BLOG
Africa’s Life-Sustaining Water Towers Have Been Overlooked For Too Long
January 24th, 2024
Via African Arguments, a look at how international researchers’ focus on ice to define natural water towers has left Africa’s critical systems off the map, and with little protection: Africa is a water stressed continent. It is home to 1.4 billion people – 18% of the world’s population – yet has only 9% of global […]
Read more »They Abducted a River in California. And Nobody Stopped Them.
January 23rd, 2024
Courtesy of The New York Times, a report on how farms drained part of the Merced for months. Officials didn’t find out until after the fact, raising questions about the state’s ability to manage supplies during droughts. During California’s most recent drought, officials went to great lengths to safeguard water supplies, issuing emergency regulations to […]
Read more »Aridity Could Dry Up Southwestern Mine Proposals
January 23rd, 2024
Via Inside Climate News, a look at how – while critical minerals for the clean energy transition are abundant in the Southwest – dozens of mines proposed to access them will require vast sums of water, something in short supply in the desert: One by one, leaders from across Arizona gave speeches touting the importance […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Water Security Crucial For Green China
January 22nd, 2024
Via China Daily, a look at China’s water security challenge: Water has had the greatest of impacts on China’s rulers and policymakers throughout history. Nearly half of the disasters in ancient China were related to water, and the rise and fall of dynasties were often linked to water availability and protection from floods. Extensive droughts […]
Read more »Are We Headed for the First Colorado River Compact Tripwire?
January 21st, 2024
Via JFleck at Inkstain, commentary on whether the U.S. southwest is headed for the first Colorado River Compact tripwire? The Bureau of Reclamation’s January 2024 “Most Probable” 24-month study forecasts that annual releases from Glen Canyon Dam for both Water Years 2025 and 2026 will be 7.48 million acre-feet per year (maf). If this happens, the ten-year […]
Read more »Water Is the New Oil in the Gulf
January 19th, 2024
Courtesy of Time Magazine, commentary on water scarcity in the Gulf region: In the arid desert landscapes of the Gulf, where oil has long been the region’s economic bedrock, a new narrative is unfolding—one where water’s increasing recognition as a critical and finite resource demands a reckoning. Under the most extreme climate scenario, temperatures in […]
Read more »