Wired has a comprehensive, if unsettling, article about the growing water shortages across the planet. For example, by 2025 the entire Middle East could be “catastrophically low” on water.
Posts under ‘Water’
Barcelona forced to import water by ship
And will continue doing so until their extremely severe drought lifts.
Dean Kamen’s new water purification device
Kamen has invented numerous medical devices, the Segway, and more, and received multiple awards for doing so..
Everyone has been trying to find out more about his claim that “you stick a hose into anything that looks wet … and it comes out … as perfect distilled clean water.”
So far as I can tell however, it’s [...]
In-stream hydro
The turbine is mounted underwater, on a tethered barge. So, not only is it portable, it requires no dams or other expensive investments, plus there’s very little needed in terms of regulatory processes.
From the company, Hydro Green Power
Hydro kinetic technologies describe the ability to produce zero emission renewable power (energy) from the movement of water. [...]
China Olympics water diversion threatens millions
The diversion of water to Beijing for the Olympics and for big hydropower projects threatens the lives of millions of peasant farmers in China’s north-western provinces, according to a senior Chinese government official.
The Chinese government plans to pump enornous amounts of water from the provinces to Beijing to flush out water from polluted and degraded [...]
Georgia – Tennessee water war
Georgia wants to renegotiate their border with Tennessee, saying it was based on a faulty 1818 survey. Moving it would given them access to billions of gallons of water from the Tennessee River. Tennesseeans are saying they “will take our long rifles up to Lookout Mountain and fire when ready”, should this be attempted.
This weird [...]
Lake Mead may go dry by 2021
Reasons: Increased demand for water and climate change. If it does go dry, then Hoover Dam stops producing power and L.A. and Vegas will have severe water shortages.
“We were stunned at the magnitude of the problem and how fast it was coming at us,” said Barnett in a statement. “Make no mistake, this water problem [...]
More Southeast water wars
A botched survey two centuries ago put Georgia’s northern border just short of the Tennessee River. Given their unprecedented and severe drought, some in Georgia want the border redrawn so they can get the water.
The reaction of the Tennessee governor? “This is a joke, right?”
Water privatization in Scotland
Thames Water and other privatized water companies in Scotland have “third world” equipment and are currently dumping 1000 liters per second of raw sewage into the water because darn it, something broke, and company execs are just too busy counting their massive profits to go fix it. This on top of massive leaks that [...]
Nepalese cut water to palace, PM residence
This protest in Nepal is one more battle in the worldwide fight against water privatization.
Another front is in Northern Ireland with the We Won’t Pay campaign.
Bolivia re-nationalizes water
The French company that ran the water company after it was privatized in 1997 came under criticism because of high rates and a refusal to provide service for all, a familiar complaint about privatized water companies. Bolivia just completed their take-over of the company (the company received a severance payment.)
“Water cannot be turned over to [...]
Some faith groups say bottled water immoral
Thou shalt not murder. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife. Thou shalt not … drink bottled water?
Reasons include that the water used in bottling comes from poorer areas, thus either depriving them of water or making it more expensive. Then there’s the appalling number of non-biodegradable plastic bottles that end in landfills. The religious [...]
Stockton CA water privatization reversed
A giant water company tried to privatize the water in Stockton CA. The people fought back, and after many battles, a judge has ruled the city must take back the water company.
Water needs to be public and not at the mercy of distant huge entities for whom it is a source of income to be [...]
No to bottled water
The United Church of Canada is urging members to avoid bottled water, saying it is the “thin edge” of water privatization, part of a larger trend of huge companies controlling water resources to the detriment of everyone else. Plus, they add, municipal water is often healthier because impurities leach from the plastic bottles into the [...]
Water privatization a dud
Water privatization, large corporations are finding, is a money-losing proposition. One of the biggest companies in the business is backing out. Good. May this signal an end to greedheads grabbing the water, jacking up prices, and lowering the quality. Because, more often then not, that’s what precisely happens when water is privatized.
To RWE AG, Germany’s [...]
