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Archive for February, 2016
The Bangladesh shrimp farmers facing life on the edge
Posted by Guardian: Joanna Lovatt on February 17th, 2016
Guardian: Coastal Bangladesh is an unlikely place for a fresh water crisis. Mighty rivers carve paths through the landscape, all the way from melting Himalayan glaciers in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south. Viewed from above, the countryside is an extensive patchwork of agricultural ponds, glinting in the sunlight.
But farmer Sheikh Zillur Rahman, who complains of skin disease and stomach problems, is adamant there is a problem. “We think it’s the water,” he says, firmly. “It’s too saline.”
Rahman...
South Africa drought pushes 50,000 into poverty: World Bank
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 17th, 2016
Reuters: South Africa's worst drought in over a century has pushed around 50,000 below the poverty line, the World Bank said on Wednesday.
"Around 50,000 people, we estimate, have been pushed below the national poverty line of 501 rand ($31.68) a month because of the drought," Catriona Purfield, program leader for South Africa told a parliamentary committee.
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on South Africa drought pushes 50,000 into poverty: World BankA simple way to prevent African water wars
Posted by SciDevNet: None Given on February 17th, 2016
SciDevNet: The first stage of Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance dam project is fast approaching its end. At 70 metres high, the dam is just 25 metres shy of the target for this stage of the project. Come June, it will be able to store the 14 billion cubic metres (BCM) of river water needed to kick the first turbines into action. [1] With two out of the 16 planned turbines up and running, the dam will generate 700 megawatts of electricity per year. And by late 2017, all turbines will produce 6,000 megawatts of power,...
Earth as sponge? It has absorbed enough water to slow sea level rise
Posted by Christian Science Monitor: Lonnie Shekhtman on February 17th, 2016
Christian Science Monitor: Several regions of Earth that have been battered by rain and floods in the last decade have absorbed enough water to slow global sea level rise by about 20 percent over that time period, scientists say.
And, at least for now, this phenomenon has offset the impact of melting ice sheets, glaciers, and pumping of too much groundwater for irrigation, which also contributes to sea level rise when the water is sprayed on plants, then evaporates into the atmosphere and precipitates back into the ocean...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Earth as sponge? It has absorbed enough water to slow sea level riseEl Niño leaves 100 million people short of food and water worldwide
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 17th, 2016
Guardian: Severe droughts and floods triggered by one of the strongest El Niño weather events ever recorded have left nearly 100 million people in southern Africa, Asia and Latin America facing food and water shortages and vulnerable to diseases including Zika, UN bodies, international aid agencies and governments have said.
New figures from the UN’s World Food Programme say 40 million people in rural areas and 9 million in urban centres who live in the drought-affected parts of Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on El Niño leaves 100 million people short of food and water worldwideInvasive species blamed as second biggest cause of extinctions
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 17th, 2016
New Scientist: Alien invaders are the second biggest cause of species extinctions, according to a new study, but not everyone is convinced.
The role invaders play in wiping out native species has long been a bone of contention for conservationists.
The new study looks at the Red List, a catalogue of extinct and threatened species drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). For species that are completely extinct or extinct in the wild, those who draw up the list identify one or...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Invasive species blamed as second biggest cause of extinctionsClimate activists and pipeline protesters turn to civil disobedience in the Northeast
Posted by Grist: Ben Adler on February 17th, 2016
Grist: Nine climate activists are facing charges in New York state for an act of civil disobedience. One day in November, they blocked the entrance to a parking lot in Montrose, N.Y., where work is being done on a major natural gas pipeline expansion, the Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) Project. Now they plan to defend themselves in court on the grounds that their actions were necessary to protect humanity from climate disruption. Consider it a form of self-defense.
The Montrose 9, as they’re calling...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate activists and pipeline protesters turn to civil disobedience in the NortheastBangladesh sticks with coal power plant project despite major backlash
Posted by Mongabay: None Given on February 16th, 2016
Mongabay: Bangladesh, regarded by many as the nation most vulnerable to the impacts of global climate change, is on track to construct two coal-fired power plants that critics say are dangerously close to the world’s largest single tract of mangrove forest called the Sundarbans. A major driver behind these new power power plants is to increase electricity resources for Bangladesh’s 157 million people and achieve its goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2021. Currently, the country produces 8,000 megawatts...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Bangladesh sticks with coal power plant project despite major backlashContaminated Flint water among most expensive in the U.S.: report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 16th, 2016
Reuters: Residents of Flint, Michigan, one of the poorest cities in the United States, paid some of the nation's highest water bills even as the city failed to treat drinking water properly, leading to lead contamination, according to a report released on Tuesday. The annual water bill in Flint as of January 2015 was $864.32 for a household using 60,000 gallons a year, said Washington-based advocacy group Food & Water Watch. The rate remained high compared with many other cities even after a judge ordered...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Contaminated Flint water among most expensive in the U.S.: reportOcean oases: How islands support more sea-life
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 16th, 2016
ScienceDaily: A 60 year-old theory to explain why seas surrounding islands and atolls are particularly productive has just been proven by a marine biologist from Bangor University's School of Ocean Science, working with a colleague at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Open ocean environments don't appear to host vast communities of life, however, approach a coral reef and you'll inevitably come across an abundance of life, from increased levels of plankton to bird and marine life....