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☆ This Small Ozarks Town—Home to Walmart Headquarters—Is Becoming a New Capital of Cool
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Kathryn O Shea-Evans | Photographs Barrett Emke For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

MORE THAN a decade after the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened in 2011 in Bentonville, Ark., I found myself wondering if more art, culture and good food had followed in its wake. Founded by Alice Walton , daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, and designed by convention-flouting architect Moshe Safdie, the museum turned a spotlight on this southern city in the Ozarks. Named for the spring that feeds the two ponds that flank it, the museum holds work by artists such as Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol and Georgia O’Keeffe.

Persons: Alice Walton, Sam Walton, Moshe Safdie, Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Georgia O’Keeffe Organizations: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Walmart Locations: Bentonville, Ark, Georgia

☆ On Maui, a perfect storm of climate, colonialism, and failed emergency systems made the deadliest US wildfire in over a century
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Maiya Focht | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

A deadly wildfire raged through the Hawaiian town of Lahaina, killing at least 111 people, last week. Aerial view shows destroyed homes and buildings near Front Street in Lahaina Town on August 10, 2023. Colonialism: Plantations brought the perfect wildfire fuel, an invasive grassLahaina was once the capital of the indigenous Hawaiian kingdom. Smoke and flames rise in Lahaina, Maui County, Hawaii, U.S., August 8, 2023 in this still image from video obtained from social media. A Mercy Worldwide volunteer makes damage assessment of charred apartment complex in the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, western Maui, Hawaii on August 12, 2023.

Persons: Patrick T, Fallon, Jeff Masters, YUKI IWAMURA, Clay Trauernicht, Erin Hawk, We've, Abby Frazier, PATRICK T, FALLON, Dora, Dora didn't, Judson Jones, Jeff Melichar, didn't, Anne Lopez, Herman Andaya Organizations: Service, Getty, Yale, Washington Post, Plantations, Hawaii Public Radio, University of Hawaii, Maui . Flames, Reuters, Clark University, New York Times, REUTERS, ABC7, Mercy Worldwide Locations: Lahaina, Maui, Lahaina Town, Hawaii, U.S, Maui County, AFP

☆ Stellantis invests more than $100 million in California lithium project
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Ernest Scheyder | Thomson Reuters | Ernest Scheyder Is An Award-Winning Senior Correspondent Covering The Green Energy Transition | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"This is a significant investment and goes a long way toward developing this key project," Controlled Thermal CEO Rod Colwell said in an interview. Colwell said a $65 million facility recently installed by Controlled Thermal can remove that silica and other unwanted metals. Controlled Thermal aims to obtain final permits by October and start construction of a commercial lithium plant soon thereafter, Colwell said. Controlled Thermal had separately agreed to supply lithium to General Motors (GM.N) by 2024, but that goal has been pushed to 2025, Colwell said. GM said it has a "close working relationship" with Controlled Thermal but deferred comment on technical questions to its junior partner.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Stellantis, Rod Colwell, Berkshire Hathaway, Colwell, There's, Carlos Tavares, Goldman Sachs, Ernest Scheyder, Jamie Freed Organizations: REUTERS, Resources, Chrysler, Berkshire, Koch Industries, General Motors, GM, Vulcan Energy Resources, Thomson Locations: Velizy, Villacoublay, Paris, France

☆ Maui wildfires: Woman says her husband is 'broken' by loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Bill Weir | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Waiehu, Hawaii CNN —Two days before the Maui inferno, Brenda Keau’s husband Tony called his mom for a chat. The elderly woman’s home in Lahaina is gone, destroyed in the wildfires that swept across the Hawaiian island last week. And I don’t like seeing him like that because my husband is strong, loving,” Keau said. So I’m talking for him.”Keau said she feared arson when she saw smoke rising from the hills of upcountry Maui, from her home in Waiehu, in the north of the island on August 8. Evelio Contreras/CNNInland from Keau’s home, in the upcountry hills where she saw the smoke, a wildfire is still only 60% contained.

Persons: Brenda Keau’s, Tony, ” Keau, he’s, “, Evelio Contreras, ”, Keau, it’s, It’s, Kalopodes, Merrill Kalopodes, “ I’ve, ” Kalopodes Organizations: Hawaii CNN, CNN Investigations, CNN Inland, Maui County Fire Department, Volunteer, CNN Locations: Waiehu, Hawaii, Maui, Lahaina, upcountry Maui, Maui's upcountry, Maui County, Kula, Oahu

☆ What are China's 'sponge cities' and why aren't they stopping the floods?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The "sponge city" initiative was designed to make greater use of lower-impact "nature-based solutions" to better distribute water and improve drainage and storage. A total of 30 pilot sponge cities were selected in 2015 and 2016. By last year, only 64 of China's 654 cities had produced legislation to implement sponge city guidelines, researchers said in January. Even if sponge city measures had been implemented in full, they would have been unable to prevent this year's disasters. This year's heavy rain hit cities in the normally arid north, where sponge city development is less advanced.

Persons: David Stanway Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Poyang county, Jiangxi province, China, Zhengzhou, Henan province, Beijing

☆ Albemarle jumps into global race to reinvent lithium production
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Ernest Scheyder | Thomson Reuters | Ernest Scheyder Is An Award-Winning Senior Correspondent Covering The Green Energy Transition | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A sign at the approach road leads to Albemarle's lithium evaporation ponds at its facility in Silver Peak, Nevada, U.S., January 9, 2019. Already the world's largest lithium producer, a successful move into the DLE sector would likely cement Albemarle's dominance in the fast-growing industry amid the push to electrify the global economy. DLE technologies vary, but they each aim to roughly double lithium extraction rates from brine deposits compared to traditional evaporation ponds. No DLE technology has reached commercial production without the use of those ponds, though, sparking a global race to be the first. If the tests are successful, the company could essentially bolt on DLE equipment to its bromine operations.

Persons: Ernest Scheyder, Kent Masters, Albemarle, Masters, Nick Zieminski Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, General Motors, Ford, Tetra Technologies, Thomson Locations: Silver, , Nevada, U.S, Albemarle, Arkansas

☆ Is That Water Too Polluted to Swim in?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Melinda Wenner Moyer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In recent weeks, floods in the Northeast have led to dozens of beach closures. Heavy rainfall and flooding increase the risk that water will be contaminated with disease-causing pathogens that people can accidentally ingest while swimming. One recent study estimated that 57 million illnesses each year are the direct result of people swimming in contaminated oceans, lakes, rivers and ponds in the United States. This doesn’t mean we should all stop swimming, though — it just means that there are certain situations and warnings to look out for. “I have a 6-year-old and an 8-year-old, and we go swimming all the time,” Ms. Hlavsa said.

Persons: Michele Hlavsa, “, ” Ms, Hlavsa Organizations: Centers for Disease Control Locations: United States

☆ Opinion | The Birds Are Singing, but Not for Me
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( David George Haskell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Graphs from my audiologist show hearing loss across all sound frequencies, but especially for high sounds, so I was expecting this moment. Yet my hearing loss is now worse than most of my cohort of friends in their mid-50s, a quirk of my genes. The hair cells in our ears are descendants of the wiggly cilia hairs that animate single-celled creatures swimming around in ponds and ocean water. Sudden shocks like gun blasts kill inner-ear hair cells. Instead, aging undermines hair cells.

Persons: I’ve, I’m Organizations: National Institutes of Health

☆ At sweltering Phoenix Zoo, showers for owls and icy treats for monkeys
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Liliana Salgado | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Liliana SalgadoPHOENIX, July 21 (Reuters) - On Day 22 of temperatures in Phoenix exceeding 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 Celsius), a Eurasian eagle owl enjoyed a prolonged shower on Friday while monkeys and horses ate icy treats, some laced with Gatorade. The Phoenix Zoo has come up with myriad ways to cool off animals in the historic record-breaking heat wave, including hose-downs, mister lines, cooling pads, ponds, mud water, fans and air-conditioned buildings. So this is one of the ways that we help them cool down in this heat," said zookeeper Leslie Lindholm. And over in Monkey Village, tiny squirrel monkeys pulled frozen treats out of buckets. Reporting by Liliana Salgado in Phoenix; Editing by Mary Milliken and Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Archie, Liliana Salgado PHOENIX, Lizzie Newman, zookeeper Leslie Lindholm, Jake, zookeeper Jyl Purdy, Amy Dietz, Liliana Salgado, Mary Milliken, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Phoenix Zoo, REUTERS, Gatorade, The Phoenix, Thomson Locations: Arizona, U.S, Phoenix, Europe, Asia, Belgian, Monkey

☆ How Chile's progressive new plan to mine lithium faces Indigenous hurdles
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Alexander Villegas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

In interviews with Reuters, some community leaders said they would demand more profits be channeled their way, while others said they would resist any new lithium mining at all. Boric's plan envisions expanding mining with public-private partnerships controlled by a new state lithium company. Both Espindola and Mondaca said a majority of community members oppose expanded lithium mining in the region. It said it takes relationships with Indigenous communities seriously and that is why Boric met with them in person. Yermin Basques, president of Toconao, said he was pushing for the community to receive a greater share of the profits and be a "strategic partner" in the state lithium company.

Persons: Alexander Villegas, Ivan Alvarado, Gabriel Boric, Boric, Francisco Mondaca, SQM, it's, Mondaca, Cristian Espindola, Espindola, Toconao, Albemarle, Alonso Barros, Rolando Humire, Humire, Mauricio Lorca, Adam Jourdan, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Reuters, National Reserve, REUTERS, Atacama Indigenous Council, BMW, NASA, National, University of Atacama, Thomson Locations: Antofagasta region, Chile, Santiago, Atacama, Albemarle, Los, Chilean, Basques

☆ Meet the $1 billion water-recycling startup helping the likes of Coca-Cola, BMW, and TSMC curb their usage and clamp down on pollution
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The water-recycling firm Gradiant became one of the first in the space to be valued at $1 billion. Bajpayee's Gradiant helps industrial businesses get this under control by treating and recycling used water. Gradiant has raised over $400 million from investors to date and counts BMW, Coca-Cola, Pfizer, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. as customers. "If you think about it, ever since the industrial revolution, we've just been taking water from nature," Bajpayee told Insider. Bajpayee added that the company used fewer and, "in some cases," no chemicals in its treatments.

Persons: Gradiant, Anurag Bajpayee, we've, Bajpayee, MIT spinout, Iris, Extantia, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lindsey Higgins, Higgins Organizations: BMW, Cola, Pfizer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, MIT, Synthesis Locations: Microsoft's, South America

☆ The wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito leased a plot of land to an oil and natural gas company while the judge was weakening the powers of the Environmental Protection Agency, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In June 2022, Justice Samuel Alito's wife leased a plot of land in Oklahoma to an oil and gas company. Alito in several rulings before the court has been part of majority decisions to reduce the scope of the EPA. There are thousands of oil and gas leases across Oklahoma, where the energy sector is a critical economic driver. But the oil and gas lease troubles many environmentalists given Justice Alito's role in weakening the scope of the Environmental Protection Agency in several cases that have come before the court. And last year, the Supreme Court in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency limited the federal agency's ability to control the level of carbon emissions from power plants.

Persons: Samuel Alito's, Alito, —, Samuel Alito, Martha Ann Bomgardner Alito, Alito's, Jeff Hauser, Paul Thomas Anderson, Joe Biden Organizations: EPA, Service, Citizen Energy III, Energy III, Environmental Protection Agency Locations: Oklahoma, Sackett v, West Virginia

☆ Here’s a Look at the Water Crises That Might Be Coming to You Soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bangladesh is a land of water. Now, its most profound threat is water, in its many terrible incarnations: drought, deluge, cyclones, saltwater. The people of Bangladesh are rushing to harvest rice as soon as they get word of heavy rains upstream. They’re building floating beds of water hyacinths to grow vegetables beyond the reach of floodwaters. And where they’re running out of even drinking water, they’re learning to drink every drop of rain.

Locations: Bangladesh, Bengal

☆ Chile's Codelco must kick-start lithium industry while reviving copper output
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Fabian Cambero | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

At the same time, Codelco wants to boost its output of copper which has slumped to its lowest in a quarter-century. Some analysts have questioned whether the copper company with no experience as a lithium miner can tackle both challenges at once. But industry insiders told Reuters Codelco will probably focus its own resources on copper while negotiating contracts for lithium operations and letting other miners do the work. The sources said the lithium strategy was being led by executives including Jaime San Martin, manager of new business development, known by some within Codelco as "lithium man". "But I think lithium is an excellent opportunity for Codelco to help them navigate their very difficult copper situation."

Persons: Ivan Alvarado, SANTIAGO, Gabriel Boric, Codelco, Reuters Codelco, Albemarle, Jaime San Martin, Alejandro Rivera, Maximo Pacheco, Minera, SQM, Pacheco, Juan Carlos Guajardo, Plusmining, Guajardo, Andre Sougarret, Fabian Andrés Cambero, Alexander Villegas, Adam Jourdan, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Tesla, BMW, Finance, Salares, Thomson Locations: Chile, Australia, Albemarle, Indonesia, Freeport, McMoRan, Chile's, Berlin, Beijing, Codelco, Santiago

☆ 2023 Is the Year of the Long Walk
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Erin Vivid Riley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Berkshires, in western Massachusetts, have long encouraged contemplative walking. Now, a new long-distance path, the High Road, will provide a slow-paced, inn-to-inn experience that will eventually traverse the entire region. Behind the effort is the Berkshire Natural Resources Council, which is using existing preserves as footholds for the route. Along with providing easy access to pristine wilderness, the High Road will showcase the region’s cultural highlights, allowing walkers to incorporate afternoons at destinations like Tanglewood and Jacob’s Pillow. The Berkshire Natural Resources Council has a trail map of the High Road’s first section on its website.

Persons: They’re, Edith Wharton, Herman Melville Organizations: Berkshire Natural Resources Council, Berkshire Natural Resources, Berkshire Camino Locations: Massachusetts, Pittsfield, New England, Lenox, Greylock, Berkshire County, Palmer, Great Barrington, Berkshire, Tanglewood

Boric's shock announcement was all the more surprising as no DLE technology has reached commercial production without the use of those ponds, sparking competition to be the first. "Given those demand projections, there's definitely need for more supply from DLE," said Jordan Roberts, a Fastmarkets lithium industry analyst. A customer aiming to produce 15,000 metric tons of lithium each year, for example, could buy three stackable IBAT lithium plants. Exxon has also held talks with EnergySource Minerals about licensing DLE technology, two of the people said. Many brine deposits have varied chemical compositions, meaning it's unlikely that one DLE technology will emerge as a global leader.

Persons: DLE, Ken Hoffman, Gabriel Boric, Eramet, Sunresin, John Burba, That's, Alec Lucas, Jordan Roberts, IBAT, Garry Flowers, Eli Horton, Gavin Rennick, Sinead Kaufman, Dave Snydacker, Steven Schoffstall, doesn't, Chris Doornbos, Ernest Scheyder, Veronica Brown, Claudia Parsons Organizations: . Geological, EV Battery Materials Research, McKinsey & Co, Minerals, Battery Metals, Rio Tinto, Battery Tech, Fastmarkets, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Reuters, Exxon, EnergySource Minerals, Koch Industries, Ford, SLB's New Energy, Mining, Solutions, BNP, BMW, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Lake Resources, Miners, General Motors, Canadian, Imperial Oil, Thomson Locations: CHARLES , Louisiana, Europe, Asia, North America, Rio, U.S, DLE, Louisiana, Arkansas, Salton, Salt, Chile, Schlumberger, Nevada, Argentina

☆ Opinion | America Has a Chance to Make Farming More Climate Friendly
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Robert B. Semple Jr. | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

Why, when we think of climate change, do we think of big oil, not big ag; Exxon and not Tyson? It’s time you met the big ag lobby, one of the most powerful influences on policy in America. But when we started digging into the big ag lobby, we discovered it’s basically — “The most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. So the big ag lobby has one key aim — block environmental regulation. I absolutely envy how good these lobbyists are at their job.” It’s outrageous what the big ag lobby has gotten away with.

Persons: “, Peter Lehner, He’s, I’m, It’s, Tyson, Jennifer Jacquet, She’s, Peter, she’s, ”, Zippy Duvall, “ —, John Boehner, —, You’ve, Waxman, Markey, Obama, American Farm Bureau Federation didn’t, ” —, JBS, don’t, they’re, Chuck Schumer, Cory Booker, I’ve, they’ve Organizations: Agriculture, ExxonMobil, Shell, Exxon, Washington , D.C, American Farm Bureau Federation, Capitol, U.S . Farmers, Tyson, New York Times, Republican, Senate’s Agriculture, pharma Locations: America, United States, Lake Erie, U.S, China, Washington ,, Kyoto, Senate’s

☆ The story behind this playful rooftop portrait
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Rebecca Cairns | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Hong Kong’s humidity – already oppressive – was intensified in the dark, maze-like alleyways of an unruly enclave known as Kowloon Walled City. Greg Girard, courtesy of Blue Lotus GalleryA ‘strange, vertical village’Girard first visited Kowloon Walled City in 1986 while on a shoot at the nearby airport. As such, the Walled City remained technically subject to Chinese rule, though this was never enforced. The site of the Walled City has since been transformed into a public park, which opened in 1995. Ongoing interest in the Walled City is, Girard suggests, because of the spirit it encapsulates: the aptitude for survival even in the harshest of circumstances.

Persons: –, Greg Girard, wasn’t, ” Girard, ”, Girard, Greg Girard ., ’ Girard, “, Ian Lambot, Lambot, Girard — Organizations: CNN, Kai Tek International, Lotus Locations: Hong, Kowloon Walled City, Walled City, Walled, Tung, Hong Kong, British, ”, “, City, Girard

☆ Ukraine warns over reservoir level after Kakhovka dam collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] A column of water from the explosion during a Russian military strike is seen during an evacuation local residents from a flooded area after the Nova Kakhovka dam breached, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine in Kherson, Ukraine June 8, 2023. REUTERS/StringerKYIV, June 8 (Reuters) - The water level at a reservoir in southern Ukraine is approaching a dangerous low after the destruction of the dam at the nearby Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station, the state company overseeing the facility said on Thursday. Moscow and Kyiv blamed each other for the collapse of the dam on Tuesday, which unleashed flood water from the Dnipro River on a wide area of southern Ukraine. Ihor Syrota, general director of Ukrhydroenergo, told Ukrainian television that a drop below the current water level at the Kakhovka Reservoir could affect the nearby Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station and water supply to other regions. Ukraine's nuclear energy company said on Thursday the situation was "stable and under control" at the Zaporizhzhia plant on Thursday morning.

Persons: Stringer KYIV, Ihor Syrota, Ukrhydroenergo, Syrota, Dan Peleschuk, Timothy Organizations: REUTERS, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Kherson, Kakhovka, Moscow, Dnipro

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHow new lithium extraction tech could help meet EV targetsA suite of new, but largely unproven, technologies known as direct lithium extraction could revolutionize lithium mining from brine, making it more efficient and sustainable and eliminating the need for large evaporation ponds. A number of companies including EnergyX, Lilac Solutions, and Standard Lithium are entering the DLE market and getting ready for commercial implementation across South America and the U.S., while automakers like BMW, GM and Ford are investing.

Organizations: EV, Solutions, South, BMW, GM, Ford Locations: South America, U.S

☆ How new lithium extraction technology could help us meet electric vehicle targets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Katie Brigham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Today, most lithium brine mining takes place in the Salar de Atacama, an expansive salt flat in northern Chile that contains the highest quality lithium brine in the world. EnergyXDoing things differentlyIn a world before electric vehicles, traditional methods of brine mining and hard rock mining more than sufficed to meet global lithium demand. It's the brine resources that are large enough to electrify the vehicle industry," Snydacker said. Lilac Solutions is developing a direct lithium extraction facility in Argentina in partnership with Australian lithium company Lake Resources. Lilac Solutions

Persons: Dave Snydacker, DLE, Amit Patwardhan, Robert Mintak, there's, Snydacker, EnergyX, It's Organizations: Lilac Solutions, Solutions, Bay, Resources Locations: Salar, Atacama, Chile, Arkansas, Salt, Argentina, Bolivia, California , Utah, China, Australian

☆ Photos: Inside $33.5 Million Mansion on Long Island's Gold Coast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Gabbi Shaw | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A $33.5 million home is for sale in Brookville, Long Island. Brookville is the second-most affluent neighborhood in the US, Insider previously reported. One of these properties is a $33.5 million mansion nicknamed "Shangri-La." It's located in the small village of Brookville, which Insider previously named the second most affluent neighborhood in the US. Keep scrolling to see inside this expansive property in one of the country's most affluent neighborhoods.

☆ Sell this lithium stock with high exposure to the chemical's price, Goldman Sachs says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile , or SQM, is worth dropping given its direct exposure to lithium prices, Goldman Sachs warned. Analyst Marcio Farid initiated coverage of the lithium producer's stock with a sell rating. "We also think consensus is too bullish on their forecasted lithium prices, potentially leading to earnings downgrades in the short-to-medium term." Farid noted his sell rating is out of the norm on Wall Street. Lithium prices have taken dramatic swings in recent months.

☆ Opinion | Against Despair: An Open Letter to Graduates
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Margaret Renkl | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

As you enter the world, remember, too, how beautiful this place is. It will make you feel better about the mess your species has made of things if you can find a way to help. Being in the wild world will make you feel better. I promise you will feel better. Fall in love with the wild world, and you are taking the first step toward saving it.

☆ Fruit growers arrested for using illegal wells in drought-hit Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

During a four-year investigation, authorities uncovered more than 250 illegal wells, bore holes and ponds in the Axarquia area in Andalusia, which has been hit by drought since 2021. Spain is Europe's biggest producer of tropical fruit, which requires large volumes of water. Producers estimate that avocado production will drop by 25% this year due to high temperatures and a lack of water. Spain registered the driest and warmest April since records began, according to the national weather agency AEMET. The average water level in reservoirs in Catalonia and Andalusia - the worst hit areas - stands at around 25%.

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