World Water Week 2017 this month brought together experts and decision makers to debate solutions to a growing global clean water crisis. DR MARK FLETCHER told the conference that the circular economy - and systems thinking - must be part of the solution
… a circular economy can help prevent a global water crisis Dr Mark Fletcher | 29th August 2017 News Water Drought Flood Crisis Sustainable Systems allotment-2520218_960_720.jpg World Water Week 2017 this month brought together …
In its second consultation for the EDF's planned Sizewell C nuclear power station there's a strange omission, writes Peter Lux: that the plant would use 1,600 m3 of mains water a day, adding to stresses on important local wetlands like RSPB's Minsmere reserve. The omission is not just strange - it's also illegal and could make the entire exercise invalid.
… to mention 600,000 m3 a year of mains water Peter Lux | 23rd January 2017 Activism Nuclear Energy Water Regulation UK … that the plant would use 1,600 m3 of mains water a day, adding to stresses on important …
Along the Rimac River Valley of Peru, local farmers have taken the problem of water security into their own hands and embarked on a combined reforestation and water storage project, which not only provides safe water but has empowered the local community and, thanks to improving the mountainside soil stability, has reduced the risk of devastating landslides. FOREST RAY reports
… Securing a Future With Water Along Peru's Rimac River Valley Forest Ray | 20th July 2017 News Water Security Peru Reforestation Community … Peru, local farmers have taken the problem of water security into their own hands and …
Water resilience is among the most important discussions at the COP23, taking place in Bonn. This is particularly true for the communities living in the Pacific Islands. But also for all countries facing floods and famine in the decades to come. MARK FLETCHER calls for global action.
… to understand the importance of building water resilience Mark Fletcher | 7th November 2017 Comment COP23 Climate Change Water Resilience Flooding Droughts Pacific Islands Arup 405669.jpg Water resilience is among the most important …
Holidaymakers and swimmers who visit the English coastline can enjoy exceptionally clean sand and sea, reports BRENDAN MONTAGUE.
… English beaches reach high water mark in cleanliness tests Brendan … | 14th November 2017 News Beach Seaside Water Environment Agency 405708.jpg … MONTAGUE. English beaches have passed water quality tests again this year - with …
A new study in Pennsylvania, USA shows that fracking is strongly related to increased mortality in young babies. The effect is most pronounced in counties with many drinking water wells indicating that contamination by 'produced water' from fracking is a likely cause. Radioactive pollution with uranium, thorium and radium is a 'plausible explanation' for the excess deaths.
… Fracking kills newborn babies - polluted water likely cause Oliver Tickell | 25th April 2017 News Fracking Health Water Pollution USA Science judys-water-cut.jpg A new study in Pennsylvania, USA …
The winner of the 2017 Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy and Water - announced today (12th June, 2017) - is Futurepump, which manufactures an affordable, highly efficient and portable solar irrigation pump aimed at the millions of smallholder farmers in Kenya and around the world, writes CHHAVI SHARMA
… 2017 Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy and Water Chhavi Sharma | 12th June 2017 Ethical Living Ashden Award Energy Water Sustainability Irrigation futurepump.jpg … 2017 Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy and Water - announced today (12th June, 2017) - is …
The 2011 Fukushima catastrophe is an ongoing disaster whose end only gets more remote as time passes. The government is desperate to get evacuees back into their homes for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but the problems on the ground, and in the breached reactor vessels, are only getting more serious and costly, as unbelievable volumes of radiation contaminate land, air and ocean.
… 2017 News Nuclear Energy Japan Health Finance Water Radiation fuk-4-iaea-cut.jpg The 2011 … into the open skies, contaminated water is still leaking continuously into the … Pacific ocean, and partially decontaminated water is being dumped into the ocean. All …
A 'Friend of the Sea' Dutch-owned trawler certified to supply 'sustainably caught' shrimp to the US and EU was arrested in Liberia after operating in an an area reserved for artisanal fishers, writes Peter Hammarstedt. The vessel, which had no licence and lacked the turtle excluders required by law, was discovered by the crew of Sea Shepherd's 'Bob Barker' in a joint mission with the Liberian Coast Guard to clamp down on rampant illegal fishing.
… trawler for illegal fishing in Liberian waters Peter Hammarstedt Sea Shepherd | 26th … offshore patrol vessel operating in Liberian waters, under the direction of the Liberian … vessel, making their first arrests in waters that had not been patrolled for …
The women said they had travelled from Leeds for fear of impact on water supplies and treatment after discovering that waste water from the Cuadrilla site would be travelling to the Knostrop treatment works in Leeds.
… women block fracking site over climate and water fears Brendan Montague | 19th July 2017 … Fracking Climate Change Direct Action leeds-water-action-10_web.jpg The women said they … travelled from Leeds for fear of impact on water supplies and treatment after discovering …
Donald Trump's scheme to rebuild US infrastructure could be among the world's greatest ever financial heists, writes Pete Dolack. He has chosen the most expensive, anti-democratic way to do the job, through the mass privatization of priceless public assets - sticking users and taxpayers for exorbitant charges for decades to come, while banks and speculators reap the profits.
… News Finance Politics USA UK Germany France Water goldman-sachs-cut.jpg Donald Trump's … actors into rebuilding Flint, Michigan's water system, for example, is to give them a … private providers (such as building lead-free water pipes in Flint, MI)? "If we assume tax …
How do you solve the problem of ‘retired' mine pits aka huge abandoned holes in the ground? Turning them into lakes is a popular solution but maybe not the best one says ANICA NIEPRASCK who should know since she grew up in the Lausitz region of Germany in a community surrounded by these massive, dangerous and polluting land holes
… massive mines around our house fill with water, I got excited about the prospect of … mines, the process of filling them with water has been very slow. Many have already … This is in a region of Germany with plenty of water. The huge pits could be filled with …
The disposal of human faces from the world's megacities is expensive and hazardous to health. But new technologies have emerged that mean we can use what we flush away to make electronic goods, fuel our buses and even bring huge health benefits, discovers KURT HOLLANDER.
… burst pipes, aguas negras (literally, black waters) constantly escape from the sewage … beneath Mexico City, seeping into the well water used to supply homes throughout the … forced to dredge the constantly clogged waterways. The fresh water lakes that …
In the second part of his WITNESS blog investigating the dangers of increasing ocean acidification, CONOR PURCELL learns that increase rates are already 10 times higher than at any time in the last 55 million years which, naturally, does not bode well for all ocean ecosystems
… a range of marine ecosystems, including cold water corals; a much less discussed variety compared to their warm water cousins. According to Dr Tríona … : "The Rockall Trough hosts an array of cold water coral ecosystems, interacting with a …
London-listed copper giant Antofagasta has been entangled in scandals in Chile involving water depletion, dangers to local communities, corruption of national politics and environmental contamination, write Ali Maeve & Liam Barrington-Bush. Yet the London Stock Exchange remains silent. Following the company's AGM last week, a new London Mining Network report puts their actions and operations into the spotlight.
… June 2017 Ethical Living Chile Mining Finance Water Pollution UK Corporations … been entangled in scandals in Chile involving water depletion, dangers to local communities, … further. A scientific report on the local water supplies near the mine by a respected …
The building of the proposed Chutka nuclear plant in the tribal-dominated Mandla district in central India will mean the local population will be displaced - for the second time. It will also contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions. Faced with injustice and threats to their safety and livelihoods, villagers have started a two-month long campaign. KUMAR SUNDARAM reports.
… 30 years ago, which is now all submerged in water. "We cleared the forest and built our … resistance. This plant would divert water from the dam. After denying the … dense forests, scenic hills and beautiful water bodies. Besides the 3 villages – Chutka, …
A unique and pristine coral reef in the mouth of the Amazon is threatened by oil drilling planned by oil giants Total and BP, say the scientists who recently explored it. But the oil companies are determined to press ahead despite the risks, writes Lawrence Carter, and Brazil's environment ministry is set to give its approval.
… year. Together the oil majors own five deepwater exploration licences in the Foz do … State - lies beneath the thick plume of muddy water where the Amazon pours into the Atlantic … discovery amazed scientists because the murky waters shield the ocean floor from sunlight …
Climate change its causing flooding and droughts that damage agricultural land in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. The "rice bowl" of Asia produces 57 percent of rice production for the country - including 80 percent of its exports. ROBYN WILSON met the farmers facing ruin.
… are hoping these new barriers will stop saltwater from seeping into the soil, rendering it … hometown, local people don’t use the national water source,” explains Tan Hung, who is from … family use underground pumps to source fresh water for day-to-day use. But when a severe …
Mining was imposed on the Salvadoran people as a dream industry to aid development, create jobs and yield taxes to pay for schools and hospitals, write Ricardo Navarro & Sam Cossar-Gilber. But the reality was a nightmare of polluted water, stolen farmland, corporate violence, and murder. After a long campaign, El Salvador has just become the first country to ban all metal mining.
… April 2017 Comment Mining Campaigning Trade Water Politics El Salvador credit … But the reality was a nightmare of polluted water, stolen farmland, corporate violence, … contamination of rivers and surface water , poisoning people and destroying farm …
The return of blue shell mussels to the Artic after a 2,000 year absence, plus the arrival of mackerel are just two signs of a changing climate as JAMES SIMPSON discovers when he joins the scientists and fishermen on a research vessel off the coast of Svalbard
… skims past us, its belly reflected in the water. These elegant birds have been our … an ocean transect: a series of short mid-water and bottom trawls using small, modified … off the seabed. As it sinks, it samples the water, testing salinity, temperature, pH and …
British firms lie deep at the heart of the Dakota Access Pipeline controversy, writes Amy Hall. Barclays, HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland have lent $800m to Energy Transfer Partners and its subsidaries, London-based Commercial Bank of China has loaned $120m, and RBS $250m, while HSBC and Barclays own over $110m worth of shares in project partner Phillips 66.
… Missouri River, fails it will pollute a vital water source for the Standing Rock Sioux … a mostly white community, partly because of water pollution fears. Not just a protest, but … peak, an estimated 10,000 people joined the water protectors at spiritual camps: Sacred …
Fiction for Friday: Through a fictional short story about the underwater inhabitant of a Canadian lake, JAMES MORRIS-KNIGHT explores the loss of tradition, crime and industry in North America.
… a fictional short story about the underwater inhabitant of a Canadian lake, JAMES … to extrapolate data from movements in the water and understand the predators that … in the ice made by power tools and into the water in search of the lad. The water was so …
There is a growing global movement to recognise the rights of rivers, writes Debadityo Sinha. But rights alone are not enough. We must love and respect rivers, and even think like rivers to understand the vital functions they perform within landscapes and ecosystems, and so discover where their 'best interests' truly lie. And then we must be willing to act: protecting rivers and restoring them to health and wholeness.
… river Debadityo Sinha | 22nd May 2017 Comment Water Natural World Law narmada-cut.jpg There … soil and carries the sediments along with its water and ultimately deposits them in its … which would mean unobstructed flow of 'water' and 'sediments'. The deposition of …
A planned nickel mine in Madagasca has led to numerous environmental problems, and whilst the mine continues to struggle the environmental concerns surrounding the project continue to grow. LAURENCE SOUSTRAS investigates.
… partially-buried pipeline for ore and water slurry that connects the mine to the … dumped into the sea. Inhabitants say that the water of local rivers has been affected, which … “Before Sherritt arrived, we had drinking water,” says Mada, another inhabitant. “But …