RSS Feed
Archive for April, 2015
Over-consumption, climate change threaten food security, water supply: United Nations
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 15th, 2015
Reuters: There will be enough water to produce food for 10 billion people in 2050, but over-consumption and the impact of climate change threaten food security and water supplies in many regions, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Tuesday.
By 2050 some 60 percent more food will be needed to feed the world's people and as farming remains the largest user of water, food must be produced sustainably to ensure future supplies of food and water, the FAO and the World Water Council (WWC)...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Over-consumption, climate change threaten food security, water supply: United NationsRecord low snowpacks in Southwest is bad news for water supplies
Posted by Environmental News Network: Roy L Hales, The ECOreport on April 15th, 2015
Environmental News Network: Nine states report record low snowpacks. A report from the US Department of Agriculture states, “the largest snowpack deficits are in record territory for many basins,especially in the Cascades and Sierra Nevada where single – digit percent of normal conditions prevail. Very low snowpacks are reported in most of Washington, all of Oregon, Nevada, California, parts of Arizona, much of Idaho, parts of New Mexico, three basins in Wyoming, one basin in Montana, and most of Utah.” This region is undergoing...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Record low snowpacks in Southwest is bad news for water suppliesTop 25 Greenest Cities in America
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on April 15th, 2015
EcoWatch: A solid majority, 71 percent of Americans, believe the country “should do whatever it takes to protect the environment,” according to a 2014 poll by the Pew Research Center. This strong public interest in our environment extends to urban living, prompting NerdWallet’s curiosity: Even though we all know that the city we live in influences our transportation and energy choices, how do environmental impacts differ across the U.S.? We explored the data for the nation’s 150 largest cities to shed light...
University of Edinburgh recommended to divest from coal and tar sands
Posted by Blue and Green: Charlotte Malone on April 15th, 2015
Blue and Green: The University of Edinburgh’s central management group has received a recommendation for the educational institution to divest from companies involved coal and tar sands extraction. The divestment campaign is calling on the university to go further and cut out all fossil fuels.
A Fossil Fuel Review Group was established following a public consultation, in which the majority of respondents supported divestment from fossil fuels and arms. The coal and tar sands divestment recommendation will be...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on University of Edinburgh recommended to divest from coal and tar sandsUH says TMT will be last project, plans shut down telescopes
Posted by Sun Times: None Given on April 15th, 2015
Sun Times: The University of Hawaii has made some big promises about the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea, which is stalled over growing concerns about the project. The university, which manages observatory activity on the mountain, says this will be the last project for the area, KHON 2 News reported. “This is the last new site that will be developed,” Gunther Hasinger, director of the university’s Institute of Astronomy, told the news station. In the years to come,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on UH says TMT will be last project, plans shut down telescopesScott Walker slammed climate change denier
Posted by Capital Times: Mike Ivey on April 15th, 2015
Capital Times: Billionaire hedge fund manager and green power advocate Tom Steyer is taking Gov. Scott Walker to task, accusing the Republican presidential hopeful of being a pawn for fossil fuel interests and a climate change denier. In a full page ad running in the Wisconsin State Journal Tuesday, Steyer’s group NextGen Climate blasts the state’s GOP leadership for promoting a “war on science” by banning work on climate change. The group calls out Walker specifically for staying silent on the issue and for...
California drought renews thirst for desalination plants
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 15th, 2015
Reuters: California's 3-year-old drought has thrust seawater desalination into the spotlight as San Diego County, Santa Barbara and other cities push ahead with treatment plants that will soon turn the Pacific Ocean into a source of drinking water.
Desalination has emerged as a newly promising technology in California in the face of a record dry spell that has forced tough new conservation measures, depleted reservoirs and raised the costs of importing fresh water from elsewhere.
But experts warn that...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on California drought renews thirst for desalination plantsSouthern California to cut water wholesale deliveries by 15 percent
Posted by Reuters: Daina Beth Solomon on April 14th, 2015
Reuters: Southern California's water wholesaler voted on Tuesday to cut its deliveries to cities and communities by 15 percent as the state clamps down on water usage amid a devastating four-year drought.
The Metropolitan Water District's plan aims to put cities in the greater Los Angeles area in compliance with an order by Governor Jerry Brown to reduce water use by 25 percent, the first mandatory statewide reduction in California history.
Beginning in July, two-dozen member agencies will be fined...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Southern California to cut water wholesale deliveries by 15 percentIndia builds first ‘smart’ city as urban population swells
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 14th, 2015
Reuters: India's push to accommodate a booming urban population and attract investment rests in large part with dozens of "smart" cities like the one being built on the dusty banks of the Sabarmati river in western India.
So far, it boasts modern underground infrastructure, two office blocks and not much else.
The plan, however, is for a meticulously planned metropolis complete with gleaming towers, drinking water on tap, automated waste collection and a dedicated power supply - luxuries to many Indians....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on India builds first ‘smart’ city as urban population swellsPesticide Use May Threaten Global Freshwater Biodiversity
Posted by Nature World: None Given on April 14th, 2015
Nature World: Pesticide use, while it's been tied to a decline in honeybee populations and other pollinators, now may also threaten global freshwater biodiversity, according to new research.
Specifically, it's insecticides, a type of pesticide that is used to specifically target and kill insects, that are the problem. Despite the fact that insecticide use is regulated, and cannot surpass legally-accepted regulatory threshold levels (RTLs), it appears that they are still causing problems for various ecosystems...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Pesticide Use May Threaten Global Freshwater Biodiversity