Special Coverage: Water

Will Midwest Floods Be as Toxic as New Orleans?

Peter N. Spotts, Christian Science Monitor. July 3, 2008.
Some of the most serious pollution problems may not lie outdoors, but in the home.

From the blogs

Community Activists Defeat Water Bottler in New Hampshire

by Tara Lohan, AlterNet

Another win in the fight against privatization of water.

Why Are the World's Lakes Disappearing?

by Abigail Brown, Water For The Ages

From the Great Lakes to Lake Chad, the world's inland lakes are drying up.

Colbert Report: Rocket Fuel Your Water Is a Laughing Matter (Video)

by Tara Lohan, AlterNet

Now even if you're one of the lucky Americans who don't have harmful rocket fuel in your water, you can buy some in Liquid Launch.

Will Desalination Take Off in California?

by Jared Simpson, Waterblogged.Info

A story actually covered by the local TV news station.

Farmed Salmon Being Subjected to Excercise Regimes to Stay Fit

by Erin Greenfield, Food & Water Watch

Really, doesn't it seem easier to protect wild salmon than to put mini heart monitors on farmed fish?

Good News for McCloud, California in Fight Against Nestle

by Tara Lohan, AlterNet

Nestle is scaling back their proposal for a new bottling facility ... drastically.

Is Water Part of the Tibet/China Conflict?

by Michael E. Campana, WaterWired

There's a lot of history and politics behind China's occupation of Tibet, and now you can add water to the list of conflict sources.

South African High Court Rules: A Human Right to Water

by Michael E. Campana, WaterWired

Denying the poor access to adequate water "is to deny them the rights to health and to lead a dignified lifestyle."

Environmental Destruction Adds to Devastation in Myanmar

by Tara Lohan, AlterNet

It turns out mangroves are really, really important.

In Iraq 70 Percent of People Lack Clean Water

by Abigail Brown, Water For The Ages

The number of civilians in Iraq without water has risen from 50 percent to 70 percent during 2003 to 2007.

The Protest that Turned the Tide of Global Green Opinion

Kathy Marks, The Independent UK. July 2, 2008.
Twenty five years ago a band of protesters blocked the construction of a dam and their success inspired a generation of environmentalists.

Is a Big Hunk of Steak Worth Almost 2,000 Gallons of Water?

Collin Dunn, Huffington Post. July 1, 2008.
Sometimes the kick we need to green our lives is a hard look at the numbers.

Is the Water Privatization Trend Ending?

Julio Godoy, IPS News. June 30, 2008.
Paris is the latest city to take action to put water back into public hands, and they may be part of a new trend.

Global Warming's Twin Evil: Wildfires and Drought

Dr. Reese Halter, AlterNet. June 30, 2008.
The 850 fires burning in California alone should be a wake up call that we're unprepared for rapid climate change.

Why the Oil Industry Benefits from Bottled Water Sales

Richard Girard, Polaris Institute. June 26, 2008.
The PET plastic bottles used for bottled water can all be traced back the world's biggest oil giants.

Will One of the Country's Greatest Wetlands Be Restored?

Leonard Doyle, Independent UK. June 26, 2008.
A return to the state of nature is planned for Florida's unique "River of Grass."

Why Floods Are Getting Worse

Richard Mertens, Christian Science Monitor. June 25, 2008.
Climate change has recently cast a new and disturbing uncertainty over flood-management questions.

Some Coastal Woes Begin Far Inland

Moises Velasquez-Manoff, Christian Science Monitor. June 25, 2008.
Farm runoff creates "dead zones" offshore, but no national authority is tasked to address them.

Is Your City Going to Be Bottled Water-Free?

Tara Lohan, AlterNet. June 24, 2008.
A new resolution from leading U.S. mayors shows that more cities may be ditching the bottled stuff in favor of tap.

Conservative Government Destroys Atlanta Like Gen. Sherman Never Could

Rick Perlstein, Blog for Our Future. June 23, 2008.
The colossal mismanagement of water in Georgia has produced an urban crisis with no clear solution other than a return to smart government.

The Real Story Behind the Midwest Floods? Climate Change

Amy Goodman, King Features Syndicate. June 19, 2008.
Scientists acknowledge an uncomfortable fact long ignored by the media: global warming is the real cause of extreme weather like the Midwest floods.

The Ordinary People Who Took on the Richest Oil Companies (Video)

Riki Ott, Chelsea Green Publishing. June 18, 2008.
Author Riki Ott tells the extraordinary tale of the people who took on the world's richest oil companies to protect Prince William Sound.

California's Trouble: Rising Seas, Floods and Drought in Forecast

Jody Zaitlin, Terrain. June 18, 2008.
Decreasing snowpack, changing rainfall patterns, increased risk of flooding and sea level rise are in store.

Watering the West: Growth Stops When the Water Runs Out

Sarah Bates, Science Progress. June 17, 2008.
The failure to connect land-use and water planning may have far-reaching and increasingly unacceptable consequences.

Is 'Mother Nature' Really To Blame for the Midwest Floods?

Georgianne Nienaber, Huffington Post. June 17, 2008.
What or who is behind a water management policy in the United States that allowed our infrastructure to crumble?

Credit Liquidity and H2O Liquidity Are Both Drying Up

Max Keiser, Huffington Post. June 16, 2008.
These two diminishing resources have a common cause for their disappearance: a broken neo-classic capitalist system.

Where Have All the Fish Gone?

Moises Velasquez-Manoff, Christian Science Monitor. June 11, 2008.
By some accounts, if current fishing trends continue, all the world's fisheries will have collapsed by mid-century.

New Washing Machine Uses Just a Cup of Water

Martin Hickman, Independent UK. June 10, 2008.
This machine could save billions of liters of water a year and be on the market in 2009.

Native Americans Walk for the Water in Georgia

Alice Gordon, Atlanta Progressive News. June 10, 2008.
A group of Native Americans and others have completed a journey to give thanks to the river in water-starved Georgia.

Water Scarcity: The Real Food Crisis

Fred Pearce, Yale Environment 360. June 9, 2008.
In the discussion of the global food emergency, one underlying factor is barely mentioned: The world is running out of freshwater.

How Water Has Become a National Security Issue

Maude Barlow, YES! Magazine. June 6, 2008.
Water has become a key strategic security issue for the U.S. government and that has some very concerned.

Small Town Overthrows Corporate Giant for Control of Water

Wenonah Hauter, Food & Water Watch. June 5, 2008.
The people of Felton, California learned that they had successfully wrested control of their water from the clutches of a giant corporation.

How to Know if Your Water Is Safe to Drink

Tara Lohan, AlterNet. June 4, 2008.
Author Elizabeth Royte talks about problems with bottled water, the safety of tap, concerns with drugs in the water and whether filters really work.

Water-rich New England Building a Desalination Plant

Mark Clayton, Christian Science Monitor. June 2, 2008.
Despite controversy, the first big New England desalination plant is expected to go online in Massachusetts this month.

Will the Amazon Be Flooded for a Hydro Dam?

Patrick Cunningham, Independent UK. May 31, 2008.
Thousands of miles of the rainforest may be flooded because of dam likely to cause a dramatic rise in greenhouse gas emissions.

Everglades on Fire: Why One of the Wettest Areas in the Country Went Up in Flames

Michael Grunwald, Grist.org. May 30, 2008.
A flood control project in the region gave water managers power to move almost every drop of rain that fell south of Orlando.

Apocalypse in the Oceans

Anneli Rufus, AlterNet. May 30, 2008.
With 150 dead zones in our oceans, some the size of Ireland, author Taras Grescoe argues that there's been a massive die out of sea life.

How the World Is Realizing that Water Is "Blue Gold"

Mark Clayton, Christian Science Monitor. May 29, 2008.
Increasingly it is being asked: Which countries are water rich, which are water poor, and who should manage water resources?

Coke's CEO Dishes: The Company Plans to Prey on Unsustainable Urbanization

Richard Girard, Polaris Institute. May 29, 2008.
While water shortages are getting worse in areas of increasing urbanization, Coke is digging in their heels there to make more money.

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Learn more about the Polaris Institute's work on water issues, including the privatization of water services, bulk water exports, water takings, water security and their bottled water campaign.

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