Water
Utah, Arizona, Texas among nation's fastest-growing states, but looming question of water source will affect populations of some states. Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico have seen drops in water supply; sustainable lifestyle will be main concern for those residents, says population expert.
By Lauren Sherman
Forbes.com 2008-12-22 (entry)
A portion of the UNESCO map, 'Groundwater Resources of the World.'
New map (click 'See also') reveals underground aquifers that hold 100 times the volume of fresh water that flows down rivers and streams around the world at any time. Many water sources stretch beneath borders. Map illuminates declining water tables as agricultural interests pump water out, as well as need for international water-sharing accords.
By Catherine Brahic
New Scientist 2008-10-24 (entry)
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Government's dash to effectively repeal key water protections during mountaintop removal coal mining likely a response to presidential candidates' opposition to environmentally ruinous practice. In 2002, EPA rewrote rules that had prohibited use of mining waste as 'fill' in streams, wetlands. And: Rubble from mountaintop removal fouls drinking water, kills fish (click 'See also').
The editors
The New York Times 2008-10-21 (entry)
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With drinking water and energy increasingly precious, washing away waste makes little sense, says Rose George in new book. Transforming waste into fertilizer won't work - it is "the most efficient means--short of eating the sludge--of injecting toxic substances directly into the human body," EPA panel said in 1975. Eco-sewage, with two streams, would slash water use by 80 percent.
By Johann Hari
Slate Magazine 2008-10-20 (entry)
Modern-day Works Progress Administration that restores America's crumbling infrastructure - drinking water, schools, roads, bridges, transit systems - would generate jobs and help support flagging economy. Presidential candidate Barack Obama wants infrastructure investment (click 'See also', section V); John McCain has not presented plan.
By Dave Demerjian
Wired Blog Network 2008-10-19 (entry)
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Considering extra cost and landfill clutter, standards for bottled water should be as good or even better than those for tap water. Consumers should be able to see certified data that lists what's in bottled water and whether it meets federal requirements. Analysis (click 'See also') found fertilizer residue, pain medicine, other chemicals in some major brands.
The editors
The New York Times 2008-10-17 (entry)
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After White House officials remove scientific data from reports highlighting some risks associated with rocket-fuel chemical, EPA refuses to set drinking-water safety standard, assumes that maximum safe level is 15 times higher than suggested in 2002. Perchlorate linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women, newborns and young children and has been found in water in 35 states.
By Juliet Eilperin
The Washington Post 2008-10-04 (entry)
EPA won't set drinking-water standard for perchlorate, a rocket fuel component that has polluted soil, groundwater, drinking water in 35 states and tainted water systems in 26 states. Chemical impairs thyroid, which, in infants, can translate to irreversible loss of IQ, increase in behavioral, perception problems. Congresswoman calls inaction unforgivable and immoral. And: FDA study (click 'See also').
By Juliet Eilperin
The Washington Post 2008-09-22 (entry)
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Congress OKs Great Lakes Compact, which prohibits almost any new diversion of water to other places, and requires new conservation standards of border states. Eight-state accord began 10 years ago after Canadian firm sought OK to send tankers of Great Lakes water overseas (click 'See also'). Bottled water exemption worries some.
By Susan Saulny
The New York Times 2008-09-23 (entry)
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As economy slides lower, so do sales of bottled water, delighting those concerned with impact of plastic bottles on the environment. In US, where consumption is highest, supermarket sales are at slowest rate since bottled water became the rage 10 years ago.
By Jenny Wiggins
Financial Times (London) 2008-09-15 (entry)
Clean water, reliable sanitation will beat medical intervention in reducing disease, death as climate warms and population grows, experts say, but investment in infrastructure must be doubled. Most vulnerable: Four billion in Africa, Middle East, South Asia. Failure means recurrent floods, droughts, water pollution, erosion, sea level rise, plus undermining of other triumphs, like building schools.
By Juliette Jowit
The Guardian (UK) 2008-09-11 (entry)
Coast Guard opens Mississippi River to limited traffic two days after oil spill; some nearby suburbs find another source for drinking water; fate of fish unknown. And: Between 55 percent and 65 percent of all U.S. corn, soybean and wheat exports leave from the Gulf of Mexico (click 'See also').
By Adam Nossiter
The New York Times 2008-07-25 (entry)
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Price for household water headed up for Brits after review shows environmental damage to rivers, wetlands and habitats and threats to wildlife. One water company, required to cut by half the amount it takes from a river supplying 740,000 people in summer, must find alternative source.
By Juliette Jowit
The Guardian (UK) 2008-07-12 (entry)
Atrazine, a common weedkiller linked to defects in fish and frogs that live in contaminated water, is shown to alter hormones and could disrupt endocrine development and function in lower and higher vertebrates, including humans, researchers say. They also urge further research on immune responses and embryonic development. EPA allows some presence in drinking water.
By Miyuki Suzawa and Holly A. Ingraham
Public Library of Science (PLoS) One 2008-05-07 (entry)
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Oil companies settle groundwater contamination suit for $423 million plus 70 percent of cleanups over next 30 years. At issue is MTBE, a predecessor to ethanol that oxygenated gasoline and reduced smog, but caused cancer in lab rats and made tainted water smell and taste like turpentine. Six companies, including Exxon Mobil, didn't agree to the deal.
By Jad Mouawad
The New York Times 2008-05-08 (entry)
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Jeffrey Sachs, of the Earth Institute, presents low-cost strategies to averting water shortage disasters.
Fresh water shortage is among our most daunting challenges, regionally and globally. Coherent policy requires real leadership, experts say, but water use has been left to municipal and state authorities. Strategies to help avert disaster: storing rainwater in ponds or underground receptacles; recycling wastewater; and replenishing aquifers with treated wastewater or storm runoff.
By Jeneen Interlandi
Newsweek magazine 2008-04-28 (entry)
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Pathogens cling to iron oxide nanoparticles, purifying drinking water.
Grad student discovers cheap way to filter viruses and arsenic from drinking water, and tells the secret at American Chemical Society meeting. He uses glass fibers as a sturdy support for positively charged iron oxide nanoparticles, which attract pathogens with negative charge.
By Aaron Rowe
Wired 2008-04-12 (entry)
Report detailing pharmaceutical contamination of nation's water supply prompts senators to set hearings and direct Environmental Protection Agency to investigate and report. The series explains that drugs - mostly excreted residue that's flushed down the toilet - have polluted water and may harm wildlife and human health. EPA says Americans need to be careful when discarding prescription drugs.
By Martha Mendoza
The Associated Press; The Seattle Times 2008-03-11 (entry)
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Retailers and manufacturers realize that ice is the year-'round hot snack and a tongue-numbing industry is created. Fans debate the best for crunching - Chewblets, Nugget Ice, Pearl Ice - but the shaved version, in a glass and with enough water to temporarily fuse the ice, is a classic.
By Ilan Brat
The Wall Street Journal 2008-01-30 (entry)
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Citing law that prohibits tax on non-carbonated water, drink and food groups sue to overturn Chicago's new 5-cent tax on bottled water. The tax, the first such levied by a major city, is expected to raise $10.5 million each year - and to encourage consumption of tap water.
Chicago Tribune 2008-01-05 (entry)
After years of planning, Southern California adds fluoride to the water, and conspiracy theorists gather. Is the tooth-protection chemical - a byproduct of fertilizer and a component of bombs and poison - a public health advance or an attempt to medicate by force?
By Mike Anton
Los Angeles Times 2007-12-22 (entry)
For 11 weeks, all drinking fountains at Chicago school have been taped shut and students' water rationed to half a glass a day after water main break uncovers plumbing problems at 116-year-old public school. Officials apologize and promise action after reporter asks questions.
By Rosalind Rossi
Chicago Sun-Times 2007-11-23 (entry)
Partial fasting - drinking only water for 24 hours once a week - as way to tune up glucose regulation, reduce sugar cravings and lower blood pressure, is gaining proponents in medical field.
By Patricia Neighmond
National Public Radio 2007-11-21 (entry)
As campaign against throwaway water bottles continues, filtration system companies jump in, selling purity from the faucet, while reusable bottle manufacturers point out their environmentally friendly approach.
By Claudia H. Deutsch
The New York Times 2007-11-10 (entry)
Suspected food-borne illness cases in Jordan rise to 338; officials test restaurant's hummus after initial water tests show no contamination, but it is region's third such problem in four months.
Xinhua; The Jordan Times 2007-10-29 (entry)
To save weight, advanced space missions won't pack sufficient water; instead, NASA plans to condense drinking water from perspiration, respiration and urine.
By Larry Greenemeier
Scientific American 2007-10-26 (entry)
As "exceptional drought" deepens its hold on the Southeastern United States, Atlanta's water reserves shrink to only 90 days and no solution is apparent; farmers harvest parched crops and sell off cattle they can't afford to feed.
By Greg Bluestein
The Associated Press; Tribune News Services 2007-10-20 (entry)
As population explodes and planet heats, water for drinking and crop irrigation is diminishing, forcing extra energy use to reach remote supply; already, China, India, Africa and American West reserves are drying up, setting stage for people-versus agriculture battles.
By Jon Gertner
The New York Times 2007-10-21 (entry)
Scrutinizing food ingredients is crucial, but because the water we drink is the same as the water in our toilets, we tolerate the presence of chemicals that would be banned as food additives; it's time to filter drinking water for all.
By Robert D. Morris
The New York Times 2007-10-03 (entry)
Cholera epidemic, possibly from a sewage-poisoned well, hits northern Iraq, with nearly 4,000 cases suspected; Sulaimaniya juice bars shut down and restaurants told to stop serving vegetables that may have been washed in polluted water.
By Sherko Raouf
Reuters; Scientific American 2007-08-29 (entry)
Bush administration's proposed legalization of high-altitude strip mining, with follow-up poisoning of Appalachian drinking water and fish habitats with dumped leftovers, will add converts to reaffirmation of Clean Water Act protections.
The editors
The New York Times (may require subscription) 2007-08-27 (entry)
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Mountaintop removal coal mining, with toxic leftovers shoved into streams, foul residents' water and kill the fish; study traces mining pollution to children's nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and shortness of breath; long-term effects unknown.
By Eric Reece
Orion Magazine 2006-01-01 (entry)
In 2000 in Kentucky, a torrent of coal-mining sludge was released when an earthen dam collapsed after a previous leak; the goo, 20 times the volume of the Exxon Valdez's crude oil spill in Alaska, covered vegetable gardens and suffocated fish as it fouled 100 miles of streams and rivers before dispersing at the Ohio River.
By Peter T. Kilborn
The New York Times 2000-12-25 (entry)
Big water has Coke, Pepsi and Nestle behind all those bottles of all that water being marketed as preferable to the stuff that flows from the tap, with one spokesperson comparing it to French wines and iPods, both of which are shipped long distances.
By Alex Beam
The Boston Globe 2007-08-20 (entry)
Artist Chris Jordan makes, finds patterns in garbage and other societal markers.
2007-08-16 (entry)
With federal quality standards for bottled water less stringent than they are for tap water and 2 million tons of polyethylene bottles trashed every year in U.S., it makes sense to fill a reusable bottle with filtered water at home, then pack it for work or school.
By Eviana Hartman
Washington Post (entry)
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Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Läckeby Water Group join other food, drink producers in UN agreement to use water more efficiently; lack of access to clean water and sanitation undermines humanitarian, social, environmental, and economic goals.
By Ahmed ElAmin
foodproductiondaily.com (entry)
