Tag: Water
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…
Climate change threatens drinking water quality across the Great Lakes
Harmful algal bloom in Lake Erie, Sept. 4, 2009. NOAA/Flickr by Gabriel Filippelli, IUPUI and Joseph D. Ortiz, Kent State University This story is part of the Pulitzer Center’s nationwide Connected Coastlines reporting initiative. For more…
Pandemic shines a light on critical water issues — 40% of the Navajo Nation lacks running water, will Congress fund solutions?
Clean water is essential during the COVID-19 health crisis, but so far Congress hasn’t directed funds to help water utilities or stop water shutoffs in low-income households. 40% of the Navajo Nation lacks running water by…
Emerging climate-fueled megadrought in Western US may rival any over past 1,200 years
Source: the journal Science “We now have enough observations of current drought and tree-ring records of past drought to say that we’re on the same trajectory as the worst prehistoric droughts.” by Andrea Germanos, staff writer…
Justice groups say next coronavirus relief package must include moratorium on utility shutoffs
“It’s unconscionable that Senate Republicans chose to protect corporate America over families in the last rescue package.” by Julia Conley, staff writer With more than a quarter of Americans reporting lost income as a…
Court approves settlement requiring EPA rules on most dangerous chemical spills
Saturday, March 14 The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York approved a consent decree between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a coalition of community and environmental organizations, including the Environmental Justice…
EPA’s new rules for assessing pesticide risks ignore many harms to endangered species
By Meteor Staff Flagstaff The Environmental Protection Agency issued revised methods for assessing pesticide risks yesterday that could allow widespread harm to most of the nation’s most endangered plants and animals. The revised methods from…
‘This system cannot be sustained’ This year, tribal nations enter negotiations over Colorado River water.
By Anna V. Smith/ High Country News March 10, 2020 The Colorado River Basin is the setting for some of the most drawn-out and complex water issues in the Western U.S. In 2019, the Colorado River…
