Image of the Day: Merowe Dam and Reservoir Viewed from Orbit, 5 October 2010

Caption by William L. Stefanov, NASA-JSCOctober 25, 2010 The Merowe Dam is located near the 4th cataract of the Nile River, in the Nubian Desert of the Republic of the Sudan (also known as Sudan). The dam was built to generate hydroelectric power—electricity intended to further industrial and agricultural development of the country. This astronaut […]

Kenya issues one-week quit notice to Mau forest ‘invaders’ — PM reassures evictees

By NATION CORRESPONDENTPosted Friday, October 8 2010 at 10:35 Efforts to restore the Mau Complex were intensified on Friday when a one-week quit notice was issued to those who have encroached on the Maasai Mau Forest. The notice, according to Narok South DC Chimwaga Mongo, has been given to fresh encroachers who had gone deeper […]

Maplecroft: South Asia is region most vulnerable to climate change

Paris (AFP) Oct 20, 2010 – South Asia is the world’s most climate-vulnerable region, its fast-growing populations badly exposed to flood, drought, storms and sea-level rise, according to a survey of 170 nations published on Wednesday. Of the 16 countries listed as being at “extreme” risk from climate change over the next 30 years, five […]

Graph of the Day: Global Water Availability Per Capita, 1950-2000

Measured on conventional indicators, water stress is increasing. Today, about 700 million people in 43 countries live below the water-stress threshold of 1,700 cubic metres per person—an admittedly arbitrary dividing line. By 2025 that figure will reach 3 billion, as water stress intensifies in China, India and Sub-Saharan Africa. Based on national averages, the projection […]

Lake Mead hits record low level

By FELICITY BARRINGEROctober 18, 2010, 2:05 pm Sometime between 11 and noon on Sunday, the water level in Lake Mead, the massive reservoir whose water fills the taps of millions of people across the Southwest, fell lower than it ever has since it was filled 75 years ago. Even as a flurry of thunderstorms dropped […]

Drought withers lush farmlands in Syria

By ROBERT F. WORTHPublished: October 13, 2010 AR RAQQAH, Syria — The farmlands spreading north and east of this Euphrates River town were once the breadbasket of the region, a vast expanse of golden wheat fields and bucolic sheep herds. Now, after four consecutive years of drought, this heartland of the Fertile Crescent — including […]

Image of the Day: Toxic Sludge in Hungary Viewed from Orbit, 9 October 2010

Caption by Michon Scott12 October 2010 On October 4, 2010, an accident occurred at the Ajkai Timföldgyár alumina (aluminum oxide) plant in western Hungary. A corner wall of a waste-retaining pond broke, releasing a torrent of toxic red sludge down a local stream. Several nearby towns were inundated, including Kolontar and Devecser, where the sludge […]

Nature and humans leaving indelible mark on rivers, harming the intricate food webs they support

ScienceDaily (Oct. 14, 2010) — Rivers and streams supply the lifeblood of ecosystems across the globe, providing water for drinking and irrigation for humans as well as a wide array of life forms in rivers and streams from single-celled organisms all the way up to the fish humans eat. But humans and nature itself are […]

Graph of the Day: Annual Flows of the Colorado River, 1905-2005

Annual flows (in million cubic meters) of the Colorado River into the delta from 1905 to 2005 at the Southern International Border station. Note that, in most years after 1960, flows to the delta fell to zero as total withdrawals equaled total (or peak) renewable supply. The exceptions are extremely high-flow years when runoff exceeded […]

Peak water: Conceptual and practical limits to freshwater withdrawal and use

Media Contact: Nancy Ross, Pacific Institute, nross@pacinst.org May 24, 2010 A new journal article from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) highlights new “peak water” limits to global and regional freshwater availability and use. The May 24, 2010 early edition of the journal includes the new article “Peak Water Limits to Freshwater […]

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