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Farmers Try Political Force To Twist Open California’s Taps
January 1st, 2016
Via The New York Times, a detailed look at how farmers are using political force to obtain more water for their fields: The message that Maria L. Gutierrez gave legislators on Capitol Hill was anguished and blunt: California’s historic drought had not merely left farmland idle. It had destroyed Latino farm workers’ jobs, shuttered Latino […]
Read more »Wisconsin Groundwater Dispute: A Warning Signal For The Eastern United States
October 26th, 2015
Via Circle of Blue, a report on how water problems in states east of the Mississippi River mirror those of the dry American West: When it pulled back from the North American mid-continent roughly 10,000 years ago, the Laurentide Ice Sheet left the state of Wisconsin a lovely basket of geological parting gifts: rich soils, […]
Read more »California: Deserts Won’t Bloom Forever
September 17th, 2015
Via PRI, a detailed look at the similarity of challenges facing California and Saudi Arabia: A decade ago, reports began emerging of a strange occurrence in the Saudi Arabian desert. Ancient desert springs were drying up. The springs fed the lush oases depicted in the Bible and Quran, and as the water disappeared, these verdant […]
Read more »Losing Water, California Tries To Stay Atop Economic Wave
August 19th, 2015
Via the New York Times, a detailed look at how California – despite the drought – is pushing ahead with plans for new housing, with advocates saying there will be enough water to meet the demand: Evert W. Palmer has a vision for this city famous for its state prison: 10,200 new homes spread across […]
Read more »Canada Dry?
August 18th, 2015
Via the Vancouver Sun, commentary on Canada’s perception of water and potential issues with a thirsty United States: “Canada has probably one of the largest resources of fresh water in the world. Water is going to be — already is — a very valuable commodity and I’ve always found it odd that Canada is so […]
Read more »Indian Tribes: Water Dealmakers In Drying Colorado River Basin
July 1st, 2015
Courtesy of Circle of Blue, a very interesting look at the role that native Americans – who hold 20 percent of the Colorado River basin’s water rights – will have in shaping the future of the Southwest: Mired in drought and torched by one of the hottest years ever measured, the seven states of the […]
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