Water becomes the new oil as world runs dry
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/dec/09/water.climatechange
The Observer published this article on 9th December 2007 and it begins with a dramatic account of a protest about the rise of water bills past the point that the poorest can afford in Cochabamba, Bolivia, where a US company took over the municipal water utility and increase the bills. It goes on to describe how water shortage is having social effects on the emerging economies in Asia and Latin America and how the issues of water are taking over global warming on political agendas worldwide. The article goes back to evaluating how idustrialisation led to pollution and degredation and how fair pricing is required while wasting water needs to be discouraged globally as the threat of conflict is rife all over the world.
Nor any drop to drink
http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10259055
This article, issued on 6th December 2007 in the Economist, is concerned with the continuing reduction of water resources in the south-west of America. It discusses Lake Mead and its gradual decline, now amounting to only half its full volume, and the effects this is having and will continue to have on those who are dependent on it, significantly the population of Las Vegas. Conservation efforts are being made, but are hindered by the progressing developments constantly adding pressures to the water supply, along with the agriculture market. Landowners are drilling for groundwater without concern for the ill effects it has to others and the future and conflict over rights and resources is insinuated to be on the horizon.
Related Links:
Drought in America’s south-east – http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10024708
Severn Trent faces charges for giving false data on water leaks to regulator
http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article3187170.ece
This article is from the Independent on 23rd November 2007 and reports on the charges made by the Serious Fraud Office to Severn Trent water company for three counts of misleading Ofwat regarding the data of leaking water pipes in 2000, 2001 and 2002. If convicted the company will face fines and have to repay their customers through credit to their bills. Chief Executive of Severn Trent defends the company, saying that since his times as Managing Director began in March 2005, things were improving and it was because of the previous regime that these failures occurred. Concludes with concerns over the number of misreports given to Ofwat, and therefore the amount the public are being overbilled for.
Related Links:
Ofwat – http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/
Serious Fraud Office – http://www.sfo.gov.uk/
A polluted river runs through it – the toxic heart of India’s boom
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2271402.ece
The Times published this report on 16th August 2007 and it begins with the description of a priest’s tradition of bathing in the river Yamuna, considered to be a holy river and therefore it is not believed that it can be dirty, however a government test showed that it was 100’000 times over the safe faecal waste level. Once a great waterway, this river is now one of the most polluted due to rapid industrialisation and even with investment into sanitation the problem is getting worse. A suggestion of small treatment plants to reuse water locally has been put forward but the people are divided in their views of the rivers condition and so compromise and improvement is difficult to obtain.
Related Links:
UN – http://www.un.org/
Beaches get top marks for cleaning up acts
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1805717.ece
The times issued this report on 18th May 2007 and it declares that 63% of British beaches were awarded “excellent” status from The Marine Conservation Society who tell of vast improvements since the 1980s and previously. The article also warns that this is a peak in recommended beaches due to storm-related pollution now threatening our coastal waters. Know effects of flash floods are of proceeding poor water quality as a consequence of pollutants being washed into rivers and the sea before they can be directed into sewers. The article concludes with a plea that solutions for the predicted stormy summers to come need to be found soon and implemented as soon as possible.
Related Links:
The Marine Conservation Society – http://www.mcsuk.org/
EU rules on dirty beaches target British resorts
http://environment.independent.co.uk/article42626.ece
This article was published on 13th June 2004 by the Independent and it covers the crackdown by the EU with new rules about beach cleanliness being agreed and the worried that the new highs of UK tourism will be damaged. The new rules are said to be introduced in 2008 and the Environment Agency is convinced that the new scheme will make bathing waters safer and beaches more trusted. The loss of income from potential de-listed resorts is a problem but it will cut the number of people becoming ill from bathing in dirty water. Some areas are under threat of closure due to the effluent from farmland being washed into the sea but when other EU environmental initiatives take effect, other beaches are predicted to be added to our resorts.
Something in the water
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/jun/27/water.environment#related-info
The guardian published this article on 27th June 2007 and it initially reports on the legal proceedings of the 20km wide band of carcinogenic bromate in drinking water supplies found in Hatfield and the resolution of who is responsible for financing the removal. The contamination is within the Three Valleys area, who have lost a lot of money already and it also affect Thames Water, who have warned of the increasing problems due to summers becoming warmer and drier. Groundwater pollution is a growing problem with the worst offenders being pesticides and nitrates but also fertilisers, manure and leaking sewers, which can also bring a threat of bacteria and viruses being delivered into drinking water although usually only on a localised level.
Related Links:
Ofwat – http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/
Environment Agency – http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/
Muddy waters
http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9767825
The economist published this article on 6th September 2007 and it examines the controversial decision by the state of Indiana to allow the British company BP to expand its oil refinery, located close to Lake Michigan - a project which has the potential to increase the amount of pollution that is delivered into the lake and therefore angering states that share the shoreline. BP claims that it will limit discharges to the lake but a judge will still be brought in to guarantee procedures. It seems that there is confusion over who is responsible for the upkeep of the lake and so it is difficult for any decisions to be enforced.
Related Links:
Alliance for the Great Lakes – http://www.greatlakes.org/
British Petrolium – http://www.bp.com/
Environment Protection Agency – http://www.epa.gov/
Environmental Law and Policy Centre – http://www.elpc.org/
Bottled water and snake oil
http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9569968
This report from the Economist was published on July 31st 2007 and discusses the perceived ridiculous act of purchasing water that consumers already pay to receive through their taps. It reminds the reader of the failure of Coca-Cola’s Dasani water in the UK and looks at the decision of rival company Pepsi to state “Public Water Source” on their labels. It then goes on to review the industy’s growing and diversifying sales (such as new forms of “healthy water”) and compare it to that of oil and petrol. The report concludes by looking at the other side of the argument with the possible terrorist threats to public water supplies and the efficiency of rescue from bottled water accidents compared to those from public sources.
Related Links:
Think outside the bottle campaign - http://thinkoutsidethebottle.org/
Pollution fear grips Russian city
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4469680.stm
This is a report from the BBC, published on 25th November 2005 that describes a 50 mile stretch of water, contaminated with benzene, that is moving towards the far eastern city of Khabarovsk from China. The article is framed around the need for the people not to panic and for shop owners and others not to attempt to profit from the approaching threat by selling out their bottled water. The city authorites have 70 tankers set up to supply the population should the mains system have to be shut down while the benzene spill is being monitored.
Related Links:
China’s apology – http://www.terradaily.com/reports/China_Apologizes_To_Russia_Over_Toxic_Benzene_Spill.html
DREF – http://wwwnotes.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/6686f45896f15dbc852567ae00530132/604be3b91e9ef5fc4925714c0004797a?OpenDocument
