Archive for the 'peak water' Category

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Help for a Plastic Planet: New Report Focuses on Solutions to Global Plastic Pollution

Published on 04/25/2012 in contaminated water, oceans, peak water and rivers. 0 Comments Tags: plastic pollution.

Photo retrieved from: www.alternet.org

“Man-made debris in the oceans is now found from the poles to the equator and from shorelines, estuaries and the sea surface to ocean floor. While the types and absolute quantities vary, it is clear that plastic materials represent the major constituents of this debris, and there is no doubt about the ubiquity of such debris on a truly global scale.

Many conferences and documents on the subject of “Marine Debris,” especially those funded by industry, have been evasive about plastic: the single most destructive and overwhelmingly most common substance of concern in the waste material that washes from our shores to oceans and back onto shores around the globe. The significance of plastics being singled out as the main source of marine debris around the globe is that plastic production continues to increase at a rate of about 9 percent annually and the waste from it is cumulative: “Since most plastic items will not biodegrade in the environment it seems inevitable that quantities of debris will increase over time…” (Andrady 2011).

The second reason for hope is that the report offers real solutions, and a methodology to choose them, in addition to an excellent scientific accounting of the many threats posed by plastic pollution to the environment, wildlife, humans and our economies. The solutions specified in the report take account of the fact that the vast majority of communities around the globe are not able to manage non-biodegradable plastic waste because there is no plastic recycling infrastructure or market, and the volume of plastic waste overwhelms landfill capacity.”

Gas ‘fracking’ gets green light

Published on 04/25/2012 in fracking, natural gas drilling, peak water and policy. 0 Comments Tags: clean energy, fracking, peak water, policy, U.K..

Retrieved from: The Guardian

“Ministers have been advised to allow the controversial practice of fracking for shale gas to be extended in Britain, despite it causing two earthquakes and the emergence of serious doubts over the safety of the wells that have already been drilled.

“The experts say hydraulic fracturing, whereby a well is drilled hundreds of metres deep and pumped full of water, sand and chemicals in order to release methane gas, should be allowed on a wide scale, although they accept that two small earthquakes in Blackpool last spring were caused by the first stages of fracking activities in the only British plants operating.

The government’s own data revealed serious questions around the safety of fracking in areas of known seismic activity, such as the two wells in Lancashire, because of evidence that the resulting earthquakes have damaged the integrity of at least one well. There is also apparent confusion over which government agencies should be overseeing the process to ensure its public safety, with the responsibility shared among several bodies that appear not to be co-ordinating.

“Environmental groups are worried not just about the potential dangers from earth tremors caused by fracking, but about the effects on the UK’s push to tackle climate change. Last month, the chancellor, George Osborne, and the new energy secretary, Ed Davey, launched a new “dash for gas” when they announced measures to encourage the building of new gas-fired power stations across the UK. Green groups argue this will put carbon-cutting targets out of reach, by locking in high-carbon emitting infrastructure and crowding out investment in renewables. “We should be developing the huge potential of clean British energy from the sun, wind and waves, not more dirty and dangerous fossil fuels,” said Atkins.”

Restrict shale gas fracking to 600m from water supplies, says study

Published on 04/25/2012 in contaminated water, fracking, groundwater, natural gas drilling and peak water. 0 Comments Tags: aquifer contamination, fracking and water contamination, peakwater, study.

Retrieved from: The Guardian

“Controversial “fracking” for shale gas should only take place at least 600 metres down from aquifers used for water supplies, scientists said on Wednesday.

A new study revealed the process, which uses high-pressure liquid pumped deep underground to split shale rock and release gas, caused fractures running upwards and downwards through the ground of up to 588 metres from their source. The research, published in the journal Marine and Petroleum Geology, found the chance of a fracture extending more than 600 metres upwards was exceptionally low, and the probability of fractures of more than 350 metres was 1%.

Researchers said the study showed it was “incredibly unlikely” that fracking at depths of 2km to 3km below the surface would lead to the contamination of shallow aquifers which lie above the gas resources.

“The researchers from Durham University, Cardiff University and the University of Tromso, Norway, looked at thousands of natural and induced rock fractures in the US, Europe and Africa, and found none of the artificially caused ones were more than 600 metres.”

Damming the Poor: It’s Time to Create River Parks for People

Published on 04/23/2012 in agriculture, aquatic ecosystems, dams, floods, greenwashing, hydropower, peak water, policy, privatization, rivers and water rights. 0 Comments

Photo retrieved from: www.nationalgeographic.com

“In their free-flowing form, large rivers like the Tana are among the most productive, life-giving ecosystems on the planet. These natural supermarkets continue to feed hundreds of millions of very poor people each and every day.

Many fish species wait for floods to swim out onto a river’s floodplain, where they spawn prolifically. When a fish spawns on a floodplain, its offspring will have many advantages over other fish born in the river itself. The water spilling onto a floodplain during floods is enriched with nutrients, helping young fish to grow. The drowned vegetation of the floodplain harbors a bounty of insects to feed upon, and provides places where newborn fish can hide from bigger fish and other predators. Rivers with large numbers of floodplain-spawning fish produce far more fish for people to eat than those without floods and floodplains.”

US government releases ‘fracking’ gas rules

Published on 04/19/2012 in contaminated water, fracking, management, oil, peak water and policy. 0 Comments Tags: 2015, fracking, peakwater, rules, shale, U.S. Governement.

Retrieved from: wtfrack.org

“The US government has released long-awaited rules on “fracking”, the process used to unlock oil and gas deposits hidden deep in rock formations that has revolutionised the domestic energy sector.

From 2015, oil and gas companies will be required to capture methane and other pollutant gases that are byproducts of fracking, which involves pumping a mixture of water and chemicals at high pressure to crack the surface of rock formations.

The guidelines, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, represent the first federal clean air standards for fracking, the technology that has underpinned the breakneck growth of the shale oil and gas sector and holds out the hope of eventual energy independence for the US.

But they grant energy companies more than two years to meet the new standards, and do not cover wastewater produced by fracking, an increasing focus for critics of the industry.”

Merck and Safe Water Network Launch Initiative to Improve Water Access and Help Reduce the Impact of Water-Borne Disease in India

Published on 04/16/2012 in contaminated water, management, peak water and solutions and outreach. 0 Comments Tags: clean water, india, merck, outreach, peakwater, safe water network, Water.

Retrieved from: SafeWaterNetwork.org

“Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and Safe Water Network, announced the launch of a three−year, $1.5M partnership to increase access to safe water and reduce the impact of water-borne disease among impoverished communities in Andhra Pradesh, India.

This initiative addresses a critical need in India where an estimated 70 − 80 percent disease is related to water contamination and poor sanitation, and where more than 120,000 children under the age of five die each year from rotavirus diarrhea alone.

“India faces significant water and sanitation challenges. Seventy−five percent of the country’s surface water is contaminated by human, agricultural and industrial waste[2], while half of the country’s population lacks access to basic sanitation[3]. Those living in urban slums and rural environments are most affected. In many areas of the country, a growing dependence on groundwater for drinking is associated with a rise in health problems due to fluoride, salinity, water-borne pathogens, nitrate and other contaminants found in the water. In Andhra Pradesh, only 31 percent[4] of households treat their water before use, and 43 percent[5] of children under the age of five are stunted, a common result of frequent episodes of diarrhea.

This joint effort draws on Safe Water Network’s field experience in India, Ghana and Kenya to address the operational, economic, cultural and environmental challenges to safe water access. The team will apply a rigorous method to data collection and analysis to produce effective demand generation and education methods that can be replicated at scale throughout India.

The initiative will add a dozen sites to Safe Water Network’s existing field projects in Andhra Pradesh, which already provide nearly 40,000 people access to clean water. The additional sites will provide safe water access to another 20,000 – 30,000 people. Each phase of the initiative will be documented, including the data on health outcomes. Key findings will be shared with the water and sanitation sector as well as other organizations to help them address the global water crisis.”

Water Wars: Why India and Pakistan Are Squaring Off Over Their Rivers

Published on 04/16/2012 in agriculture, dams, drought, hydropower, peak water, policy and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: dams, india, pakistan, peakwater, Water, water wars.

Photo retrieved from: TIME world

“India’s Wular Lake, a popular picnic and tourist spot nestled in the Kashmir Valley, is an unlikely site for conflict. But India’s plan to build a structure on the Jhelum River at the mouth of the lake that will allow it to release water during the river’s lean winter months has outraged neighboring Pakistan, which believes the project will give India the power to control how much water flows downstream to its farmers. After two and a half decades of deadlock and 15 marathon rounds of bilateral talks — the most recent occurring in late March — the countries appear a long way from finding common ground.

The dispute isn’t the first of its kind, nor will it be the last. The waters of the Indus River and tributaries like the Jhelum — and the dams built on them by India — have long been one of the main points of contention between the rival neighbors, along with the disputed region of Kashmir itself and cross-border terrorism. Pakistan, whose agriculture-dominated economy is heavily reliant on the Indus and its tributaries, fears upstream dams allow India to manipulate the flows of water as it sees fit. Many in Pakistan accuse New Delhi of wantonly exacerbating the country’s dire water shortages, choking its agricultural production and ruining livelihoods.

“Indeed, India has ramped up its hydroelectricity projects in recent years to try to boost its woefully inadequate power supplies. The government has a total of 45 projects either already completed or in the proposal stage on the western rivers, some as large as 1000 megawatt and many as small as 2 and 3 megawatt. This expansion has irked Islamabad. “India is putting more and more restrictions and constrictions on Pakistan’s waters,” Kamal Majidulla, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani’s special assistant on water resources and agriculture, tells TIME.

A 2011 U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee report said that studies show no single dam will affect Pakistan’s access to water, but the cumulative effect of multiple hydroelectric projects could give India the ability to store enough water to limit Pakistan’s supply at crucial moments in the growing season. India has never abused its water supplies in this way, the report adds, and New Delhi rejects the theory as an unsubstantiated hypothesis. But the report’s observations serve as a suitable analogy for India and Pakistan’s water conflicts overall. While no single legal or diplomatic tussle will rupture the fragile relations between the countries, the cumulative effect of a series of standoffs could cause tensions to boil over.”

Tempers boil over border water battle

Published on 04/16/2012 in agriculture, peak water, policy, rivers, tap water, water diversions and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: elephant butte reservoir, Rio Grande.

The recent release of water from the Rio Grande - seen here at Piedras Negras - to farmers in Mexico has upset state officials, who say it runs counter to a 1906 pact. Retrieved from: www.mysanantonio.com

“State officials are taking a stand against the binational International Boundary and Water Commission over the release of Rio Grande water to Mexico. They say the water payments will cause substantial losses to U.S. crops and run counter to the 1906 pact governing water shares in the West Texas and New Mexico region.

“Our interpretation of the 1906 Convention does not entitle Mexico to receive water whenever they call for it,” Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Commissioner Carlos Rubinstein wrote in an April 3 letter to IBWC Commissioner Edward Drusina. “It appears that your decision to deliver water to Mexico under the current circumstances is inconsistent with the terms and conditions of the Convention, and results in the protection of Mexico’s citizens at the expense of U.S. citizens.”

The water in question comes down from Rio Grande headwaters in Colorado and is collected at Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mexico. It then is released to the Caballo Reservoir for use as part of the Rio Grande Project, which serves parts of New Mexico and West Texas, as well as for diversion to areas across the border.”

California Water Wars Spotlight: Colorado River

Published on 04/10/2012 in agriculture, peak water, policy, rivers, water rights, water shortage and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: Colorado River.

Photo retrieved from: www.ivn.us

“You may be startled to learn that California gets more water from the Colorado than any other state, 4.4 million acre feet a year. Of that 3.8 goes to the Imperial Valley and three other irrigation districts for agriculture. Now, if you will, prepare yourself to enter the looking glass world of water rights.

The behemoth Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has a fourth and fifth priority right on some of that water. Those four irrigation districts have water rights that predate the Colorado River Compact. Thus, they receive allocations every year, drought or no drought, before anyone else. Other states, notably Arizona, hadn’t been using their full allocations in previous years, which made their water available to others. But that has changed. Colorado River states are increasingly using all their allotments. California had been using the excess but that supply is quickly vanishing.

In Utah, unused allocations aren’t an issue because the rule is “Use it or lose it.” You purchase water rights and if you don’t use all your water it can be taken from you. Until recently in Colorado, it was illegal to capture water running off your roof into a rain barrel because that water belonged to those with downstream water rights. These examples perhaps give a flavor to the mind-numbing complexity of water rights. These gets compounded exponentially when water is shared between seven states.”

Egypt is losing its grip on the Nile

Published on 04/10/2012 in agriculture, dams, hydrology, hydropower, peak water, policy, rivers, tap water, water diversions and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: grand ethiopian renaissance dam, nile river, UN.

Photo retrieved from: www.bikyamasr.com

“If ratified by other basin states, the agreement would strip Egypt of its majority share of the river’s water.

The most serious threat, however, comes from Ethiopia, already Egypt’s regional rival. In May 2011, Ethiopia announced plans to build a massive, $4.8 billion hydropower dam — known as the Grand Renaissance Dam — along the stretch of river within its own borders, despite Egypt’s opposition to the project.

“Most of us here are eager to use the Nile. But every farmer expects Egypt to be the enemy,” said Manichey Abey, a 33-year-old Ethiopian farmer.

While hydropower dams — used to generate electricity — in theory eventually allow the dammed water to flow through, Egyptian officials remain wary of Ethiopia’s intentions. They demanded in October of last year the creation of a tripartite committee, now at work, to study the new dam’s effects and are worried the project could set an unwelcome precedent for more ambitious schemes in the future.

At 6,000 megawatts, the dam would be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa, with a reservoir capable of holding roughly 65 billion cubic meters of water.”