As wildfires worsen in the U.S., calls for change in tactics – ‘Over the past decade, wildfires have increased in size and intensity, and the fire season now extends 60-80 days longer than historic averages’

By Alan Neuhauser 5 November 2014 (U.S. News & World Report) – Smokey Bear may not know the half of it. As one of the longest and costliest wildfire seasons in U.S. history comes to a close, a new study asserts the way we’ve been attempting to prevent forest fires is “simply wrong.” “We don’t […]

NASA bombshell: Global groundwater crisis threatens our food supplies and our security

By Joe Romm 31 October 2014 (Climate Progress) – An alarming satellite-based analysis from NASA finds that the world is depleting groundwater — the water stored unground in soil and aquifers — at an unprecedented rate. A new Nature Climate Change piece, “The global groundwater crisis,” by James Famiglietti, a leading hydrologist at the NASA […]

The largest city in Brazil is running dangerously low on water – São Paulo reservoirs at less than 5 percent of capacity, 13 million people face water outages

Jaguari Reservoir, 16 August 2013   Jaguari Reservoir, 3 August 2014 By Brad Plumer 23 October 2014 (Vox) – São Paulo, in southeast Brazil, is the largest city in South America and the 7th largest metropolitan region in the world, with more than 21 million people. It’s the engine behind Brazil’s richest state, which is […]

Pentagon signals security risks of global warming – ‘Droughts and crop failures can leave millions of people without any lifeline, and trigger waves of mass migration’

By Coral Davenport13 October 2014 WASHINGTON (The New York Times) – The Pentagon on Monday released a report asserting decisively that climate change poses an immediate threat to national security, with increased risks from terrorism, infectious disease, global poverty, and food shortages. It also predicted rising demand for military disaster responses as extreme weather creates […]

With dry taps and toilets, California drought turns desperate – ‘You don’t think of water as privilege until you don’t have it anymore’

By Jennifer Medina2 October 2014 PORTERVILLE, California (The New York Times) – After a nine-hour day working at a citrus packing plant, her body covered in a sheen of fruit wax and dust, there is nothing Angelica Gallegos wants more than a hot shower, with steam to help clear her throat and lungs. “I can […]

World wildlife populations halved in 40 years – ‘The scale of biodiversity loss and damage to the very ecosystems that are essential to our existence is alarming’

By Roger Harrabin30 September 2014 (BBC News) – The global loss of species is even worse than previously thought, the London Zoological Society (ZSL) says in its new Living Planet Index [pdf]. The report suggests populations have halved in 40 years, as new methodology gives more alarming results than in a report two years ago. […]

California water infrastructure on verge of historic collapse – ‘We’re acting like the super rich who have so much money they don’t need to balance their checkbook’

By Jonathan Benson1 September 2014 (Natural News) – Water is increasingly hard to come by in drought-stricken California, where many farmers are struggling to get enough water just to pay the bills. But the situation in the Golden State is far worse than many people realize, according to new reports, as underground aquifers that take […]

More drought forecast next year across U.S. West – ‘Even if December was wet, the drought wouldn’t be over yet’

RENO, Nevada, 21 September 2014 (Associated Press) – Forecasters say severe drought or worse will continue into next year across much of the West, including parts of western Utah, most of Nevada, and practically all of California. Below-normal precipitation and normal or above-normal temperatures are forecast in the week ahead, according to the National Weather […]

100 days until São Paulo runs out of water – Worst drought in state’s history triggers water rationing for 3.6 million people in 29 cities

By Marianna Musset 15 September 2014 (tcktcktck.org) – The ongoing drought crisis in São Paulo has reached a critical level that continues towards rock bottom. Brazil’s largest city, home to more than 9 million people, could run dry in the next 100 days according to Brazil’s Public Ministry. The Cantareira reservoir which supplies 45% of […]

Rich people are trucking their own water into drought-ridden California

By Alissa Walker28 August 2014 (Gizmodo) – Although 81 percent of the state is experiencing an “extreme drought,” for many parts of California there is no apparent water shortage. Visit the highest-income neighborhoods and you’ll see lush lawns and sparkling fountains defiantly sucking our lifeblood from the Earth. Apparently, the rich will do whatever it […]

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