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Central Asia’s Thirsty Future Industries
June 3rd, 2026
Via The Diplomat, commentary on whether Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are yet grappling with the water needs of next-generation industries: Central Asia is home to one of the most infamous human-caused ecological catastrophes: the dramatic drying-up of the Aral Sea. That disaster was rooted in systemic mismanagement of the region’s water resources in pursuit of cotton […]
Read more »Central Asia’s Next Growth Story Runs on Water It Does Not Have
June 3rd, 2026
Courtesy of The Diplomat, a look at how Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are committing billions to mining, nuclear power, data centers and AI infrastructure at the same time that the region’s water supply is becoming less abundant, less predictable and more legally constrained: MINEX Kazakhstan 2026, held in Astana on April 15-16, brought together roughly 1,000 participants from […]
Read more »Bangladesh Tilts to China as India Water-Sharing Impasse Deepens
June 2nd, 2026
Vai Nikkei Asia, a report on Dhaka’s recenal approval of several major river projects amid mounting water issues: Bangladesh is pushing ahead with dam and reservoir projects as it recalibrates its approach to cross-border water management after years of diplomacy with India have yielded few tangible results, instead looking to China to help address issues […]
Read more »California’s Water Empire: Over 100 Years of Engineering, Extraction and Avoidance
May 28th, 2026
Via SoCal Water Wars, a look at how over a century of aqueducts, reservoirs, and political gambits has left California dependent on costly water systems built to serve growth—not the climate emergency now unfolding: California has more than 2,700 state, federal and local dams and reservoirs, including roughly 300 in Southern California. I include Hoover Dam […]
Read more »Could Ocean Desalination Help Solve Las Vegas’ Water Woes?
May 23rd, 2026
Via the Las Vegas Review Journal, a report that Las Vegas is exploring a water transfer deal with San Diego: Southern Nevada is now looking to the Pacific Ocean to ease its water woes. In a vote Thursday, the Southern Nevada Water Authority board approved a memorandum of understanding that allows General Manager John Entsminger […]
Read more »AI Data Centers in Parched American West Need 7B Gallons of Water Annually
May 20th, 2026
Via Quartz, a look at how new data center facilities across Arizona, Nevada, and Utah are demanding millions of gallons daily in a region where snowpack hit record lows and reservoirs are also low: Water use from data center cooling in the Phoenix area alone is on track to increase by 870%, from 385 million […]
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