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How Agricultural Growers Gamed California’s Drought
March 30th, 2015
Via Daily Beast, an interesting article on how growers – who consume 80 percent of California’s developed water but account for only 2 percent of the state’s GDP – thrive while everyone else in the state is parched: “I’ve been smiling all the way to the bank,” said pistachio farmer John Dean at a conference […]
Read more »Global Water Crisis Causing Failed Harvests, Hunger, War And Terrorism
March 27th, 2015
Via The Ecologist, detailed commentary on how the Global water crisis is causing failed harvests, hunger, war and terrorism: The world is already experiencing water scarcity driven by over-use, poor land management and climate change, writes Nafeez Ahmed. It’s one of the causes of wars and terrorism in the Middle East and beyond, and if […]
Read more »Nepal On Brink Of Water Insecurity
March 27th, 2015
Via SciDev, a look at Nepal’s water challenge: Poor governance and political instability are preventing the Himalayan country of Nepal from taking advantage of its abundant water resources and ensuring water security for its people, a new analysis shows. Carried out by Eloise Biggs, lecturer at the University of Southampton, UK, the study shows […]
Read more »Global Water Use May Outstrip Supply By Mid Century
March 27th, 2015
Via Terra Daily, a report on some rather dire forecasts of global water demand: Population growth could cause global demand for water to outpace supply by mid-century if current levels of consumption continue. But it wouldn’t be the first time this has happened, a Duke University study finds. Using a delayed-feedback mathematical model that analyzes […]
Read more »South Asia: Running Out Of Groundwater
March 27th, 2015
Via SciDev, a summary of the recent UN World Water Development Report (WWDR 2015), Water for a Sustainable World 2015, which notes the following: South Asia and China account for nearly half of the world’s groundwater use Per capita water availability in South Asia has been dropping dramatically Continued groundwater extraction will deepen the water crisis in […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Tibetan Rivers At Risk
March 26th, 2015
Via Meltdown in Tibet, an interesting look at some of the risks faced by Tibet’s major rivers: On the drawing board, at the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, is a massive water diversion project. The Western sector of the South-to-North Water Diversion Scheme involves the building of three mega-dams (with wall heights of 175 metres, […]
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