Author Archive for jenna cavelle

Dressing New York City’s Water Tanks

Published on 02/27/2012 in peak water, solutions and outreach, water rights, water shortage and world water supply. 0 Comments

For 12 weeks starting in the spring and summer of 2013, several hundred of New York City’s water tanks will be wrapped with artist-designed creations. The project is the brainchild of Word Above the Street, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to raise awareness about the global water supply, and was first reported online in the Art Newspaper.

Rendering by artist Eteri Chkadua for The Water Tank ProjectA water tank adorned with art by Eteri Chkadua.

“We’re hoping this project inspires New York to become more sustainable,’’ said Mary Jordan, the organization’s founder, adding that other objectives include “to promote New York City tap water and lower our consumption of plastic waste.’’

Newmont Mining Suspends $4.8 Billion Peru Gold Mine Operation After Violent Protests Over Water Supply

Published on 12/05/2011 in uncategorized. 0 Comments

“LIMA, Peru — A $4.8 billion gold and copper mining project, Peru’s biggest such investment, was declared suspended Tuesday after increasingly violent protests by highlands peasants who fear for their water supply.

At least 20 people, including eight with gunshot wounds, were injured Tuesday in clashes between opponents of the Conga project and police who used firearms, Cajamarca state regional health director Reynaldo Nunez told Canal N television. He said one person was in critical condition and the injured included police.

“After discussions with the government, it was agreed that to help restore public order, the project would be suspended,” Newmont Mining Corp. spokesman Omar Jabara told The Associated Press via email. Denver-based Newmont is the majority owner of Conga, which was to begin production in 2015 and is an outgrowth of Yanacocha, Latin America’s biggest gold mine.”

More Radioactive Water Leaks at Japanese Plant

Published on 12/05/2011 in contaminated water, groundwater, nuclear power and oceans. 0 Comments

“TOKYO — At least 45 tons of highly radioactive water have leaked from a purification facility at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, and some of it may have reached the Pacific Ocean, the plant’s operator said Sunday. Nearly nine months after Fukushima Daiichi was ravaged by an earthquake and tsunami, the plant continues to pose a major environmental threat. Before the latest leak, the Fukushima accident had been responsible for the largest single release of radioactivity into the ocean, threatening wildlife and fisheries in the region, experts have said. The new radioactive water leak called into question the progress that the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, appeared to have made in bringing its reactors under control. The company, known as Tepco, has said that it hopes to bring the plant to a stable state known as a cool shutdown by the end of the year.

The trouble on Sunday came in two stages, a Tepco statement said. In the morning, utility workers found that radioactive water was pooling in a catchment next to a purification device; the system was switched off, and the leak appeared to stop. But the company said it later discovered that leaked water was escaping, possibly through cracks in the catchment’s concrete wall, and was reaching an external gutter. In all, as much as 220 tons of water may now have leaked from the facility, according to a report in the newspaper Asahi Shimbun that cited Tepco officials.

The company said that the water had about one million times as much radioactive strontium as the maximum safe level set by the government, but appeared to have already been cleaned of radioactive cesium before leaking out. Both elements are readily absorbed by living tissue and can greatly increase the risk of developing cancer.”

Africa’s great ‘water grab’

Published on 12/03/2011 in agriculture, deforestation, desertification, displacement of people, drought, erosion, hydrology, policy, rivers, water rights, water shortage, water wars and world water supply. 0 Comments

The banks of the Niger river, in southern Mali, have been flooded by a steady stream of foreigners. Coveted by foreign investors eager to snap up large tracts of fertile farmland, the river basin has been at the centre of a race to get hold of African land at rock-bottom prices. Meanwhile, last week, hundreds of smallholder farmers and civil society activists flocked to the same river basin for the first international conference to tackle the global rush for land.

West Africa‘s largest river, the Niger is thought to sustain over 100 million people as it snakes 4,180km through Guinea, Mali and Niger before emptying into Nigeria’s colossal Niger Delta. In Mali, the Office du Niger is home to the vast majority of the country’s largescale land deals, seen by campaigners as emblematic of the “land grabs” taking place in developing countries. Recent estimates suggest that foreign investment in Mali’s limited arable land jumped by 60% between 2009 and 2010. But the potential knock-on effects of these land deals on local communities’ access to water has rarely made it centre-stage.

Ongoing research from the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development seeks to redress this blindspot, honing in on how such land deals might affect water access for fishing, farming and pastoralist communities. In a policy paper out on Thursday, the IIED’s Jamie Skinner and Lorenzo Cotula warn that an alarming number of African governments seem to be signing away water rights for decades, with major implications for local communities.

Unusual drought triggers alarm across Balkans

Published on 12/02/2011 in climate change, drought and hydrology. 0 Comments

“The waters of the mighty Danube are so low that dozens of cargo ships are simply stuck, stranded in ghostly fog or wedged into sand banks on what is normally one of eastern Europe’s busiest transport routes.A lack of rain has triggered the worst drought in decades for this time of year, dropping river levels to record lows and sounding an alarm in parts of central and eastern Europe. Power supplies are running low in Serbia, drinking water shortages have hit Bosnia, and crop production is in jeopardy in Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. The Czech Republic is at its driest since records began in 1775.

Meteorologists say they are not sure why the region has had far less rain than average since August — but they don’t see any more coming quickly. That is bad news for shipping companies that are already reporting big losses.”

Australia’s Breadbasket Faces Water Squeeze

Published on 12/01/2011 in agriculture, drought, erosion, groundwater, management, peak water and water rights. 0 Comments

“CANBERRA—A plan to reduce water use in Australia’s key food-producing region is pitting farmers against environmentalists and throwing the long-term future of the country’s breadbasket into question.

The release of a draft plan to cut the supply of irrigation water in the Murray-Darling Basin, an area about the size of Texas and California combined, has angered both sides. Conservationists say it isn’t enough to restore local river systems and farmers say it could cost thousands of jobs and drive up food prices.

The basin, degraded by drought, state governments’ overallocation of water rights and by rising levels of salinity in the soil, an effect of irrigation, generates about 15 billion Australian dollars (US$14.7 billion) in agricultural produce a year, mostly grains, livestock and fiber. It accounts for 40% of national farm output by value and well over half of irrigated farm production, using nearly all the water held in the basin area.

The new plan, published over the weekend, proposes to recover 2,750 gigaliters of water a year—more than five times the volume found in the Sydney Harbour area—from irrigators in the Murray-Darling Basin. One gigaliter, a billion liters, is enough to fill about 444 Olympic swimming pools.”

Scientists Propose Thinning Sierra Forests to Enhance Water Runoff

Published on 12/01/2011 in agriculture, aquatic ecosystems, deforestation and hydrology. 0 Comments

Retrieved From: www.1888Mammoth.com

“Runoff from the Sierra Nevada, a critical source of California’s water supply, could be enhanced by thinning forests to historical conditions, according to a report from a team of scientists with the University of California, Merced, UC Berkeley and the Environmental Defense Fund.

The team proposes to test the hypothesis that forest-management strategies that use thinning to reduce fire risk and maintain the historical mix can also increase water yield and extend the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada.

The scientists suggest that by selectively reducing the number of trees — which use large amounts of the water received through precipitation — the amount of water that is released from the forest as runoff could increase. This enhanced runoff could make things easier for farmers and water managers statewide.

As part of the Sierra Nevada Watershed Ecosystem Enhancement Project (SWEEP), the scientists plan to reduce forest density in test areas and examine the impacts on water runoff, forest health and other ecosystem services, and provide a template for broader forest management in the Sierra Nevada.”

jenna cavelle

Israel threatens to cut water and power to Gaza

Published on 11/30/2011 in policy, rivers, water rights, water wars and world water supply. 0 Comments

“Israel has warned it might cut all support to the Gaza Strip, including vital water and power supplies, if the Palestinian Authority pursues its path towards reunification with militant group Hamas.

“The threats were issued by Danny Ayalon, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, on Israeli Radio on Saturday in response to a recent meeting between Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Cairo. Mr Ayalon claimed a deal with the extremist faction would turn the Palestinian Authority into “an authority of terrorism and this would block any hope of reaching any peace agreement with Israel”.

Israel currently provides around 60 per cent of Gaza’s electricity. The rest is either brought form Egypt or generated by Gaza’s own partially destroyed power station, run by the EU. Mekorot, Israel’s national water company, provides 5% of its water – a small but important contribution, according to Sari Bashi, who runs legal organisation GISHA supporting freedom of movement for Palestinians. Mr Bashi dismissed Mr Ayalon’s comments as “silly and irresponsible”.

“I can’t imagine Israel cutting off drinking water to civilians as a means of effecting the behaviour of militants. It would also be illegal,” she said. ”These policies of collective punishment – responding with anger as opposed to applying policy – have failed over and over again. I would expect the deputy foreign minister to think before he speaks.”

Water pollution traced to La Brea Tar Pits

Published on 11/30/2011 in contaminated water, hydrology, oil, tar sands and wastewater. 0 Comments

Palm trees are reflected on the oil-slicked surface at the La Brea Tar Pits. Now that polluted water in Ballona Creek has been traced to the popular tourist attraction, the county will spend $2 million on a remedy. (Ricardo DeAratanha, Los Angeles Times)

“For years, residents living near Ballona Creek and environmentalists have complained of mysterious sheens of oil and grease in the western Los Angeles County waterway, often blaming industrial dumping, urban runoff or other man-made causes for the pollution. One cause that apparently never crossed their minds: the La Brea Tar Pits. It turns out the tourist attraction and preferred field trip destination of seemingly every grade schooler in the region has sent oily wastewater spilling into the highly polluted creek. The tar pits, in Wilshire Boulevard’s Miracle Mile neighborhood, overflow during heavy rains, overwhelming the devices that separate oil from water. Polluted runoff then gets into the storm drain system, spilling into the creek and emptying into the ocean, according to county planners. It’s unclear how big a polluter the naturally occurring tar pits have been. Still, the release of pollutants has cost the county money.”

Josh Fox: Are We About to Witness the Liquidation Sale of New York and its Drinking Water?

Published on 11/30/2011 in clean water act, contaminated water, fracking, mining, natural gas drilling, privatization, tap water, uncategorized and water rights. 0 Comments

“This is a conversation about community and sharing the voices from the gaslands of America. This is the story of Josh Fox, his movieGasland and about his current, Save the Delaware campaign. “Is this the liquidation sale of New York and our drinking water?” asks Josh Fox.

This is a week to celebrate the sudden November 17 cancellation of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) meeting where they were expected to vote on new gas drilling regulations, i.e. green-light fracking in the Delaware River basin that provides drinking water for 16.5 million people. On the 17th Governor of Delaware, Jack Markell announced that his state would be voting “no” on the new DRBC regulations that would have allowed 20,000 wells to be fracked in the watershed. Governor Cuomo of New York had already stated that he would vote “no” which left the expected “yes” votes of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, leaving the deciding vote to a representative for President Obama; a very complicated decision for him and one with risky implications. This is a movement about building coalitions, including the Delaware Riverkeeper that lead the numerous grassroots organizations organizing the event in Trenton, New Jersey on November 21.

So a momentary respite from the threats of gas drilling to the Delaware was celebrated on November 21 as hundreds of people traveled to the already scheduled rally in Trenton, New Jersey which included actors and activists, Debra Winger and Mark Ruffalo residents of upstate NY. In addition, Julie and Craig Sautner of Dimock, PA who are still without safe drinking water three years later, as promised by Cabot Oil, gave their support of the victory for the watershed and served to remind us of what’s at stake.”