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Australian budget tackles environment concerns
New government budget show government’s intent to tackle Australia’s growing water problems; critics charge that the government has not gone far enough to save the Murray-Darling Basin; the huge river system is drying up under the pressure of Australia’s epic drought and excessive water extraction for irrigation
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Lessons from Kazakhstan about safe water
A key UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) is to halve the number of people without access to safe drinking water and sanitation by 2015; research shows, however, that the MDG definition is too narrow and can be misleading
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Herbicide-tolerant crops can improve water quality
One of the major sources of water contamination is herbicide pollution; scientists find that using herbicide-tolerant crops — and replacing some of the residual herbicides with the contact herbicides —significantly reduces water pollution
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DEET found in Chicago drinking water
Low levels of bug repellent found in Chicago drinking water; the city water authorities say the amounts are too small to worry about, but a Duke University expert says finding raises a red flag
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Desalination can boost U.S. water supplies
More than 97 percent of the Earth’s water — seawater and brackish groundwater — is too salty to use for drinking water or agriculture; new report says that desalination would be a good way to meet water shortages in the United States, but that the environmental impact of large-scale desalination campaign should be carefully studied
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How much water is needed to produce various types of energy?
Most of the energy we consume requires the use of water for its generation; water is a dwindling resource, so researchers wanted to know how much water is required to produce different types of energy
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Emerging water contaminants a growing worry
As worries about pharmaceutical contamination of U.S. drinking water increase, a non-profit organization increases its efforts to build a coalition of organizations to research the issue
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AWWA urges scientific approach to pharmaceuticals in drinking water
The sky may not be falling: Stories about pharmaceutical traces in U.S. drinking water abound, but an expert from Southern Nevada Water Authority testifies before Senate subcommittee that worries about the ill effects of such traces are exaggerated
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Chicago testing Lake Michigan water for drugs
Lab tests found traces of pharmaceuticals in the water of Lake Michigan, the source of drinking water for millions in the greater Chicago area; city water authorities launch a thorough water testing campaign
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Pennsylvania invests in water infrastructure
Pennsylvania approves $72 million in low-interest loans and grants for 19 brownfields, drinking water, wastewater, and storm water projects in 15 counties
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Water tensions, if not yet water wars, are here
MI5, in its annual report to the U.K. government, said that one of the threats to world peace are “water wars” between countries left drought-ridden by climate change; water wars may be a while off yet, but water tensions are already here
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Short on water, Saudis phase out wheat production
In the 1970s the Saudi government launched an ambitious plan to make the kingdom self-sufficient on wheat; the Saudis now reverse course and plan to phase out wheat production by 2016; the reason: Wheat production requires water, and if current water consumption patterns continue, the kingdom will run out of fossil water in 20 years
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One VC's view: "Water is the next oil"
VC hopes to capitalize on an increasingly scarce resource
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U.K. government, water companies mismanage water supply, treatment
Report says water is becoming more expensive, there is massive waste in the system, infrastructure was not in a state to cope with flooding and at the same time some parts of the country could expect to face severe droughts
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