October 9th, 2024
Via The Diplomat, a look at how Nepal’s vulnerability to climate-related water shocks is exacerbated by its unique geological and hydrological features Several devastating floods and landslides hit Nepal during this year’s monsoon season. The most recent occurred in late September, affecting millions of people, causing widespread loss of life, and considerable destruction of infrastructure, including ravaging […]
Read more »In Arid New Mexico, A Debate Over Reusing Oil-Industry Wastewater
October 7th, 2024
Via Grist, a report on the New Mexico governor’s plan to use treated water from oil and gas drilling: This year, the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission held a hearing in Santa Fe to seek public input on regulating wastewater discharge from the oil and gas industry. It ended up dealing a blow to Governor […]
Read more »October 2nd, 2024
Via Dialogue Earth, a look at how Sinohydro has struggled with its six projects in Bolivia, facing complaints over environmental harms, labour issues and quality of works In the early hours of 6 May, a jaguar was run over by a vehicle near the site of works to widen a section of the Cochabamba-Santa Cruz highway, […]
Read more »Brazil Mega Dams Promised A Green Future. Then Came Climate Change
September 27th, 2024
Via the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a look at how Brazilian President Lula bet big on mega dams in the 2000s to expand clean energy. Now climate change is hurting Brazil’s green ambitions: Amazon mega dams running well below capacity as river levels low Underperformance not new but worsened by record-setting drought Brazil turns to polluting […]
Read more »September 19th, 2024
Via Sustainability by Numbers, a look at how much energy does desalinisation use? Is it “absurdly cheap”? Elon Musk has said several times recently that desalinisation is “absurdly cheap”.1 This was surprising to me. When I was younger I was taught the mantra that desalinisation “uses lots of energy and is really expensive”. And to be honest, […]
Read more »Amazon Says It’s Going ‘Water Positive’ — But There’s A Problem
August 29th, 2024
Via Grist, a look at how one company’s pledge to conserve water at its data centers doesn’t account for the thirsty power plants that keep them running: Earlier this year, the e-commerce corporation Amazon secured approval to open two new data centers in Santiago, Chile. The $400 million venture is the company’s first foray into locating its data facilities, […]
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