THE WATER WE DRINK…

Federal judge blocks National Defense Authorization Act provision
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By Dean Kuipers

19 May 2012 at 1:47am
In a stunning turnaround for an act of Congress, a judge ruled Wednesday that a counterterrorism provision of the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual defense appropriations bill, is unconstitutional. Federal district Judge Katherine B. Forrest issued an injunction against use of the provision on behalf of a group of journalists and activists who had filed suit in March, claiming it would chill free speech.

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Clean Mobility Center, focusing on alternative fuels, opens in O.C.
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By Susan Carpenter

16 May 2012 at 8:09pm
Jamie Caissie says he’s picky about the gas he puts in his GMC Sierra truck. For years, the 35-year-old flooring contractor only filled up at 76 brand stations, but on a recent Monday, he decided to try something new: the Propel Clean Mobility Center in Fullerton, which sells E85 flex fuel and biodiesel, along with traditional gasoline, and also allows customers to purchase carbon offsets at the pump.

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An electrifying freight solution on the 710? Siemens working on it
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By Susan Carpenter

15 May 2012 at 11:12pm
Los Angeles may be one of the first global cities to adopt a new electric freight trucking system, unveiled by electrical engineering giant Siemens Corp. last week at the 26th Electric Vehicle Symposium, or EVS26.

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Elusive California wolf OR7 is photographed
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By Bettina Boxall

11 May 2012 at 9:36pm
The first color photo of California’s celebrity gray wolf, OR7, was taken this week as he loped across a sagebrush-covered hill in Modoc County.

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Unabomber billboard continues to hurt Heartland Institute
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By Dean Kuipers

9 May 2012 at 7:26pm
With a simple statement on Tuesday, State Farm Insurance became the latest company to withdraw its support from the Heartland Institute, a Chicago-based think-tank which claims a “realist” position questioning that humans are responsible for climate change.

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EV confab this weekend is about more than cars
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By Dean Kuipers

3 May 2012 at 9:49pm
The electric car might not be enjoying a good moment as the Electric Vehicle Symposium, EVS26, powers up for its run this weekend at the Los Angeles Convention Center. GM stopped production for five weeks on the Chevy Volt, and sales of new all-electric cars such as the Volt or the Nissan Leaf are dismal. It’s further evidence that transitioning American drivers to electric vehicles (EV) is simply a hard sell.

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Settlement may bring EV infrastructure to California
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By Dean Kuipers

30 Apr 2012 at 5:14pm
In an unforeseen upside to the electric-power market crisis of 2001, a new proposed legal settlement between utility NRG and the California Public Utilities Commission would bring more than $100 million in new electric-vehicle charging infrastructure to the state.

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‘Whale Wars” Paul Watson on Faroes killing, online debate
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By Dean Kuipers

26 Apr 2012 at 4:28pm
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, capitalizing on the tremendous success of their Animal Planet TV show, “ Whale Wars ,” has now taken on a new battle. With the Japanese fleet’s Antarctic hunt finished for the season, the skull-and-crossbones crew have turned their attention on the Faroe Islands with a new show: “ Whale Wars: Viking Shores .”

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Activists urge Discovery to acknowledge climate change science
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By Dean Kuipers

25 Apr 2012 at 10:36pm
Forecast the Facts, the activist group that first confronted GM about its support of climate change doubters the Heartland Institute, now plans to muster a public campaign targeting the Discovery Channel. The purpose: to get Discovery to acknowledge the scientific consensus on man-made climate change in its programming.

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Sierra Club targets Puget Sound Energy in Beyond Coal campaign
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By Dean Kuipers

21 Apr 2012 at 12:05am
The Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, working in concert with a number of environmental and energy activists and researchers in Washington and Montana, announced Thursday a new push to get Puget Sound Energy to stop buying power from coal-fired Colstrip Generating Station in Montana. According to EPA rankings, the facility is the eighth most egregious emitter of greenhouse gases among power plants in the U.S.

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The Stream, May 18: Climate Change Will Affect U.S. Water Availability
by Codi Yeager-Kozacek
18 May 2012 at 12:00pm
Water levels on the flooding Rio Negro in Brazil have reached 29.78 meters, the highest in a century, prompting 53 cities to declare a state of emergency, Xinhua reported. India could see its first commercial shale gas production in four years, Bloomberg News reported. Companies are waiting for further data analysis and government policy before [...]

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Water Shortages Trickle Down the Rio Grande
by Brett Walton
17 May 2012 at 8:32pm
Groundwater is a proven crutch for dry times, but how much weight can it hold? A few weeks ago, I wrote about how groundwater withdrawals have rescued farmers in southern New Mexico from scant surface water from the Rio Grande. Thanks to consecutive subpar snow seasons in the Rockies, the eponymous reservoir that serves Elephant [...]

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Burdens of Extraction ? The Growing Coal Mining Industry in Australia?s Hunte…
by Aaron Jaffe
17 May 2012 at 8:10pm
Farmers and small town residents grapple with the pressures of an unprecedented expansion in coal mining. Photo © Aaron Jaffe / Circle of Blue Since transitioning into a new global hydrocarbon center, the Hunter Valley region ? which also boasts some of Australia’s best wine valleys ? has become a competitive battlefield for laborers. John [...]

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The Stream, May 17: Finland?s Mining Boom
by Nadya Ivanova
17 May 2012 at 11:41am
More frequent and more severe floods, or what some farmers call “climate chaos,” are forcing food growers in upstate New York to stop planting in fertile flood plains, Inside Climate News reported. Finland?s environmental regulators will toughen rules for mining companies amid growing evidence about environmental damage from the country’s recent mining boom, Bloomberg reported. [...]

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Endangered Rivers and Success Stories
by Brett Walton
17 May 2012 at 10:00am
Leavening the imperiled areas from the latest “Endangered Rivers” report with a few bright spots. On Tuesday, the U.S. conservation group American Rivers released its annual list of the nation?s most endangered rivers. For nearly three decades, the organization has identified 10 significant waterways each year that face a crucial development, regulatory, or legal decision. [...]

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The Stream, May 16: How Satisfactory Is World Water Quality?
by Codi Yeager-Kozacek
16 May 2012 at 12:00pm
A new poll from Gallup asked people in 140 countries how satisfied they were with their air and water quality. The results, which you can find here, show that those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are least satisfied with their water. Engineers have unveiled a way to clean water without using filters that [...]

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The Stream, May 15: America?s Most Endangered Rivers
by Nadya Ivanova
15 May 2012 at 4:32pm
The Potomac River is the most endangered river in the United States, according to a new report by the environmental group American Rivers. The annual list of U.S. rivers at risk includes streams in virtually every region of the country. Several are threatened by the same types of activities: energy development or dam- and reservoir-building, [...]

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Defining Water Data
by Circle of Blue
14 May 2012 at 9:31pm
Circle of Blue intern Varun Mangla summarizes the first two weeks of the summer he plans to spend with us. I’ve spent two weeks with Circle of Blue as a new data intern for the summer. I just finished my junior year at the University of Michigan in the chemical engineering department, which is where [...]

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Map: 2012 Water Prices in 30 Major U.S. Cities
by Circle of Blue
14 May 2012 at 9:12pm
The price that Americans pay for water is rising faster than the cost of any other utility service in the United States ? be it gas, electricity, or telephone charges.

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The Stream, May 14: NASA Scientist Links Specific Weather Events to Climate C…
by Nadya Ivanova
14 May 2012 at 11:45am
Drinking water is safe to consume in the small Pennsylvania town of Dimock, where residents complained about hydraulic fracturing, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Meanwhile, this Reuters analysis shows that insurers find it tough to price the risk from hydraulic fracturing. A NASA scientist has for the first time tied specific weather events, [...]

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