Tag: Water
40 million people rely on the Colorado River. It’s drying up fast.
One of the country’s most important sources of fresh water is in peril, the latest victim of the accelerating climate crisis. by Abrahm Lustgarten Friday, August 27, 2021 The Water Crisis in the West On…
Arizona’s current historic drought may be ‘baseline for the future’
by Alyssa Marksz, Cronkite News May 27, 2021 WASHINGTON – Arizona and other Western states just lived through the driest year in more than a century, with no drought relief in sight in the near…
Another dangerous fire season is looming in the Western U.S., and the drought-stricken region is headed for a water crisis
May 13, 2021 2.17pm EDT Updated May 13, 2021 3.54pm EDT by Mojtaba Sadegh, Boise State University; Amir AghaKouchak, University of California, Irvine, and John Abatzoglou, University of California, Merced Just about every indicator of…
Indian Point nuclear plant shutting down in New York
The Indian Point facility, notes one of its critics, was built “where a severe accident would jeopardize the health of millions of people and where no large-scale evacuation plan would be remotely feasible.” by Brett Wilkins,…
America’s drinking water is surprisingly easy to poison
The cyberbreach at a plant in Oldsmar, Florida, which could have resulted in a mass poisoning, was a reminder of a disturbing reality: Despite a decade of warnings, thousands of water systems around the country are…
‘It’s like nobody cares’: After two weeks without running water, Jackson, Miss. pleads for help
“Water is a basic necessity and it just brought a lot of frustration, anger, and disappointment,” said one of the city’s residents. “If you don’t know when it’s coming back, what is being done to help…
Pascua Yaqui win water funds, first of $150 million for Arizona projects
by Sarah Oven, Cronkite News Wednesday, January 27, 2021 Washington – Pascua Yaqui Council members called it “a blessing” Tuesday. They were talking about $900,000 in federal funds that will be used to bring water to…
Replacing lead service lines – perfect infrastructure project
by Wade Rathke January 22, 2021 New Orleans Recently, Social Policy was lucky enough to have fifty contributors offer ideas suggesting priorities for the new Biden administration. There were some amazing recommendations, and we’ll dig…
Indigenous women urge Biden to stop pipelines and respect Treaty Rights
“Joe Biden, we are asking you to stand on the right side of history and humanity by putting an immediate end to the deadly pipelines destroying our Earth, our communities, and all life.” by Jessica Corbett,…
Timber Tax Cuts Cost Oregon Towns Billions. Then Polluted Water Drove Up the Price.
Rural communities in Oregon paid millions of dollars for clean, safe drinking water because the state didn’t protect their watersheds from logging-related contamination. by Tony Schick, Oregon Public Broadcasting, and Rob Davis, The Oregonian/OregonLive Thursday, December…
In a last-minute rule change, the Trump administration rolls back water-saving standards for showerheads
by Robert Glennon, University of Arizona Saturday, December 19, 2020 For more than 25 years, Congress has directed U.S. government agencies to set energy and water efficiency standards for many new products. These measures conserve resources…
Michigan Gov. moves to shut down Line 5 Pipeline to protect Great Lakes
‘This Is a Really, Really Big Deal’ “Enbridge has imposed on the people of Michigan an unacceptable risk of a catastrophic oil spill in the Great Lakes that could devastate our economy and way of life.”…
Permit for controversial $9 billion plastics plant in “chemical alley” to be put on hold
Proposed emissions from the plant would triple the levels of cancer-causing chemicals in one of the most toxic areas of the U.S., but the Army Corps of Engineers intends to suspend the permit. by Lylla Younes …
5 Reasons to rethink the future of dams
The United States must grapple with a legacy of 90,000 dams, many unsafe or unwanted. by Tara Lohan Wednesday, October 28, 2020 The tide has shifted on dams. Once a monument to our engineering prowess, there’s…
Getting the lead out
by Wade Rathke September 29, 2020 New Orleans We have to take progress where we can get it in these dark days at perhaps the tail end of the Trump administration. There are scores of…
New research shows disproportionate rate of coronavirus deaths in polluted areas
The type of pollution emitted by many chemical plants in Louisiana’s industrial corridor is correlated with increased coronavirus deaths, according to new peer-reviewed research from SUNY and ProPublica. by Lylla Younes, ProPublica, and Sara Sneath The…
AGs sue Trump council over gutting of bedrock US environmental law
‘Reckless and Unprecedented’ “This administration’s insidious attack on one of our most important environmental laws is an attack on the democratic process itself.” by Jessica Corbett, staff writer Friday, August 28 A coalition of 27 U.S….
Wildfires can poison drinking water – here’s how communities can be better prepared
The Camp Fire inferno spread at a speed of one football field per second, chasing everyone – including water system operators – out of town. The 2018 Camp Fire north of Sacramento burned everything in its…
Decades-long campaign forces Nevada Board to kill huge Las Vegas groundwater pipeline
by Meteor staff The Center for Biological Diversity announced late last week that a 31-year struggle to stop a massive groundwater pipeline development came to a stunning conclusion when the Southern Nevada Water Authority board voted…
After dams fail, Dow admits floodwaters in Midland, Michigan ‘commingling’ with toxic chemical storage ponds
“This has the potential to be a major environmental disaster.” by Eoin Higgins, staff writer Wednesday, May 20, 10 AM EDT Floodwaters unleashed by a dam failure in central Michigan have reached a Dow Chemical facility…
Megadrought brings dry future to West, growing U.S. cities
by Alexandra Tempus May 7, 2020 In 2002, Utah was reeling from four years of dry conditions that turned the state “into a parched tinderbox,’’ as the Associated Press reported at the time. “Drought Could Last…
Solar farms, power stations and water treatment plants can be attractions instead of eyesores
Infrastructure as art: Jacob van Ruisdael, ‘Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede,’ c. 1670. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, CC BY-ND by Margaret Birney Vickery, University of Massachusetts Amherst Amid the economic and social fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic,…
As Covid-19 Devastates Navajo Nation, Doctors Without Borders Dispatches Team to Battle Outbreak
“You’re telling people, ‘Wash your hands for 20 seconds multiple times a day,’ and they don’t have running water.” by Andrea Germanos, staff writer Tuesday, May 12 As the virus continues to lay bare systemic inequities…
New report details flooding/contamination risks at uranium mine near Grand Canyon
April 28, 2020 Flagstaff, Ariz. The Grand Canyon Trust reports serious problems at the Canyon Mine uranium mine south of Grand Canyon National Park. The report, “Canyon Mine: Why No Uranium Mine is “Safe” for the…
