The Colorado River provides water to 1-in-8 Americans and irrigates 15 percent of the country’s agricultural products. After years of drought and mismanagement, state and federal water managers are meeting with cities, native nations and farms to discuss cutbacks to water allocations. The consequences could be severe. Ninety percent of US-grown winter vegetables are irrigated with […]
A new study published in Environmental Science & Technology presents detailed estimates for water consumption and withdrawals for the US energy system in 2014. According to the authors, this is “the first known estimate of total water consumption and withdrawal by the US energy system.” The study found that energy-related water consumption accounts for about 10 […]
This article reviews the legal cases where courts have examined the question: If a pollutant is discharged into groundwater, and that groundwater is hydrologically connected to a “Water of the United States” (WOTUS) such that the pollutant eventually reaches the WOTUS, does the Clean Water Act (CWA) apply to that discharge? Interestingly, in some cases, the court […]
The Trump administration is planning to roll back Clean Water Act protections created under the Waters of the United States rule put in place by the Obama administration. The rule affects millions of acres of waterways and wetlands, and in California in particular it includes up to two-thirds of California’s inland streams. The rule angered […]
Sometimes, one little [big] drought is all it takes… The Almond Board of California – an industry trade group – is trying to improve the image of ‘big almond’ with its recent announcement of the details of their initiative called “Almond Orchard Goals 2025. The industry pledged to cut water use by 20 percent, among […]
In order to feed the 10 billion people expected to inhabit the planet by 2050 without also completely trashing it, several issues will have to be addressed in order to close the food, land and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions gaps that prevent sustainability. A new report from the World Resources Institute (WRI) has identified 22 solutions […]
Last week the US federal government released the important National Climate Assessment, which stated that human health, life and economies are endangered as reliable clean water for agriculture, urban areas, industry and ecosystems are “increasingly in jeopardy.” Mandated by Congress, the National Climate Assessment is a mammoth and comprehensive report that involves more than 300 […]
Climate change is setting the stage so that by the end of this century some parts of the world could face as many as six climate-related crises at the same time, according to a new paper in Nature Climate Change. The paper shows the effects of climate change across a broad spectrum of problems, including […]
Thanksgiving and other holidays are the perfect time to consider just how egregious food waste is in America. A new study by two Texas A&M researchers focused on how people react to wasted food at organizations like supermarkets, retail stores, cafeterias and restaurants. The study found that people who cared more about the resources needed […]
