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.

High marks and worries on home water conservation: Is Colorado’s effort stalling?

November 2, 2020

Colorado Freshwater Conservation Efforts May Have Stalled A new analysis of residential Colorado water use by Fresh Water News indicates that, while some Colorado communities have achieved significant reductions in residential water use, statewide reductions remain flat and, in some communities, use is rising. The report comes on the heels of the 2018 drought. The […]

2020 Election: Water Decisions Pepper State and Local Ballots

October 30, 2020

In the 2020 Election, More Than Who Runs the Country is at Stake There’s no question the Presidential race will affect national water policy, but it’s at the state and local level where all the impacts actually happen and where all the court cases begin. Because all politics are local – especially in the 2020 […]

20 Best Sustainable Fashion Brands You Can Actually Trust

October 28, 2020

Sustainable fashion brands aren’t about seasonal colors or must-have style trends. They’re all about sustainable use of resources and ethical practices. The need for sustainable fashion brands is becoming glaringly apparent as the textiles industry wreaks havoc on our planet. The processes involved in making clothing – for both plant-based and synthetic textiles – use […]

In a Dry State, Farmers Use Oil Wastewater to Irrigate Their Fields, but is it Safe?

October 26, 2020

Produced Water From Drilling in California is Irrigating Kern County Crops California struggles with frequent, intense and long lasting droughts. In order to grow crops in times of little or no precipitation, many farmers rely on irrigation with groundwater. In some areas, especially the Central Valley, so much water has been pumped that aquifers can’t […]

There’s Tons of Water in Your Jeans

October 22, 2020

Denim jeans demand tons of water. A new study tracked all the water required to produce your denim jeans and estimated that, in total, it added up to tons of water. That’s a soggy seat. Or rather it means cotton denim has a huge water footprint. A major finding of the study conducted by USC […]

Water-related Conflicts Might Grow From Demand, Climate Change

October 5, 2020

Around One-quarter of the Global Population Faces Severe Water Shortages and More Conflict Extreme water shortages are being experienced around the world, from Indian to Yemen, the African Sahel to areas in Central America, and at this point, one-quarter of the global population people lack sufficient water resources. These water shortages are driving unrest, internal […]

New Climate Maps Show a Transformed United States

September 19, 2020

The effects of climate change will include new precipitation patterns that will affect agriculture. The effects of climate change include rising sea levels, increasing storm intensity and changing drought and precipitation patterns. While the first two impacts will wreak havoc on coastal and land-based communities alike, the last impact will shift where in the country […]

VIDEO: Tracing Virtual Water in US Meat and Ethanol

September 18, 2020

Meat From Animals Raised in Water-Scarce Areas Can Affect Virtual Water The video below traces the virtual water — or embedded water — it takes to produce US meat and ethanol to better understand potential risks in water-scarce areas. The video explains the results of a study by University of Minnesota researchers who looked at […]

Toxic Algae Makes Iowa’s Des Moines River “Essentially Unusable” for Drinking Water

September 9, 2020

Toxic Algae is a Problem for Drinking Water Toxic algae has made Iowa’s Des Moines River “essentially unusable” for drinking water without intensive — and expensive — treatment, Des Moines Water Works leaders said. To get the river up to drinking water standards requires huge effort and costs to remove the toxin that comes from […]