Monthly Archive for September, 2010

Majority Of World’s Rivers In A State Of Crisis, But Solutions Can Be Cheap

Published on 09/30/2010 in agriculture, climate change, contaminated water, dams, rivers, solutions and outreach and world water supply. 0 Comments

Photo retrieved from: www.treehugger.com

“Even with the fairly wide range habitats worldwide that rivers flow through, globally they all face the same relatively small range of problems. While rivers represent a small percentage of our water supply worldwide (most humans are reliant on groundwater), ailing rivers mean altered migration routes, fewer defenses against flooding and erosion, and other issues that directly impact humans.

“If you analyse water-security issues from both a human and biodiversity perspective, you find that the threats are shared and pandemic. Even rich countries, which you would expect to be good stewards of water, have some of the most stressed and threatened areas,” Charles Vörösmarty, a civil engineer at the City University of New York and one of the lead investigators of the analysis, told Nature.

Healing Sick Rivers Means Intelligent Strategy, Not Expensive Projects

The researchers state that their study demonstrates how identifying and then limiting threats at a local level can be more effective at ensuring future water security and biodiversity than intelligent than large-scale, expensive programs. While rich countries can afford to throw money into alleviating symptoms of sick rivers, the study shows that localized efforts at treating the problems — such as smarter dam infrastructure, and water management that incorporates both the needs of humans and local wildlife — is a far better solution for all countries, especially developing countries that lack financial resources.”

Read more: Treehugger

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The Big Bad Wolf Makes Good

Published on 09/30/2010 in policy and rivers. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.motherjones.com

“No Wolves, No Water

Here’s the piece we still don’t get: When we exterminated wolves from Yellowstone in the early 1900s, killing every last one, we dewatered the land. That’s right—no wolves eventually meant fewer streams, creeks, marshes, and springs across western landscapes like Yellowstone where wolves had once thrived.

The chain of effects went roughly like this: No wolves meant that many more elk crowded onto inviting river and stream banks where the grass is green and the livin’ easy. A growing population of fat elk, in no danger of being turned into prey, gnawed down willow and aspen seedlings before they could mature. Willows are both food and building material for beavers. As the willows declined, so did beaver populations. When beavers build dams and ponds, they create wetland habitats for countless bugs, amphibians, fish, birds, and plants, as well as slowing the flow of water and distributing it over broad areas. The consequences of their decline rippled across the land.

Meanwhile, as the land dried up, Yellowstone’s overgrazed riverbanks eroded. Life-giving river water receded, leaving those banks barren. Spawning beds for fish were silted over. Amphibians lost precious shade where they could have sheltered and hidden. Yellowstone’s web of life was fraying and becoming threadbare.

The unexpected relationship between absent wolves and absent water is just one example of how big, scary predators like grizzlies and mountain lions, often called “charismatic carnivores,”regulate their ecosystems from the top down. The results are especially relevant in an era of historic droughts and global warming, both of which are stressing already arid Western lands. Wolf reintroduction wasn’t a scheme designed to undermine vacationing elk hunters or harass ranchers who graze their cattle on public lands. It wasn’t done to please some cabal of elitist, urban environmentalists eager to show rural rednecks who’s the boss, though out here in the West that interpretation’s held sway at many public meetings called to discuss wolf reintroduction.”

Read more: Mother Jones

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Rising Energy Demand Hits Water Scarcity ‘Choke Point’

Published on 09/30/2010 in climate change and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.alternet.org

“Meeting the growing demand for energy in the U.S., even through sustainable means, could entail greater threats to the environment, new research shows.

The study was carried out by Circle of Blue, a network of journalists and scientists dedicated to water sustainability, and could have implications not just for the relationship between energy demand and water scarcity in the U.S. but elsewhere in the world, as well. “It is not just that energy production could not occur without using vast amounts of water. It’s also that it’s occurring in the era of climate change, population growth and steadily increasing demand for energy,” explained Circle of Blue’s Keith Schneider, who presented the findings in Washington Wednesday.

“The result is that the competition for water at every stage of the mining, processing, production, shipping and use of energy is growing more fierce, more complex and much more difficult to resolve,” he said. About half the 410 billion gallons of water the U.S. withdraws daily goes to cooling thermoelectric power plants, and most of that to cooling coal-burning plants, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Meanwhile, climate change is leading to decreased snowmelt, rains and freshwater supplies, says Circle of Blue.

One of the things missing from the discussion, then, is the recognition that saving energy also saves water, the group contends.”

Read more: AlterNet

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Mexican Village Becomes Global Hub Of Dam Fighting For A Week

Published on 09/30/2010 in dams, rivers and water wars. 1 Comment

Photo retrieved from: www.internationalrivers.org

“This week, more than 300 people from 60 countries will gather in the small village of Temacapulín, Mexico, for “Rivers for Life 3,” a global gathering of dam-affected people and their allies. From October 1-7, Temacapulin will almost double in size and become the hub of the global movement to protect rivers from the ravages of destructive dams.

“Rivers for Life 3 will bring together people whose lives have been harmed by dams, activists, and experts in clean energy and sustainable water projects from all corners of the globe. Participants will share experiences and strategize on how to protect their rivers and rights. Indigenous people from the Amazon will mingle with farmers from the Zambezi River, providing a unique opportunity to build connections across cultures,” said Aviva Imhof, Campaigns Director of International Rivers.

The people of Temacapulín are looking forward to strategizing and networking with people facing struggles similar to their own. The village, located on the Rio Verde, is fighting a large dam that would flood the entire town. It is one of Mexico’s longest-inhabited towns.

“The whole village of Temacapulín is against the El Zapotillo Dam. This meeting is very important for Temacapulin and for the Mexican movement against dams. We have tried many ways to stop the dam but the government is completely deaf to our voices,” said Marco von Borstel, of IMDEC, the Mexican Institute for Community Development and one of the organizers of the event. “This meeting can help not only in the campaign to stop the El Zapotillo Dam, but to educate the media and the people of Mexico that dams are not a sustainable form of development. We need to get water and energy without killing rivers and flooding historic towns like Temacapulín.”

Read more: International Rivers

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U.S. Cleanup Is Set for Newtown Creek, Long Polluted by Industry

Published on 09/29/2010 in contaminated water and solutions and outreach. 1 Comment Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.nytimes.com

“The Superfund designation, which was announced on Monday by the agency’s regional administrator in New York, Judith Enck, means that the E.P.A. will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the severely polluted creek to determine what kind of cleanup is needed and to identify continuing sources of pollution. Community advocates, environmental groups and members of Congress had long sought the designation out of concern about the extent of contamination and its possible danger to residents.

The creek, about four miles long, is now the second active Superfund site in the city. The Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, another waterway suffering the consequences of its industrial past, was placed in March on the Superfund’s National Priorities List, a designation reserved for the worst-contaminated sites in the nation.

Six other Superfund sites across the country were also chosen on Monday, including a section of the Black River in Jefferson County, N.Y., that was contaminated with P.C.B.’s and other chemicals. P.C.B.’s, or polychlorinated biphenyls, can cause cancer and affect the immune, reproductive, nervous and endocrine systems, according to the E.P.A.”

Read more: New York Times

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KA-AB Cambia Las Botellitas Para El Agua

Published on 09/28/2010 in bottled water, solutions and outreach and spanish. 0 Comments

Foto encontrado en: www.ccnexpansion.com

“Desde un inicio, las empresarias sabían que cambiar la costumbre de los mexicanos que consumen en promedio 500 bebidas embotelladas por año, según la Secretaria de Desarrollo Social, para que inviertan 250 pesos en una botella de acero inoxidable con diseños de animales en extinción, sería una tarea difícil.

A pesar del hábito de los mexicanos de consumir agua embotellada, las dos socias siguieron adelante con su idea de negocio y afrontaron un nuevo obstáculo que para otro tipo de empresarios  podría representar el fin de su proyecto.

“Sabíamos lo que queríamos hacer, buscábamos un producto que no emitiera ninguna toxina por su uso continúo, que fuera liviano y además bonito. En ese momento vimos como las botellas de aluminio eran la respuesta, pero en México no había cómo fabricarlas, para que resultararentable para el negocio, así que decidimos importarlas de China”, relató Lesly Méndez de KA-AB.”

Leér más: CNN

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Water Use In Southwest Heads For A Day Of Reckoning

Published on 09/28/2010 in agriculture, drought, policy, rivers, tap water and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , .

The Southern Nevada Water Authority is tunneling under Lake Mead to install an intake valve that could continue operating until water levels dropped below 1,000 feet. Photo retrieved from: www.nytimes.com

“Barring a sudden end to the Southwest’s 11-year drought, the distribution of the river’s dwindling bounty is likely to be reordered as early as next year because the flow of water cannot keep pace with the region’s demands.

For the first time, federal estimates issued in August indicate that Lake Mead, the heart of the lower Colorado basin’s water system — irrigating lettuce, onions and wheat in reclaimed corners of the Sonoran Desert, and lawns and golf courses from Las Vegas to Los Angeles — could drop below a crucial demarcation line of 1,075 feet.

If it does, that will set in motion a temporary distribution plan approved in 2007 by the seven states with claims to the river and by the federal Bureau of Reclamation, and water deliveries to Arizona and Nevada would be reduced.

This could mean more dry lawns, shorter showers and fallow fields in those states, although conservation efforts might help them adjust to the cutbacks. California, which has first call on the Colorado River flows in the lower basin, would not be affected.”

Read more: New York Times

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Why Are We Still Allowing Coastal Development?

Published on 09/27/2010 in oceans, policy and water filtering. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.alternet.org

“Agribusiness giant Cargill, which owns the Redwood City site, has made salt in San Francisco Bay for decades. Cargill has downsized in recent years, selling 16,500 acres of salt ponds in the area — 60 percent of its local operations — to the state and federal government in 2002 for $243 million in cash and tax credits. But it held on to the 1,400-acre site near Redwood City that the company believes is suitable for building.

Several years ago Cargill hired Arizona development company DMB to identify future uses for the site, which is separated from downtown Redwood City by busy Highway 101. DMB has proposed Redwood City Saltworks, a planned community with 8,000 to 12,000 low-rise housing units. It includes new schools and retail stores, sports parks and open space along the bay and mass transit links connecting the development with regional bus, train and ferry lines. “This project is the poster child for an integrated, walkable community” said DMB vice president David Smith.

Opponents have other priorities. A long list of conservation groups, neighboring cities, and local government agencies has endorsed restoring the salt flats to their original state: tidal marshes, which filter bay water, provide habitat for fish and birds, and buffer shoreline communities against flooding by soaking up storm surges.”

Read more: AlterNet

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Ethiopia Claims High Ground In Right-To-Nile Debate

Published on 09/26/2010 in policy, rivers, water shortage and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.artsonearth.com

“The Nile River is almost always associated with Egypt. Think back to Herodotus, who called Egypt the “gift of the Nile.” Or to baby Moses, whose river-borne bassinet made it all the way to Pharaoh’s inner circle.

Egypt still draws more water from the Nile than any other country. But it doesn’t contribute any water to the Nile.

Egypt is mostly desert, so rivers and rain from eight or nine other countries make the Nile flow. And those other countries want some of their water back.

Ethiopians say they could use some of the Nile’s headwaters to become a hydropower superpower in Africa. And they’re claiming the geographical and moral high ground.

Ethiopia is home to the Blue Nile, a major tributary of the river. But Ethiopians have had little access to the Nile.

From its humble beginnings in the western highlands, the Blue Nile, known locally as theAbay, (pronounced ah-BYE) quickly cuts through deep gorges — too deep for most people to reach. Then, it’s off to Sudan, where it merges with the White Nile and proceeds northward to the Mediterranean Sea.”

Read more: NPR

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Bolivia’s Victory Stopping Water Privatization a Decade Ago Paved The Way For European Nations To Do The Same Now

Published on 09/25/2010 in privatization and water wars. 1 Comment Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.alternet.org

“For the year 2000 marked the height of a wave of water privatisation across the developing world, when almost  all institutions from the World Bank to the IMF to the European Union argued that only the private sector could hope to bring clean water to everyone. The revolt of Cochabamba was celebrated by social movements because it was the first blockage in a seemingly unstoppable tidal wave of privatisation.

Ten years after the Water War, with the benefit of hindsight, it increasingly looks like Bolivia’s water war was not a solitary heroic act, but marked the very beginnings of a turning point on water privatisation. 

Privatisation roll-back

At the beginning of this year, Paris overturned water privatisation and remunicipalised its water utility. This was deeply symbolic as Europe’s largest private water utilities are headquartered in France.Then in August, Bolivia succeeded in pushing through a UN resolution supporting water as a human right, which while it does not prevent privatisation does put the emphasis on water as a human right than a source of corporate profit. Then the latest evidence came this summer, as the EU announced a new fund of €40 million Euros to support “non-profit partnerships” of water and sanitation utilities in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.”

Read more: AlterNet

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