News Briefs

News briefs and articles about water footprints, water use and availability, as well as interviews with key people in the fields of water footprints and water use.

Texas Power Outage Causing Austin Hospital Services Shutdown

February 18, 2021

A Texas power outage caused by severe cold weather that negatively impacted the state’s mostly independent and thoroughly unprepared power grid is causing Austin hospitals to curtail activities. The Texas power outage currently plaguing the state of Texas is teaching an unfortunate lesson about the nexus between water an energy that Austin hospitals never wanted […]

Working From Home Benefits Health But Not the Environment

January 26, 2021

Working from home might help many of us stay safer from COVID-19, but all the increased electricity generation that has resulted from it is not helping the environment. Working from home, for those of us who are fortunate enough to be able to do it, can help keep us safe from COVID-19, because it decreases […]

Extreme Drought Could Double Globally Due To Reduced Water Storage

January 14, 2021

Extreme Drought and Reduced Water Storage Will Increase if Climate Change Goes Unchecked More land on Earth — and the people who live there — will face extreme drought in the coming decades, projects new research published in Nature Climate Change. The international research team found that by late 21st century, the land area subject […]

Water Security Underlies All Security, Say United Nations, US Intelligence

December 9, 2020

Without Water Security, Insecurity Persists Two new reports released by the United Nations (UN) and the US National Intelligence Council (NIC) stated the most basic fact: Water security is fundamental to overall security. Without ample supply of clean freshwater for drinking, farming, industry and ecosystems, societies are destabilized. The report from the UN’s Food and […]

Water + Us: How We Think, Feel, and Take Action on Water

November 16, 2020

Do you know all about water? You might know less than you think. Recently, The Water Main – a social impact arm of American Public Media that endeavors to build public will in support of clean, accessible, affordable water – conducted “the first nationally representative survey designed to measure Americans’ knowledge, connection, concern and action […]

City-Farmer Partnerships Could Save California Water

November 11, 2020

California Cities and Farms Can Share Water to Manage Allocations A recent report by Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) details how water partnerships between southern California cities and farmers in the San Joaquin Valley could stabilize conditions for farmers, help cities during droughts and align with Governor Newsom’s Water Resilience Portfolio. Water is so […]

Report: Funding Water Infrastructure Benefits Economy

November 9, 2020

Water Infrastructure Deterioration Will Cost Us Much More in the Future A new report from the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Value of Water Campaign finds our water infrastructure costs – those that keep our 50,000 drinking water systems working to provide clean water flowing to our houses and places of business – […]

Trump Rolled Back More Than 125 Environmental Safeguards

November 2, 2020

Environmental regulations and rules help keep our waterways safe and clean and our water available for all users. The Trump administration rolled back many of those rules and regulations in pursuit of a pro-business agenda. Throughout the nearly four years of the Trump administration, many of the environmental regulations and previously adopted rules that protect […]