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☆ Indian Official Who Drained a Reservoir to Retrieve His Phone Is Suspended
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Sameer Yasir | Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Say you drop your brand-new smartphone into a reservoir while posing for a selfie during a picnic. Would you consider it lost and buy a replacement, or drain the reservoir to retrieve it? An Indian official who chose the latter option has been suspended from his job. Initially, some villagers he knew spent two days diving in the reservoir in an attempt to retrieve the phone, Mr. Vishwas told The Indian Express newspaper. So he rented a diesel pump and drained about three feet of water over another two days — by some estimates, enough to irrigate 1,500 acres of farmland.

☆ An Indian official ordered an entire reservoir drained to find his phone after he dropped it taking a selfie
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An Indian official was suspended after he drained an essential reservoir to find his phone. Rajesh Vishwas was taking a selfie when he dropped the phone in the water, the BBC reported. Rajesh Vishwas, a food inspector, was taking a selfie when he dropped his cell phone into the Kherkatta Dam in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh last weekend, according to BBC News. The official has since been suspended from his position, the BBC reported, after he was criticized for exploiting his position and wasting water. Vishwas denied "misusing" his position, saying the drained water was from an overflow section of the dam and was not "in usable condition."

☆ A Breakthrough Deal to Keep the Colorado River From Going Dry, for Now
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Christopher Flavelle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

California, Arizona and Nevada get their shares of water from Lake Mead, which is formed by the Colorado River at the Hoover Dam and is controlled by the federal government. The Bureau of Reclamation, an agency within the Interior Department, determines how much water each of the three states receives. The other states that depend on the Colorado get water directly from the river and its tributaries. At that point, all seven states that rely on the river — which include Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — could face a deeper reckoning, as its decline is likely to continue. The negotiations over the Colorado were spurred by a crisis: Last summer, the water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the two largest reservoirs along the river, fell enough that officials feared the hydroelectric turbines they powered might soon cease operating.

☆ Southwest states strike landmark deal with Biden to conserve Colorado River water
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Under the agreement, California, Arizona and Nevada will voluntarily conserve 3 million acre-feet of water until 2026, amounting to about 13% of those states' total allocation from the river. The Colorado River supplies water to more than 40 million people and roughly 5.5 million acres of farmland in seven U.S. states. California has the largest allocation of Colorado River water, with roughly 4.4 million acre-feet each year, comprising about 29% of the total allocation. Arizona receives roughly 2.8 million acre-feet per year, or about 18% of total allocation. Nevada's allocation is approximately 300,000 acre-feet each year, representing around 2% of the total allocation.

LISBON, May 22 (Reuters) - Portuguese police will on Tuesday search a reservoir inland from where British three-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared in 2007, authorities said, in the first formal development in the case in Portugal in several years. A fire brigade spokesperson said police were preparing to start searches on Tuesday at a dam in the southern region of Algarve about 50 km (31.07 miles) inland from a beach resort where Madeleine went missing from a rented apartment while on a family holiday. Police erected two tents beside the dam on Monday, Reuters TV footage showed. Brueckner, a convicted child abuser and drug dealer, is behind bars in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in the same area of the Algarve from where Madeleine went missing. German police said in June 2020 that Madeleine was assumed dead and that Brueckner was likely responsible for it.

☆ ‘Happy Valley’ Review: The End of the Hero’s Journey
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Mike Hale | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

She’s a contemporary knight errant, upholding a code of decency against the terrors of modern life. “Happy Valley,” whose final season premieres on Monday (streaming on Acorn TV and AMC+, broadcast on BBC America), is a pocket-size, prosaic saga — a hero’s tale contained in three six-episode seasons and embedded in a family drama. Like all mythical heroes, Cawood has an antagonist, the psychopathic rapist and killer Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton), who is the father of her grandson. In its structure, “Happy Valley” is very much a traditional British crime series, with seemingly unconnected plot strands and investigations that wind themselves together against a backdrop of cop-shop politics. In the new season’s major subplot, a less-than-sympathetic female character is caught between two seemingly more capable men whose weaknesses run deeper than hers.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears for their safety in a city under Russian occupation. But there is concern in the international community that the six-reactor nuclear plant, Europe's largest, could be caught up in fighting, particularly as military analysts expect Ukraine to try to push Russian forces back in Zaporizhzhia region. In April, Japan contributed 2 million euros to the U.N.'s watchdog to help its effort to secure the safety of Zaporizhzhia power plant. Kotin said Russian forces would have to retreat if it looked like that road was going to be cut off. He added that he believed Russian forces had already been conducting drills at the plant to practise pulling out.

☆ The world’s largest lakes are shrinking dramatically and scientists say they have figured out why
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Lake water levels fluctuate in response to natural climate variations in rain and snowfall, but they are increasingly affected by human actions. The Caspian Sea, between Asia and Europe – the world’s largest inland body of water – has long been declining due to climate change and water use. NASA NASA The Caspian Sea is rapidly shrinking due to climate change and human activity. NASAThe researchers used satellite measurements of nearly 2,000 of the world’s largest lakes and reservoirs, which together represent 95% of Earth’s total lake water storage. The report found losses in lake water storage everywhere, including in the humid tropics and the cold Arctic.

LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) - More than half of the world's large lakes and reservoirs have shrunk since the early 1990s, chiefly because of climate change, intensifying concerns about water for agriculture, hydropower and human consumption, a study published on Thursday found. Climate scientists generally think that the world's arid areas will become drier under climate change, and wet areas will get wetter, but the study found significant water loss even in humid regions. Scientists assessed almost 2,000 large lakes using satellite measurements combined with climate and hydrological models. Scientists and campaigners have long said it is necessary to prevent global warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celisus (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) to avoid the most catastrophic consequences of climate change. Water levels rose in a quarter of the lakes, often as a result of dam construction in remote areas such as the Inner Tibetan Plateau.

☆ How a deadly bat virus found new ways to infect people
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

Scientists found bats with Nipah virus roosting near Sabith’s home. A search of the neighborhood led to a colony, near their house, of flying foxes, a common fruit bat. NETTING NIPAH: Researchers in Bangladesh use nets to catch bats and collect samples to find the Nipah virus in the wild. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir HossainWhether Sabith ate contaminated fruit or somehow came into direct contact with a bat, the virus entered his cells. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir HossainA year later, Chua’s team found the same strain of Nipah virus in flying foxes.

Companies Woodside Energy Group Ltd FollowADELAIDE, May 17 (Reuters) - Australia's vast liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry is trying to pull off something that seems almost impossible. They want to lead the transition to clean and renewable energy, while at the same time continuing to invest in, and produce fossil fuels. For example, Woodside is spending some $12 billion to develop its Scarborough natural gas field off Western Australia's coast, and has another advanced LNG project with its Browse field. But the hydrogen projects are largely still at the early stages and even if all the permitting approvals are received, they will still take several years to get up and running. It's an industry-wide problem that projects take several years, and sometimes more than a decade to go from initial proposal to actual production.

☆ Southern Europe braces for climate change-fuelled summer of drought
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

As climate change makes the region hotter and drier, years of consecutive drought have depleted groundwater reserves. CLIMATE CHANGE TRENDSouthern Europe is not alone in suffering severe water shortages this year. The Horn of Africa is enduring its worst drought in decades, while a historic drought in Argentina has hammered soy and corn crops. "In terms of the climate change signal, it very much fits with what we're expecting," said Hayley Fowler, Professor of Climate Change Impacts at Newcastle University. Some 90% of the mainland is suffering from drought, with severe drought affecting one-fifth of the country - nearly five times the area reported a year earlier.

☆ Bat lands worldwide are besieged, seeding risk of a new pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

This collision – bats and humans competing for resources on territory long the domain of the bats – could trigger the next pandemic. As people destroy bat habitats worldwide, they are unwittingly helping bat-borne viruses mutate, multiply, and infect other species, including homo sapiens. For millennia, bat viruses lurked across the forests of West Africa and in other undisturbed parts of the world but posed little threat to humanity. They’re potent proliferators: Some roost tightly together and in close quarters with other bat species. Each of the bat viruses analyzed by Reuters has epidemic potential, according to the World Health Organization.

☆ Activist investor Elliott Management bets on this small-cap music stock, ditches News Corp
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Activist investor Elliott Management unveiled a new stake in a little-known independent music stock during the first quarter, according to recent securities filings. As the energy sector slumped, Singer maintained his $1.49 billion stake in Marathon Petroleum , and positions in Noble Corporation and Suncor Energy . Elliott also liquidated its nearly $47.5 million stake in Aerojet Rocketdyne . On the technology front, Singer maintained his $761.2 million stake in Pinterest , and smaller positions in PayPal and Western Digital . Recent filings show that Elliott, among the largest hedge funds in the world, managed roughly $93.2 billion regulatory assets.

"In three days of counter-offensive activity, the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Bakhmut sector have liberated 17.3 sq. miles) of territory," Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesman for the "east" group of Ukrainian forces, said on the Telegram messaging app. Ukrainian servicemen ride atop of a tank on a road to the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine May 12, 2023. Prigozhin, whose fighters have been battling to push Ukrainian forces out of Bakhmut's Western outskirts, has said the north and south flanks, guarded by regular Russian troops, were crumbling. Prigozhin called that deceptive and said the Bakhmut advances amounted to the start of Kyiv's campaign.

☆ 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%.

☆ Invictus Energy confirms oil, gas and helium find in Zimbabwe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Invictus Energy Ltd FollowHARARE, May 8 (Reuters) - Australia-listed Invictus Energy (IVZ.AX) on Monday confirmed the presence of light oil, gas condensate and helium at its Cabora Bassa project in Zimbabwe, sending its shares up 8.7%. “Analysis shows the presence of light oil and rich natural gas condensate, with condensate gas ratios estimated at between 30 and 135 barrels per million cubic feet," it said. The analysis also confirmed the presence of helium gas in commercial concentrations comparable with global helium producing fields, the company added. Helium is a key component in the manufacture of semiconductors, liquid crystal display (LCD) panels and fibre optic wire. “Success at Mukuyu-2 and confirmation of a significant discovery will further unlock the value of our material portfolio," said Invictus Energy Managing Director Scott MacMillan.

☆ Operations suspended at Ukraine nuclear plant in case of 'provocations' - TASS
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 8 (Reuters) - Operations at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant are being suspended in case of "provocations" by Ukrainian forces, the TASS state news agency said on Monday, citing the Moscow-installed governor of the Russia-controlled part of the surrounding region. Russia captured the plant in the early days of its invasion of Ukraine last year. The nuclear reactors have been suspended," TASS quoted Yevgeny Balitsky as saying. Some 3,000 people have been evacuated from villages close to the front line, TASS quoted Balitsky as saying on Monday, including around 1,000 minors. In March the IAEA warned the plant was running on diesel generators to keep vital cooling systems going, after damage to power lines.

☆ Florida. Arizona. Climate Change Is Coming for Home Values. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Benjamin Keys | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

And that is pocket change compared with the impact climate change may ultimately have on the value of your home. We have reached a turning point: Climate risk is driving insurer decisions like never before. Both private and government-backed insurers are undercapitalized for dealing with the potentially massive disasters we could be facing in coming years. They are up even more in parts of Florida and the Southwest that are predicted to suffer significant impacts from a warming climate. Last summer, the water level in Lake Mead, a critical source of water for 25 million people in the Southwest, reached its lowest level since the reservoir was filled in 1937.

☆ Russia says high waters threaten dam near Ukrainian nuclear plant - Tass
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 4 (Reuters) - Record high water levels could overwhelm a major dam in southern Ukraine and damage parts of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, a Russian official told Tass agency on Thursday. "This (would create) functional problems for the operation of the plant and risks for nuclear safety," he told Tass. Last November, after Russian forces withdrew from the nearby southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, satellite imagery showed significant new damage to the dam. Russian troops took over the plant as they invaded parts of Ukraine last year. It is at the centre of a nuclear security crisis due to near-constant shelling in its vicinity which Kyiv and Moscow blame on each other.

☆ Engineers reduce risk of dam bursting near Russian-held Ukraine nuclear plant, TASS reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 5 (Reuters) - Engineers have reduced the risk of a dam bursting and damaging a large Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in Ukraine, a senior Russian official was quoted as saying by TASS news agency on Friday. "As we anticipated, a technical solution to the problem has been found," Karchaa told TASS, quoting regional officials in Kherson region, where the dam is located. "A gate of the Kakhovka hydropower plant has been opened and repair works have begun at the Kakhovka canal. He had earlier told TASS that a possible breach of the dam owing to high water levels could flood the cable line for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant further east and cause nuclear safety risks. Russian troops seized the plant, Europe's largest nuclear station, as they invaded parts of Ukraine last year.

CNN —Ukrainian air defenses withstood Russia’s most intense air attack on Kyiv since the start of the year overnight into Thursday, the capital region’s military chief said. Last night, the aggressor launched another large-scale air strike on the capital,” Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, wrote on Telegram. Russian air attacks have targeted Kyiv on three days out of the past four, Popko said. Russian oil refinery firesAlso early on Thursday, fires broke out in two oil refineries in southwestern Russia, following separate alleged drone strikes. It is unclear who is responsible for the drone attack.

☆ Fire extinguished at Russian oil refinery after drone attack - TASS
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 4 (Reuters) - A drone attack set ablaze parts of an oil products reservoir at a refinery in southern Russia, but emergency services said they extinguished the fire just over two hours later, TASS news agency reported early on Thursday. TASS said the incident occurred at the Ilsky refinery near the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk in the Krasnodar region. "A second turbulent night for our emergency services," Krasnodar governor Veniamin Kondratyev wrote on Telegram, adding that tanks with oil products were on fire at the Ilsky refinery. Ukraine rarely claims responsibility for what Moscow says are frequent drone strikes against infrastructure and military targets, particularly in regions close to Russia. Moscow blamed Ukraine for an attack on April 29 that set fire to an oil depot in Sevastopol.

Catalonia, Spain CNN —Standing in his field of stunted, withered maize, Santi Caudevilla is very worried. It’s becoming increasingly hard to make ends meet as crops shrivel through lack of water – or cannot be planted at all. “This is the worst period that we have had for the last 100 years,” Samuel Reyes, director of the Catalan Water Agency, told CNN. Allison Nussbaum/NASA Allison Nussbaum/NASA These two images show shrinking water reservoirs in the Catalonia region of Spain. In April, Spain requested emergency funding from the European Union to help farmers cope with the impacts of the drought.

☆ A Hydropower Renaissance, but Where Are the Giant Dams?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Mira Rojanasakul | Max Bearak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

Pumped Storage Hydropower, 1900-2040 Global map showing a concentration of planned pumped storage projects in China. Pumped Storage Existing Planned China’s momentum has allowed it to surpass Europe’s capacity for pumped storage. “Our data show that pumped storage is set to grow much faster than conventional dams,” said Joe Bernardi, who runs Global Energy Monitor’s hydropower tracker. UPPER RESERVOIR GENERATORS + TURBINES LOWER RESERVOIR When electricity demand exceeds supply, water is released to race downhill, spinning giant turbines. UPPER RESERVOIR GENERATORS + TURBINES LOWER RESERVOIR When electricity demand exceeds supply, water is released to race downhill, spinning giant turbines.

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