Archive for the 'peak water' Category

Mysterious GREEN water grosses out locals in New Jersey as officials insist it’s safe to drink

Published on 05/18/2012 in peak water and tap water. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

It Ain't Easy: The water in Toms River has become green and water experts insist that despite its hue, it's safe to drink

Retrieved from: Daily Mail

“The water in the coastal town has actually become green thanks to an overabundance of iron, though water experts insist that despite its hue, it’s safe to drink.

The tinted tap is unnoticeable in small amounts, such as a glass of water, but in larger pools and tubs, the disturbing coloration comes out loud and unclear.

” ‘The water meets drinking water standards set by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and the US Environmental Protection Agency,’ NJAM spokesman Richard Barnes said.

“ ’A person would have to drink 24 liters of this water to equal the amount of iron found in a daily multi-vitamin.’ ”

Read more: Daily Mail

Sami Oueida

Africa: U.S. Response to Future Water Crisis Takes Shape

Published on 05/11/2012 in climate change, hydrology, management, peak water, policy and world water supply. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.africastories.org

“Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton requested the report and she named Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero to lead the U.S. response to the challenges outlined in the study.

Otero told the Washington audience that the first priority she and Clinton have identified is to help other nations develop their capacity in resources and expertise to cope with future water-scarcity problems. “We know that it is countries and communities that have to lead in securing their own water and in securing their own water future,” Otero said.

The United States must also work to increase international awareness of the potential for future water crises by increasing and better coordinating diplomacy. The United States will help developing countries better prepare for the challenges they’ll face, Otero said, and help them “to prioritize so that water and sanitation are part of their national plans, part of their budgets and part of their overall thinking.”

Otero said finding solutions to secure adequate water supplies for growth and development will require enormous levels of funding that the United States must help mobilize. The application of science and technology to the problem is an important part of the strategy.”

Read more: All Africa

 

lily victoria

Recipe For Safer Drinking Water? Add Sun, Salt And Lime

Published on 05/09/2012 in contaminated water, peak water, waterborne diseases and world water supply. 0 Comments

Photo retrieved from: www.npr.org

“In many developing countries, the only source of water is contaminated with viruses and bacteria. In fact, the United Nations estimates that 1 in 6 people don’t have access to enough fresh drinking water.

Pouring water into clear plastic bottles and placing them in the sun can kill disease causing organisms in about six hours. It’s a simple and cheap method that’s been around forever, and it helps. (Who says sun tea isn’t safe?)

But there’s a hitch – the water has to be clear enough for the sun’s rays to penetrate – and much of the world’s water supply is murky from the clay soils in riverbeds and lake bottoms that mix with the water. Enter the scientists.

“Basically, you need to be able to read a newspaper through it. That means it’s clear enough for the UV radiation to penetrate and kill the pathogens. If you can’t see through it, it just won’t work,” explains Joshua Pierce, associate professor of materials science and engineering at Michigan Tech.”

Read more: NPR

 

lily victoria

MENA Changing Drastically & NASA Has The Pictures To Prove It

Published on 05/07/2012 in agriculture, aquatic ecosystems, climate change, contaminated water, dams, drought, groundwater, hydrology, lakes, oil, peak water, policy, rivers, tap water, water diversions, water shortage and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: , .

“Lake shrinkage in Iran

Retrieved from: www.greenprophet.com

Left: August 1985. Right: August 2010.

Iran’s Lake Oroumeih (also spelled Urmia) is the largest lake in the Middle East and the third largest saltwater lake on Earth. But dams on feeder streams, expanded use of ground water, and a decades-long drought have reduced it to 60 percent of the size it was in the 1980s. Light blue tones in the 2010 image represent shallow water and salt deposits. Increased salinity has led to an absence of fish and habitat for migratory waterfowl. At the current rate, the lake will be completely dry by the end of 2013.

Urban Growth in Morocco

Retrieved from: www.greenprophet.com

Left: July 2, 1985. Right: June 24, 2011.

The Moroccan cities of Agadir, Inezgane and Tikiouine are close to the Atlantic coastline (seen in blue in the images), and stretch into the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. Agadir was nearly destroyed by an earthquake in 1960. Reconstruction has focused on tourism, turning this area into a winter destination. The 1985 image shows the area 25 years into the rebuilding. By 2011, the urban areas reach into the Sahara Desert. Growth has been influenced by the expanding fishing industry and modern commercial ports.”

Read more: Green Prophet


lily victoria

Beckoning war on water

Published on 05/06/2012 in dams, hydropower, peak water, policy, privatization, water diversions and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.defenceblog.org

“India’s feverish pursuit of building dams on the rivers allocated to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has received the attention of the International Crisis Group (ICG) whose objective is to evaluate the consequences of a developing situation for peace in the world and give early warnings of eruption of conflicts unless they are resolved well in time. The ICG rightly foresees the outbreak of war between the two countries if India resorts to stopping water from flowing into Pakistan, which according the IWT is its share, and that creates a dangerous situation for Pakistan. The ICG also draws attention to a report of last year released by the Foreign Relations Committee of the US Congress wherein it was stated that New Delhi was building three dams on Chenab and Sutlej. By virtue of these dams, the reports said, India would come into a position to divert water way from Pakistan right at the time it badly needed it for the crops, thus putting a question mark on the relevance of the IWT.

The ICG’s foreboding or the US Congress’s apprehensions are not something that should come as a surprise to experts in the field or even the general public in Pakistan who are aware of the fact that the headwaters of these rivers fall in the Indian occupied part of the disputed state of Kashmir and are also familiar with the Indian designs against the existence of Pakistan. Thus, there has been a lot of hue and cry not only among the farming community that is directly affected, but also the people and the media. Only the political circles, the ruling coalition and to a large degree also the opposition, are turning a blind eye to New Delhi persistent manoeuvres to hold Pakistan by its jugular vein when it deems fit to do so.”

Read more: The Nation

 

lily victoria

Water Shortage Pushing Leopards Into ‘Man’s Territory’-Mumbai

Published on 05/05/2012 in agriculture, dams, forests, peak water and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.nbtvlive.com

“Explaining the reason behind leopards abandoning their natural habitat and encroaching upon ‘man’s territory,’ Vijay Hinge, district forest officer (planning), says the Western Ghats — where Nashik is located — are surrounded by dams and water bodies. The ample supply of water in the 4km-stretch around canals and rivers fed by the dams gives rise to natural vegetation. At Nashik, the Godavari river has helped in the growth of sugarcane and orchid fields. Since they can find easy prey like foxes, birds, rabbits and frogs in sugarcane fields, leopards make them their home. But in times of water shortage and when sugarcane has been harvested — as is the case now — leopards have no option but to venture out of their new habitat in search of food and water.

Leopard sightings in residential areas have been on the rise in recent years. From 2004 to March 2012, Nashik residents have had at least 10 confrontations with leopards. Sightings and attacks in sugarcane fields or at the borders of the jungles have been more frequent.”

Read more: DNA

 

lily victoria

Big Changes in Ocean Salinity Intensifying Water Cycle

Published on 05/03/2012 in aquatic ecosystems, climate change, hydrology, oceans and peak water. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Satellite image shows the distribution of water vapor over Africa and the Atlantic Ocean on 2 Sept 2010. Retrieved from: www.motherjones.com

“A paper in Science today finds rapidly changing ocean salinities as a result of a warming atmosphere have intensified the global water cycle (evaporation and precipitation) by an incredible 4 percent between 1950 and 2000. That’s twice the rate predicted by models.

These same models have long forecast that dry areas of Earth will become drier and wet areas wetter in a warming climate—an intensification of the water cycle driven mostly by the capacity of warmer air to hold and redistribute more moisture in the form of water vapor.

But the rate of intensification of the global water cycle is happening far faster than imagined: at about 8 percent per degree Celsius of ocean warming since 1950.

At this rate, the authors calculate:

  • The global water cycle will intensify by a whopping 16 percent in a 2°C warmer world
  • The global water cycle will intensify by a frightening 24 percent in a 3°C warmer world”

Read more: Mother Jones

lily victoria

The Great Nile River War

Published on 04/29/2012 in peak water, policy, rivers, water diversions and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.dailyalert.org

“April 29, 2012: Ethiopia and Egypt, working through the AU (African Union), have asked Sudan and South Sudan to resume negotiations to end their war. Discussions have taken place in Ethiopia and Egypt. Since the time of the pharaohs Egypt has regarded Sudan as its backdoor. Ethiopia has remained nominally neutral in the Sudan-South Sudan War, but has cultural and historical connections with the people of South Sudan. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, as is Sudan, Ethiopia is predominantly Christian, as is South Sudan. Ethiopia and Egypt are both much more powerful than either of the Sudans. The nightmare scenario for an escalating East African war has Egypt aligning with Sudan and Ethiopia aligning with South Sudan. Call it The Great Nile River War, because Nile water issues play a huge role in Ethiopian and Egyptian strategic planning. Ethiopian and Egyptian leaders, however, know that war will have no winner. Cooler heads in Ethiopia and Egypt are trying to calm the hot heads in Sudan and South Sudan.

The government is expanding its blocking of hostile or opposition web sites. The website of a major opposition newspaper, the The Reporter, has been blocked, by the state-owned communications company, for a week.

April 27, 2012: Oromo rebels claimed that Ethiopian security forces killed four Oromo civilians and wounded eight in an incident in the town of Hassasa.

Read more: Strategy Page

 

lily victoria

Sudans conflict leaves 37,000 desperate for water

Published on 04/27/2012 in groundwater, oil, peak water, privatization, water shortage, water wars and waterborne diseases. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.nationalgeographic.com

“There is simply not enough ground water available to sustain the growing number of people who need it,” “said Pauline Ballaman, head of Oxfam’s operations at the camp. “Women have to queue for hours in the burning sun just to collect a fraction of the water they need, and the situation is getting more desperate by the day. The only solution is for people to be moved urgently.”

Oxfam says this large number of refugees fled to the camp since December and more are on their way.

South Sudan split from Sudan last year as part of a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of war in Africa’s largest nation. The war left 2 million people dead and ended with the peace agreement that included an independence referendum for the south.”

Read more: CNN

 

lily victoria

In Liberia, Political Battles Center on Water Access

Published on 04/25/2012 in peak water, tap water, water shortage and world water supply. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

“The Liberian government submitted information to the World Health Organization and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program that estimated 8 percent of households in urban areas have piped water and 88 percent have access to an improved water source. Living in the heart of the the Liberian capital, civilian Eugene Seoh should be one of the few Liberians who do have piped water. He does not.

“Theophilus Addey, the acting deputy national coordinator of the Liberia Reconstruction Development Committee, said these figures are just a guide for the government.

“Not only the numbers are questionable; the government is also making suspect claims about specific water access projects. The managing director of the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation, Nortu Jappah, said in an interview in November that he and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf had recently opened a water main to serve the string of neighborhoods along Somalia Drive. The area has not had piped water for more than two decades.

“Access to sanitation is very low — just 25 percent as of 2008, according to World Bank statistics. Civil society groups in Liberia argue that the current water situation is actually not much improved.

“In 2008, the Liberian government launched the Poverty Reduction Strategy, or PRS, to chart the nation’s course to development. Among other goals, the plan promised that access to water would double in four years.

Since then, little has been done to replace old infrastructure damaged during Liberia’s civil war, according to Silas Siakor, director of the Sustainable Development Initiative Liberia.”

Read More: PBS

Chippie Kislik