, a Canadian water-policy expert. "Unfortunately,...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Population growth, climate change raising odds of war over water, forum hearsUN calls for action on water, slums crisis in cities
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 22nd, 2011
Independent: The world needs to act immediately to tackle an urban crisis of growing city slums that lack water and sanitation, a top UN official warned Tuesday on World Water Day.
"We have a crisis, we must recognise that," Joan Clos, UN Habitat executive director, told an event marking the day.
"We need to act now. This is a common action at the same time against the slums and against lack of water and sanitation. It's the same problem, it's the same solution: urban planning."
Targets set by the UN...
UN wants more access to help with water in parched Somalia
Posted by AlertNet: None Given on March 22nd, 2011
AlertNet: A Somali family sits outside their hut in Medina Xoosh district in Mogadishu January 12, 2011. REUTERS/Feisal Omar
NAIROBI (AlertNet) - The United Nations appealed on Tuesday for greater humanitarian access to communities in Somalia, where a severe drought is having a devastating effect on a population already weakened by two decades of armed conflict.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) used World Water Day to urge warring sides in the semi-arid Horn of Africa...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on UN wants more access to help with water in parched SomaliaTexas agency: Gas driller didn’t contaminate water
Posted by Associated Press: Ramit PLUSHNICK-MAST on March 22nd, 2011
Associated Press: Texas regulators determined Tuesday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was wrong when it concluded a gas driller had contaminated domestic water wells in North Texas.
The unanimous decision by the Railroad Commission of Texas marked the latest battle between state agencies and the EPA in a long, drawn out war that has evolved from disputes over environmental issues into a fierce debate about states' rights. The Railroad Commission blasted the EPA, accusing it of shoddy testing methods and...
Australia: World watching plans to restore health to wetlands and rivers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 22nd, 2011
Sydney Morning Herald: RIVERS and wetlands will bear the brunt of climate change and governments around the world are failing to manage many of the more vulnerable areas properly, says a series of new papers published today.
Australia's Murray-Darling river system and the Coorong wetland at its western edge are among the world's most telling examples of damaged rivers, and the conservation plans being considered by the federal government could have wide influence, say several reports in the journal Marine & Freshwater...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Australia: World watching plans to restore health to wetlands and riversPopulation, climate likely to raise water diversions to Front Range
Posted by Grand Junction Free Press: None Given on March 22nd, 2011
Grand Junction Free Press: Population, climate likely to raise water diversions to Front Range Grand Junction Free Press A newly released report on water in the Roaring Fork Valley area warns that population growth in Colorado's Front Range counties, and the effects of worldwide climate change, already have Front Range water providers "scrambling to secure additional sources of water." And one key source of that water may well be additional transmountain diversions, or improvements to existing facilities built decades ago,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Population, climate likely to raise water diversions to Front RangeGerman nuclear panel to probe cooling at plants
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 22nd, 2011
Reuters: Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen said on Tuesday that Germany's Nuclear Safety Commission will focus on issues including emergency power supply and cooling systems when it reviews all the country's atomic power stations. Chancellor Angela Merkel also said Germany's state premiers would meet on April 15 to discuss an accelerated move to renewable energy following the Japan crisis. Merkel and Roettgen were speaking after they met chiefs of the five states which host atomic power stations for...
World Water Day: Conference discusses urban water challenges
Posted by Guardian: Lee Middleton on March 22nd, 2011
Guardian: Half of the world's population now lives in cities, with 3 million urban arrivals every week. In the next two decades, nearly two-thirds of humanity will be living in cities, delegates at a three-day event held in Cape Town to mark World Water Day (WWD) were told.
This year, WWD is focusing on the provision of water in urban areas.
Over a thousand representatives from more than 30 organisations gathered in South Africa to discuss the urban water challenges and opportunities facing the world...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on World Water Day: Conference discusses urban water challenges