Water
EPA to probe fracking sites in PA, CO, LA, ND, TX to measure impact of drilling on entire water lifecycle, from taking water from rivers to sequestering tainted wastewater
By Dina Cappiello
The Associated Press; St. Louis Post-Dispatch 2011-11-03
Fearing water shortages caused by climate change, food and beverage firms, tobacco companies, clothing makers and metal and mining companies reckon with dependence
By Leslie Kaufman
The New York Times 2011-11-01
Major river systems in developing world have enough water for food production, but problems are inefficient use, unfair distribution, says report
By Rudy Ruitenberg
Blooomberg Businessweek 2011-09-28
Senator Ben Cardin aims for clean water accord, balancing Americans' biggest environmental concern against agriculture, homebuilding, mining industries
By Paul Quinlan
Greenwire; The New York Times 2011-07-01
Severe water shortage along Yangtze River dries lakes, brings farming to standstill, leaves some thirsty - and refocuses attention on mistakes around dam construction
By William Wan
The Washington Post 2011-06-04
Opinion: In "The Big Thirst," author's purpose is to create understanding of humanity's relationship to water in hopes of diverting impending water crisis that need not be
By Kathleen Parker
The Washington Post 2011-05-27
EPA orders ambitious cleanup of Chicago River, urban waterway treated as little more than industrialized sewage canal for 100+ years
By Michael Hawthorne
Chicago Tribune 2011-05-12
Opinion: New Clean Water Act guidelines are first step in restoring safeguards to wetlands, streams threatened by development, pollution; EPA should convert them to rule
By the editors
The New York Times 2011-04-28
Proposed rules in Central Valley would restrict fertilizer, other runoff based on likelihood of polluting groundwater; rules would affect 35,000 growers and 7 million irrigated acres
By Margot Roosevelt
Los Angeles Times; The Associated Press 2011-04-08
In case of deja vu, Erin Brockovich battles re-emergence of chromium in drinking water; utility is sending residents bottled water and expresses interest in buying affected homes
By Noaki Schwartz
The Associated Press; Los Angeles Times 2011-03-09
Long abandoned mercury mine that for decades has tainted fish and polluted creek that feeds into San Francisco Bay belongs on list of worst polluted places, feds say
By Jason Dearen
The Associated Press; Los Angeles Times 2011-03-11
Cholera shaped just as much by sea surface temperature, ocean currents, and weather changes as by poor sanitation; with warming, outbreaks may become more common
By Sonia Shah
Le Monde 2011-03-08
EPA head vows to order testing for radioactivity at water treatment plants that receive fracking drilling wastewater as well as intake sites for drinking water downstream
By John Collins Rdolf
The New York Times 2011-03-03
Years of efforts by some lawmakers and regulators to force feds to better police natural gas industry thwarted; now lobbyists point to fuel independence, fewer emissions
By Ian Urbina
The New York Times 2011-03-04
Two bills show debate over how to manage declining aquifers in Texas, where irrigated agriculture is political force that pits conservation-minded officials against water sellers
By Kate Galbraith
The Texas Tribune 2011-03-04
Despite dangers of hydrofracking to health and environment, including radioactive contamination of drinking water sources for 6,800,000 people, EPA has not intervened
By Ian Urbina
The New York Times 2011-02-26
Turmoil in Middle East directly linked to unsustainable water, energy use; growing water shortage will require sharing, conserving resources to avoid civic unrest; Yemen is at most risk
By John Vidal
The Guardian (UK) 2011-02-20
EPA moves to control perchlorate, 16 other toxins in drinking water; rocket testing ingredient thought to stunt normal growth of fetuses, infants, children
By John M. Broder
The New York Times 2011-02-03
Citing Clean Water Act, EPA revokes largest mountaintop removal mining permit in West Virginia history; selenium pollution, stream burial, fish death, watershed degradation noted
By Bryan Walsh
Time 2011-01-13
Cholera epidemic death toll reaches 583 across Haiti; health officials expect tens of thousands more infections from tainted drinking water in next few years
BBC 2010-11-09
$150 million proposed to aid farmers in Chesapeake Bay watershed in effort to restore oysters, crab population; state's $70 billion farm, forestry industry critical of EPA plans
The Associated Press; The Wall Street Journal. (subscription may be required) 2010-09-30
EPA asks Halliburton Co., others, to disclose lists of chemicals they use in fracking for natural gas for study on potential threats to drinking water
By Jim Efstathiou Jr.
Bloomberg.com 2010-09-09
With 2010 on track to be deadliest year yet for illegal immigrants dying from thirst in Arizona desert, Samaritans leaving jugs of water and retrieving empties face arrests for littering
By Adam Cohen
Time magazine 2010-09-08
Safety of drinking water, stigma spur public protests against underground storage plan for CO2 waste from coal-fired power plants in Germany
By Jessica Donath
Der Spiegel 2010-08-20
New EPA strategy for Clean Water Act focuses on agriculture, stormwater runoff, habitat, hydrology and landscape modifications, municipal wastewater
By Ben Geman
The Hill 2010-08-20
Mountain-top mining more damaging than urbanization on local water quality, stream composition, researchers learn
By Natasha Gilbert
Nature News 2010-08-09
Regulators still discovering veins of pollution in groundwater, soil at abandoned chemical factory above Potomac Aquifer, a drinking water source for Delaware
By Jeff Montgomery
The News Journal (DE) 2010-07-25
Tainted groundwater, legacy of Delaware's petrochemical complexes, reaches Potomac Aquifer, which supplies drinking water for those in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey
By Jeff Montgomery
The News Journal 2010-07-25
California's patchwork regulatory efforts leave drinking water tainted by nitrates, the byproduct of nitrogen-based fertilizer, manure, wastewater treatment plants, septic tanks
By Julia Scott
San Francisco Chronicle 2010-05-17
Competing interests - jobs, drinking water safety, water depletion - push Delaware River group to reconsider rules on fracking; drilling firm names chemicals it uses
By Geoff Mulvhill and Marc Levy
The Associated Press; Chicago Tribune 2010-07-14
EPA nears completion of test wells where Wyoming residents suspect chemicals used in fracking for natural gas have contaminated drinking water
By Mead Gruver
The Associated Press; The Washington Post 2010-07-06
Within five years, 800 million could be without access to clean drinking water; those without basic sanitation could hit 1.8 billion, World Bank group says
By Howard Schneider
The Washington Post 2010-03-23
EPA will study effect of "fracking" for natural gas on drinking-water supplies; technique requires millions of gallons of water, leaves some tainted
By Juliet Eilperin
The Washington Post 2010-03-19
Economic downturn, bottled-water backlash, pollution worries whet thirst for filtered tap water
By Gwendolyn Bounds
The Wall Street Journal. (may require subscription) 2010-03-10
Ambiguity hobbles Clean Water Act; drinking water of 117 million vulnerable to exclusion from enforcement
By Charles Duhigg and Janet Roberts
The New York Times 2010-03-01
EPA signals tighter rules on traditionally lax approach to megafarms' manure, which smothers waterways, taints air
By David A. Fahrenthold
The Washington Post 2010-03-01
Yemenis' craving for qat, a narcotic plant, drives water crisis; in capital city of Sana'a, taps ran dry in summer
By Hugh Macleod and John Vidal
The Guardian (UK) 2010-02-26
Pentagon-backed researchers create device that uses bacteria to first filter tainted water, and to eat sludge, a byproduct of waste treatment
By Katie Drummond
Wired magazine 2010-02-10
Review: Flaming tap water, fracking and other dirty water, air tales from natural-gas drilling in "GasLand," a new documentary
By Robert Koehler
Variety 2010-01-25
Lack of clean water threatens earthquake survivors with potentially fatal dehydration, massive outbreaks of dysentery, cholera
By Rob Stein
The Washington Post 2010-01-16
After decades-long exposure to toxic tap water, Chicago area residents still waiting for results of cancer study
By Michael Hawthorne
Chicago Tribune 2009-12-30
Cities grow, sewers fill, rain falls and waste poisons waterways
By Charles Duhigg
The New York Times 2009-11-22
Tainted water flows from taps of 49 million, records show
In last five years, water for more than 49 million people has contained illegal concentrations of chemicals - arsenic, uranium, sewage bacteria - with majority of violations at smaller water systems. As many as 19 million Americans may become ill each year due to parasites, viruses and bacteria in drinking water; research links certain cancers - breast, prostate - to pollutants like those found in drinking water. Though EPA is expected to announce new policy on policing nation's 54,700 water systems, regulators say they are skeptical that any change will occur, since management remains the same. And: The Toxic Waters series (click 'See also').
By Charles Duhigg
The New York Times 2009-12-08
Dirty water fuels 4,700 cholera cases in Kenya
Cholera rages in Kenya after drought leaves many people only dirty, germ-infested water to drink. Drought also has left thousands of people malnourished and weak, making them vulnerable to infectious diseases. Infection can occur by taking a sip from a cup used by an infected person; best treatment is rehydration salts to restore fluids. And: It's shameful that amazing advances in technology exist side-by-side with disease, poverty, hunger, illiteracy and other scourges of the Third World (click 'See also').
By Jeffrey Gettleman
The New York TImes 2009-12-04
Farm groups, atrazine maker protest safety review of weedkiller
Farm groups, manufacturer of atrazine protest decision to review Syngenta weedkiller's safety, saying EPA bowed to environmentalists. Agency said it wants to examine studies of chemical's cancer-causing potential in farm workers. Atrazine is used on about 60 percent of Iowa's corn acreage. And: Atrazine is one of most common contaminants in drinking water; new studies suggest that taint is associated with birth defects, low birth weights and reproductive problems among humans (click 'See also'). Other studies show that atrazine interferes with development and hormone systems of some animals.
By Philip Brasher
The Des Moines Register 2009-11-04
Farm groups endorse Monsanto phosphorous mine
Idaho's Farm Bureau Federation, Grain Producers Association, Sugarbeet Growers Association endorse Monsanto's proposed Blackfoot Bridge mine to replace its existing mine, which is leaking selenium, heavy metals into Blackfoot River tributaries. Other mines in region blamed for killing livestock poisoned by selenium. New mine would allow for continued domestic production of agribusiness giant's Roundup, a weed killer that generates more than $1 billion in gross profits annually (click 'See also).
Idaho Statesman 2009-09-19
Buried dump beneath closed park leaches toxins into water
As Connecticut city proposes $2 million for running waterlines to residences near former park atop a buried and leaking landfill, neighbors worry about health effects of drinking tainted well water. 'I'm no tree hugger, but this just ain't right,' says one, whose wife has psoriasis and whose preschooler has hair loss. Landfill, unlined and permeable, is bordered by wetlands to north. Toxins also threaten city's aquifer and North Stamford Reservoir. Full-scale cleanup unlikely; EPA says city is providing appropriate response.
By Magdalene Perez
The Advocate (Stamford, CT) 2009-09-27
EPA lacks oversight on safety of school water
In last 10 years, toxins found in drinking water of public and private schools in all 50 states, but problem has gone largely unmonitored by feds. EPA lacks authority to require testing for all schools; it does not specifically monitor incoming state data on school water quality. Tainting most apparent at schools with wells. Schools with unsafe water represent small percentage of nation's 132,500 schools; EPA says violations spiked because of stricter standards for arsenic, disinfectants, other toxins. And: It's time to ban arsenic from chicken feed (click 'See also').
By Garance Burke
The Associated Press; The Washington Post 2009-09-25
At some schools, green is the new cool at lunch, in class, in garden
Some Philadelphia schoolchildren measure coolness by green quotient of their lunches - reusable sandwich wraps and water bottles, recycled lunch boxes, cloth napkins. Science teachers encourage 'waste-free Wednesdays;' in environmental science classes, students compost food scraps, fertilize the herb garden that then is used for the school kitchen, thus reducing pesticides that run into nearby Wissahickon Creek, which feeds into water supply of their city.
By Meredith Broussard
The Philadelphia Inquirer 2009-09-24
Farm runoff taints tap water, rivers, streams
Agricultural runoff is single largest source of water pollution in nation's rivers and streams; 19.5 million Americans fall ill each year from waterborne parasites, viruses, bacteria. In Wisconsin county, agriculture and dairy bring in $3 billion a year but dairies together produce up to 1 million gallons of manure daily. Regulators say excessive manure, slaughterhouse waste, treated sewage spread on fields there tainted tap water. Clean Water Act largely regulates only contaminants moving through pipes or ditches. EPA has rules for biggest farms, but thousands of animal feedlots don't file paperwork. Powerful farm lobby has blocked previous environmental efforts on Capitol Hill, and in states. And: Other stories in Toxic Water series (click 'See also').
By Charles Duhigg
The New York Times 2009-09-18
Violations of Clean Water Act rampant across nation
One in 10 Americans exposed to drinking water tainted with dangerous chemicals or that fails federal standards. Clean Water Act has been violated more than 506,000 times since 2004 by 23,000-plus firms, facilities. Fewer than 3 percent of violations resulted in fines or other significant punishments. Enforcement lapses were particularly bad under George W. Bush, EPA employees said. Farm pollution, livestock runoff largely unregulated. Best solution is for Congress to hold EPA, states accountable, lawmakers, activists say; others say public outrage is required. And: Interactive database of hundreds of thousands of water pollution records from every state and EPA (click 'See also').
By Charles Duhigg
The New York TImes 2009-09-13
Experts call fresh water the 'new oil,' finite resource
Only 38 percent of UK's total water use is from its own resources; most of remainder is from Spain, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Israel, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, some of which face serious shortages, study shows. Residents consume about 4,645 liters a day in drinking, washing and 'virtual water,' which is used in production of imported food, textiles. Meat and dairy-based diet consumes about 5,000 liters of virtual water a day, vegetarian diet uses about 2,000 liters.
By Felicity Lawrence
The Guardian (UK) 2009-08-20
Spiking weedkiller in drinking water OK, says EPA; critics disagree
EPA says Americans aren't exposed to unsafe levels of atrazine, a weedkiller used on cornfields, gardens, lawns, golf courses that washes into drinking water, particularly in summer. Others say EPA rules are insufficient, that local water systems must monitor atrazine more often, issue alerts of spikes. 43 water systems sue Syngenta, other chemical companies to force them to pay for removing poison from water. Studies suggest link of small amounts of atrazine to birth defects, premature births, menstrual woes. Home filtration system can avoid exposure. And: Atrazine linked to frog decline, egg production in male fish, and found in Washington, D.C.'s Potomac River (click 'See also').
By Charles Duhigg
The New York Times 2009-08-22
Climate change bill would return farms, ranches to forest
Critics worry that climate-protecting reforestation plan could push food prices up, since financial incentives would encourage farmers, ranchers to plant trees. But growing food in 'climate change' areas would be costlier, says former Agriculture secretary. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, the key global-warming gas. More trees also would improve water quality, because lower levels of pesticides, fertilizers are used on them. And: 3,500 trees planted on BP refinery property to clean up pollution in soils, groundwater (click 'See also').
By Traci Watson
USA Today 2009-08-20
Food processors' waste taints water, environment
In west Michigan, untreated wastewater from processors has tainted drinking water, streams, killing aquatic life and nearby trees. State officials have known of polluting for 10 years; residents say they're bearing costs - stench, orange fingernails, useless gardens, failed businesses, ruined plumbing, fear of eventual ills from tap water. Officials say there's no acute health threat. Review found probes have dragged out for years. Companies denied responsibility, failed to meet cleanup deadlines, violated law with leaks, spills, illegal dumping of fruit waste. Agriculture made more than $63 billion last year; food processing firms employ thousands. (Click 'See also' for part 2.)
By Tina Lam
Detroit Free Press 2009-08-09
Pollution history shouldn't stop more mining, Monsanto says
Monsanto's history of polluting Idaho shouldn't stop more mining for Roundup ingredient, company says. Three of firm's previous mines in region now under federal Superfund authority; a fourth is now violating federal clean water laws (click 'See also'). Two fertilizer makers J.R. Simplot, Agrium also linked to pollution there. Roundup will generate $1 billion-plus in gross profits annually; in one county in mining region where 7,000 people live, Monsanto pays more than $29 million in wages, benefits.
By John Miller
The Associated Press; The Spokesman-Review 2009-08-09
Mountaintop removal battle tests Obama's clean energy vow
Battle over mountaintop removal coal mining will test Barack Obama, who vowed clean energy economy but in May oversaw EPA's OK of 42 permits for mining method that devastates landscapes, uproots hundreds of communities. Peak shearing of up to 1,000 feet buries streams, damages water systems. It deposits selenium, which can cause reproductive ills in humans and is deforming fish, downstream from mine fill sites. Meanwhile, Senate takes up bill (click 'See also') to prohibit mining companies from dumping debris in streams. Almost half of America's electricity is coal-powered.
By Suzanne Goldenberg
The Guardian (UK) 2009-08-04
At Lake Mead, low-water mark to trigger pipeline vote
If Lake Mead level drops below 1,075 low-water mark, Nevada board will vote on whether to build 300-mile, $3.5 billion pipeline. Lake Mead provides 90 percent of water for Las Vegas. Same elevation on Colorado River will force Nevada, Arizona to reduce water drawn from there. And: With warming weather, Colorado River users will face frequent shortages, study shows; river now provides one-third of Arizona's water (click 'See also').
By Henry Brean
Las Vegas Review-Journal 2009-06-01
Pure artesian well water fuels battle against proposed landfill
In Ontario's Tiny Township, 25-year-old battles continues over whether waterlogged landfill site - over world's most pristine artesian wells that planners say would flush toxins into sewage systems - is appropriate, and worth risk to water. And: Safety of drinking water at risk, say farmers on tractors blockading 'Site 41' (click 'See also').
By Martin Mittelstaedt
The Globe and Mail (Canada); Lake Ontario Waterkeeper 2009-05-04
Determined mother uncovers trail to polluted drinking water
After Illinois mother refuses to stop asking questions about her teenage son's leukemia during toddler time, state officials and newspaper learn that for 20-plus years, town frequently, secretly, turned valve to draw water from well polluted with dry-cleaning chemicals. State EPA shut well in December 2007, after testing water for first time in 20-plus years. Update: Federal agents raid Crestwood Village Hall, cart documents away for criminal investigation; senator asks feds to look for links between water, illnesses (click 'See also').
By Michael Hawthorne
Chicago Tribune 2009-04-19
Opinion: Getting used to water restrictions in Florida
Years of watering our lawns at will, turning on our taps without a second thought, insufficient planning during times of runaway growth have left Florida thirsty. Engaging South Floridians to conserve dwindling resources is critical priority; water restrictions are part of strategy. It's time residents, cities they live in, come to terms with drought.
The editors
South Florida Sun Sentinel 2009-05-10
Health hazards in 'Poisoned Waters'
PBS/Frontline
Toxins from industry, agriculture, massive suburban development and from face creams, deodorants, prescription medicines and household cleaners now found in drinking water, threatening fish, wildlife and, potentially, human health, Hedrick Smith reports in PBS Frontline program (watch at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/poisonedwaters/view/). And: Study shows pesticide's insidious effect on food chain (click 'See also').
By Diane Buxton
WGBH/Frontline 2009-04-14
Water scarcity will trump oil woes in farming, other industry, investors told
Era of cheap and easy access to water is ending, and shortage will be more dire than oil, because it's essential to human survival, investors told. Dwindling water supplies threaten agriculture, electricity suppliers, silicon chip makers. Also at risk are makers of beverages, clothing, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, forest products, and metals and mining. Businesses urged to integrate water into strategic planning. And: Tracking water use (click 'See also').
By Juliette Jowit
The Guardian (UK) 2009-02-26
Tracking water use as reserves are depleted, polluted
unep.org
Irrigated agriculture, rapid urbanization and industrial development stress water supplies, the UN says.
With two-thirds global population facing water scarcity by 2025, some firms track 'water footprints.' Hamburger takes 630 gallons; cup of coffee takes 35 gallons. Unilever now using drip irrigation to grow black tea in Tanzania for Lipton tea, tomatoes in California for Ragu tomato sauce. Unilever buys 12 percent of world's commercial black tea and 7 percent of world's tomatoes. And: Mapping water scarcity hot spots (click 'See also').
By Alexandra Alter
The Wall Street Journal. (may require subscription) 2009-02-17
Army group can issue Clean Water Act permits, court rules
In victory for coal industry, court overturns ruling that required more extensive environmental reviews of mountaintop removal, which blasts peaks away, dumps debris into valley streams. And: Environmental groups say practice taints water and harms residents, urge Obama to follow up on campaign statements (click 'See also'). The Army Corps of Engineers, responsible for preventing actions that could harm nation's water, had issued original mining permits.
The Associated Press; The Washington Post 2009-02-14
Past lead levels in D.C. tap water may risk children's health
Elevated lead levels in tap water from 2001-2003 could jeopardize health of about 42,000 Washington, D.C. children who then were younger than 2 or in utero, study shows. Parents outraged, Council wants probe to see whether public was misled during water crisis (click 'See also'). Blood lead levels and number of potentially affected children both considerably higher than initially reported by city, federal officials.
By Carol D. Leonnig
The Washington Post 2009-01-27
Coal ash dumps unregulated despite threat to water supply, human health
Vast coal ash pond that ruptured in Tennessee is one of 1,300-plus in 46 states. All contain heavy metals - arsenic, lead, mercury, selenium - that threaten water supplies, human health, yet aren't federally regulated or monitored. Instead, coal ash used for construction fill, mine reclamation, on golf course (where it spoiled groundwater), even on croplands. Dumps growing mostly because pollution controls capture contaminants that once spewed through smokestacks. Leaching toxins near dumps can decimate wildlife.
By Shaila Dewan
The New York Times 2009-01-07
Opinion: Tennesee spill shows myth of 'clean coal'
Coal ash spill 50 times larger than that of Exxon-Valdez - now covering 400 acres with toxic sludge oozing toward drinking water for some in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama - calls out 'clean coal' myth. Human nature is to take cheap way today and leave mess for future, but that mess is now. And: High levels of arsenic detected in water near spill; EPA, TVA advise avoiding activities that could stir up drying dust - children playing outside, pets outdoors (click 'See also').
The editors
The Anniston Star 2008-12-30
Flow of water to California cities, farmers cut to protect fish
Water flow to California cities, San Joaquin farmers further reduced to protect endangered delta smelt, avert ecological collapse of water crossroads. Contamination, invasive species, power plant operations, climate all damaging Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, says water director. Agriculture interests want new reservoirs, homeowners urged to conserve.
By Bettina Boxall
Los Angeles Times 2008-12-15
Amid political turmoil, cholera, hunger worsens in Zimbabwe
Cholera, spread by feces-fouled drinking water, has sickened 16,000-plus Zimbabweans since August. Nearly 1,000 have died (click 'See also); cases could surpass 60,000. Fresh water supplies captive to chaos of Mugabe regime; hospital system shut down by an exodus of workers whose salaries are worthless from hyperinflation. Millions enduring severe and worsening hunger. And: UN, running out of funds, may cut food rations there (click 'See also').
By Celia W. Dugger
The New York Times 2008-12-12
Alarming level of neurological toxin in fish-eating birds
NYDOH
Smallmouth bass, favorite prey fish of bald eagles, are on a NY mercury advisory list.
Bald eagles - fish-eating barometers of environmental health - show rising mercury levels in Catskills, site of drinking-water reservoirs for New York City. Most mercury comes from coal-burning power plant emissions blown from Midwest; toxin falls into water and becomes methylmercury, which contaminates worms, then fish. And: New York advisories limiting amount of state's fish that can be safely eaten (click 'See also').
By Anthony DePalma
The New York Times 2008-11-24
Opinion: Bottled water standards don't measure up
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
EPA sets no standards limiting rocket fuel in water
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
Act now to prevent water scarcity in next decades, experts warn
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
Beijing's voracious thirst taps water supplies for miles around
Villagers trek 12 miles for drinking water after Beijing diverts surrounding towns' supply to support itself and Olympic Games. City is sinking after pumping groundwater from underneath. What happens if dams and infrastructure fail on the way to Beijing? And: Water tables are falling in other areas as well (click 'See also').
By Peter Waldman
Portfolio 2008-06-16
Weedkiller in water
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
Flushed into the taps
Residue of prescription and over-the-counter medicines found in drinking water of at least 41 million Americans in 24 cities, and in aquifers, watersheds and wells. Information isn't readily available, California water official says public 'doesn't know how to interpret the information' and might be unduly alarmed. Research shows effects on human cells and wildlife, from human blood cells to earthworms and zooplankton. The federal government doesn't require testing.
By Jeff Donn, Martha Mendoza and Justin Pritchard
The Associated Press; The Washington Post 2008-03-09
Mighty thirst
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
Water shortage
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
Opinion: Water woe
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
Opinion: Mountaintop mining
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
Opinion: Water problem
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
Price of coal:
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
Opinion: Bottled tempest
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
Water wise:
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
Saving water
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