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☆ The Colorado River Is Shrinking. See What’s Using All the Water.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Elena Shao | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

This week, the states that rely on water from the Colorado River reached a temporary deal with the Biden administration on sharing what’s left. Within agriculture, livestock feed is the largest water user, at 55 percent. A limited resourceThe Colorado River system stretches across seven states in the Southwest and Mexico, and a complicated set of decades-old laws determines who gets water from the river, and how much. “But that’s not the reality.”The chart above captures both river water and groundwater withdrawals, but river water makes up the vast majority (about 87 percent) of water use in the basin, according to the study’s authors. About that alfalfaThirty-seven percent of the water used in the Colorado River basin goes toward growing alfalfa and hay used largely to feed dairy cattle.

Vadym Boychenko, mayor of Mariupol, at his office in the city hall of Mariupol, Ukraine, on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022. Russian service members work on demining the territory of Azovstal steel plant during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine May 22, 2022. A view shows the building of a theatre destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 10, 2022. Before Russia's invasion last February, Mariupol was affectionately known as the mighty Ukrainian city with a fierce, steel heart. A local resident reacts while speaking outside a block of flats heavily damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 18, 2022.

☆ Women, children trek miles in summer heat to get water near Mumbai
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Francis Mascarenhas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"All the water is sent to Mumbai, we are left with nothing," said Ashok Shinde, whose village is home to about 700 people rearing poultry and livestock. The Vaitarna dam, which supplies water to Mumbai, is just 50 km (31 miles) from Telamwadi, but is not linked to it. [1/5] Women walk back home balancing pots of water on their head as other women walk towards a well to fill their pots in Telamwadi, near Mumbai, India, May 17, 2023. "Until the permanent solution is in place, we are providing water tankers to ensure residents do not face issues," state water supply officials told Reuters. One of the women usually makes the precarious journey, relying on numerous cracks in the walls to provide support.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ What Chile's state-led lithium policy means for the future of the electric vehicle industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Katie Brigham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

The only two lithium companies currently operating in Chile are North Carolina-based Albemarle , the largest lithium producer in the world, and SQM , the No. Chile's lithium is of particular strategic importance to the U.S., which has a free trade agreement with the country but not with neighboring Argentina. The plan calls for the creation of a national lithium company to partner with all private businesses looking to enter the sector. Bags of battery-grade lithium carbonate at La Negra, Albemarle's lithium processing plant near Antofagasta, Chile. Lenny-Pessagno told CNBC in January that Albemarle supports the creation of a state-owned lithium company.

☆ This 28-year-old pays $62/month to live in a 25-square-foot dumpster he built for $5,000—take a look inside
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Harrison Marshall | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Photo: Gergana Popova for CNBC Make ItHow I turned a waste container into a tiny homeI run a small architecture company called CAUKIN Studio. Photo: Gergana Popova for CNBC Make ItFor Wi-Fi, I use a dongle connected to mobile data to watch Netflix and take Zoom calls on my laptop. Photo: Gergana Popova for CNBC Make ItI have four built-in wooden boxes to put my clothes in. Photo: Gergana Popova for CNBC Make ItOn the other end is the kitchen. Photo: Gergana Popova for CNBC Make It

Solis, 64, lives on the banks of Mexico's Villa Victoria reservoir, which supplies water to the bustling capital hours away but does not reach her own faucets. Villa Victoria is part of the Cutzamala System, the source of water for about six million people in Mexico City and the surrounding state of Mexico. Climate change, chaotic urban growth and inefficient infrastructure have strained Mexico's water supplies, pushing the Cutzamala System's stores to their lowest level in 27 years. Mexico City is also tapping alternative sources of water outside the Cutzamala System, including by replacing wells in the Zumpango area in the state of Mexico. But for people like Israel, who lives just a few minutes' drive from the Cutzamala System's water treatment plant and asked not to use his last name, the constitution's promise is increasingly distant.

☆ US Homeland security chief creating artificial intelligence task force
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Friday that the agency would create a task force to figure out how to use artificial intelligence to do everything from protecting critical infrastructure to screening cargo to ferret out products made with slave labor. While artificial intelligence isn't new, the sudden popularity of OpenAI's ChatGPT in recent months has sent officials around the world scrambling to see how they can best use the technology for good and prevent it from turbocharging disinformation and criminal activity. Mayorkas said the Artificial Intelligence Task Force would also explore how AI could be used to do a better job of doing work like screening cargo coming into the country for illicit goods, like fentanyl or products made with slave labor. Mayorkas said on Thursday the new task force may also investigate the potential for AI to be used for pernicious purposes, and find ways to defend against them. Mayorkas said that artificial intelligence was still in "a nascent stage" and that it was too soon to say whether the harms will outweigh the good.

BELFAST, April 19 (Reuters) - The UK government's cyber defence agency warned on Wednesday of an emerging threat to Western critical national infrastructure posed by hackers sympathetic to Russia and its war on Ukraine. Russia-aligned "hacktivists" have carried out largely harmless online campaigns that have defaced prominent public websites or knocked them offline. "Some have stated a desire to achieve a more disruptive and destructive impact against western critical national infrastructure, including in the UK," the NCSC said. Although such groups are ideologically-motivated and align themselves with Russian state interests, they are "not subject to formal state control," the alert said. A successful cyberattack on critical national infrastructure such as an energy grid or water supply could be highly destructive, and do serious real-world damage.

☆ Risks of Tupperware and other plastic containers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Figuring out the answer to that question for any type of reusable plastic food storage products — not just Tupperware — often comes down to understanding what they’re made of. Risks of container wear and tearPutting stress on plastic food containers by washing them in the dishwasher or with rough scrub brushes “increase the ability of that plastic to leach whatever it was made out of,” Vandenburg said. The “microwave safe” label on some plastic containers doesn’t mean the product is totally safe from a health standpoint, she added. “Some of the plasticizers and chemicals can transfer from the plastic containers into the food during heating,” Rogers said. “If you can’t afford to replace everything all at once, replace them one at a time.”Glass food storage containers are a safer option.

☆ Record rise in China's sea levels from global warming threatens coastal cities like Shanghai
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —Sea levels on China’s coastline have hit their highest on record for the second year in a row, rising more quickly than the global average and posing a serious threat to coastal cities such as the financial hub of Shanghai. The temperature of China’s coastal waters has increased significantly due to global warming, and the rise in sea levels has accelerated, said Wang Hua, head of the marine forecasting and monitoring department at the ministry. “In the last 11 years, from 2012 to 2022, China’s coastal sea levels were the highest since observations were first recorded,” Wang said at the news conference, which released the latest annual report on China’s sea levels. Over the past four decades, rising sea levels along the Chinese coast have caused long-term effects, including the erosion of coastal ecosystems and the loss of tidal flats. In 2022, high sea levels along the Chinese coast aggravated the impact of storms, dealing a severe blow to the provinces of Guangdong, Zhejiang and Shandong.

☆ How Unusual Was This Winter’s Snowfall Across the U.S.?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Zach Levitt | Elena Shao | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

Boston New York City 120 inches 120 80 80 Previous years since 2003 40 40 This year Oct. Dec. Feb. Apr. Oct. Dec. Feb. Apr. Philadelphia Washington, D.C. 120 120 80 80 40 40 Oct. Dec. Feb. Apr. Oct. Dec. Feb. Apr. Boston 100 inches Previous years since 2003 80 60 40 20 This year Oct. Dec. Feb. Apr.

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☆ Saudi provides $240 mln for Pakistan hydro-power dam
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISLAMABAD, April 7 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will provide a $240 million loan to co-finance Pakistan's multi-purpose Mohmand dam project, a major hydro-power complex being built in northwest of the country, statements from both sides said on Friday. The project will "contribute to Pakistan's energy security, increase sustainable water supply for agriculture and human consumption and improve resilience to floods," Pakistan's economic affairs ministry said in a statement. Saudi state news agency issued the same statement in Arabic. "The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has signed a $240 million loan agreement," the statements said. Reporting by Asif Shahzad in Islamabad; Additional reporting by Claudia Tanios in Dubai; Editing by Jason Neely and Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Record California snowpack bounty poses renewed flood risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But this year's abundant Sierra snowpack also poses a severe risk of renewed flooding to parts of California, especially the lower San Joaquin Valley, during the spring thaw, according to state Department of Water Resources (DWR) officials. More widely, however, electronic readings from 130 snow sensors throughout California showed the statewide snowpack's water equivalent at 61.1 inches, or 237% of average, tying the record statewide average level set in April of 1952. "This year's result will go down as one of the largest snowpack years on record in California," said Sean de Guzman, manager of the DWR snow survey8 and water supply forecasting unit. Guzman said California's reservoirs, severely drained just months ago, have all been replenished to more than 100% of average statewide. Long-term drought conditions in the Colorado River watershed will continue to impact millions of residents of Southern California residents, the DWR said.

☆ Record snowpack in California poses severe flood risk, officials warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

California's statewide snowpack could top records after a recent series of powerful storms, state water officials said Monday, and melting snow from the Sierra Nevada range poses a severe flood risk to some areas. This year's major snowfall provides some relief to California, which was three years into a prolonged drought and grappling with plummeting reservoir levels. "This year's result will go down as one of the largest snowpack years on record in California," said Sean de Guzman, manager of DWR's Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit. California's snowpack levels varied by region, with the Southern Sierra snowpack reaching 300% of its April 1 average and the Central Sierra reaching 237% of its April 1 average, officials said. And the critical Northern Sierra, home to the state's largest surface water reservoirs, is at 192% of its April 1 average.

☆ Tunisia cuts off water supply at night amid severe drought
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TUNIS, March 28 (Reuters) - Tunisian authorities have started cutting off drinking water at night in areas of the capital and other cities, residents said, in what appears to be a bid to reduce consumption amid a severe drought. Officials of the water distribution company contacted by Reuters declined to comment. Tunisia is suffering a serious drought, prompting officials to say the ministry may begin to cut off water supply at night over the summer to reduce consumption due to the scarcity of reserves in the country. The continued lack of rain, however, appears to have prompted authorities to start doing so early in some places. Yassin Mami, a lawmaker in the new parliament, said officials from the national water company informed him that the reason for the frequent interruption of water supply in Hammamet city, was "because the country is threatened by water scarcity".

☆ Texans sound off against Elon Musk's 'horrifying' plans for dumping The Boring Company wastewater into Colorado River
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Boring Company is facing criticism from Texans over its plans to dump treated wastewater. One resident said about 400 people showed up at the public meeting on The Boring Company's plans. "The thought of this happening is horrifying," Erin, who runs an organic farm near the Boring Company facility, told Fox News. The Boring Company. A spokesperson for The Boring Company did not respond to a request for comment from Insider.

☆ Kansas Hunts for Water as Aquifer Levels Fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Shannon Najmabadi | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

GARDEN CITY, Kan.—Southwest Kansas officials have long pushed a moonshot aqueduct project to send Missouri River water across the state to their region, where a $12.5 billion agricultural economy relies on a dwindling underground aquifer. While the effort has been dismissed as legally impossible and expensive, the persistence of the idea demonstrates how drought and a steadily shrinking water supply have created broad consensus that water policies need to be overhauled. In Kansas, where federal data shows that nearly every county was experiencing some level of drought at the end of 2022, water is among the most urgent issues facing the state legislature this year.

☆ Wall Street investment firms are thirsty for the West's vanishing water
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Lucy Kafanov | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

And it comes at a time when Arizona’s allocation of Colorado River water is being slashed amid a decadeslong megadrought. “In the face of record shortages on the Colorado River, we have voluntarily answered urgent and repeated calls to conserve water. Water Asset Management owns at least 3,000 acres in Western Colorado’s Grand Valley, where Mueller works to protect Colorado’s share of the river. “Water Asset Management has engaged in a number of different purchase methods to keep their transactions unknown to many of the local jurisdictions,” Mueller said. The Colorado River in Eagle County, Colorado.

☆ World Bank agrees $7 bln, 5-year partnership with Egypt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CAIRO, March 22 (Reuters) - The World Bank said on Wednesday it had approved a new $7 billion partnership agreement with Egypt for 2023-2027 with a focus on boosting private sector jobs, provision of better health and education services, and adaptation to climate change. The Country Partnership Agreement (CPF) will entail $1 billion per year from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and about $2 billion over five years from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a statement from the World Bank said. Also on Wednesday the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, announced that it had partnered with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Egypt's Sovereign Fund to develop desalination plants in Egypt through a public-private partnership model. Egypt depends almost entirely for fresh water supplies on the River Nile, and is considered at high risk from the impacts of climate change. Reporting by Nayera Abdallah, Nadine Awadalla and Aidan Lewis, Editing by Louise Heavens, William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Another atmospheric river storm brought strong winds, rainfall and flooding to California this week, prompting levee breaches and mudslides and breaking decades-old rainfall records across the state. Only about 36% of California now remains in drought, according to data from the U.S. Drought Monitor released on Thursday. Since the storms have eased some water supply shortages, the board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California recently lifted water restrictions for nearly 7 million people. The governor noted that widespread damage across the state from the winter storms was an indication of how climate change is triggering worsening weather extremes. The state's emergency agency and private weather forecasters in January estimated that damage from California's winter storms could surpass $1 billion.

☆ U.S. proposes limits for cancer-causing chemicals in drinking water
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Valerie Volcovici | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed the first-ever national drinking water standard for six cancer-causing chemicals known as polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Under the new standard, the agency will require public water systems to monitor for six PFAS chemicals, inform the public if PFAS levels exceed proposed standards in the drinking water supply, and take action to reduce PFAS levels. It is the first time since 1996 that drinking water standards have been proposed for a new chemical under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Environmental groups welcomed the new standards but said it was up to retailers and chemical companies to make a difference. "I’m looking forward to hearing from those who will be impacted by this announcement, including local water systems and ratepayers across the country, on how we can provide assistance for implementation," she said.

HOUSTON, March 8 (Reuters) - Copper mining giants are scrambling to attract and retain workers, especially in the United States, amid rising global demand for the red metal for the green energy transition. While regulatory push back and water supply have been among the mining industry's historical challenges, access to talent has emerged as another worry. Workers are needed with skills to build and run mines producing lithium, nickel, copper and other metals to feed the green energy transition. We're just trying to make our work as attractive to people as we can," said Adkerson, who has run the company since 2003. Freeport peer Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO.AX)(RIO.L) has more than 4,000 employees in Utah, where the company runs the Kennecott copper mine.

☆ Tesla could begin producing autos in Mexico next year -Mexican official
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Tesla Inc FollowMEXICO CITY, March 6 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) could begin producing its first cars in Mexico next year, with the electric vehicle maker close to receiving its final permits allowing factory construction to begin in Nuevo Leon near the U.S.-Mexico border, the state's governor said on Monday. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk announced the investment last week, saying the Austin, Texas-based company had selected Mexico for its next "gigafactory" with plans to produce a "next gen vehicle." Mexican officials have said the factory will be the world's biggest to produce electric vehicles, with investment worth $5 billion. "The president, by authorizing and backing Tesla, sent a message to the world that they should come to Mexico." Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon in Mexico City Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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