by Casey Fischl
Bottled water consumption has steadily increased over the last few decades, reaching an all-time high in 2017 with 13.7 billion gallons of bottled water purchased in the United States. The consumption of bottled water has surpassed all other products in the beverage industry, including soda and beer.
Do protesters of the Dakota Access Pipeline have real reason to be worried about their water? Data would suggest yes.
After the crisis in Flint, water has once again been thrust into the national spotlight because of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protests, which revolve around the protection of water resources for a nearby Native American reservation. While most of us are lucky enough to not to have to worry about clean tap water or access to basic water services, the same is not true for many communities all across the United States.
by Patricia Quintero Estades In a previous post, I discussed some of the issues of agriculture and water use in California. Though constantly stricken with water scarcity issues, California is a large agricultural supplier, with most of its operations concentrated in the Central Valley. In talking about agriculture and water use in California, it is impossible…
Worldwide use of water desalination has been growing in the past years. Countries in the Middle East (such as Saudi Arabia and Israel) have made impressive advances and significant investments in desalination technology in the last decade. Israel opened its first large-scale desalination plant in 2005. Ten years later, desalination plants produce 40% of the country’s water supply.
In the U.S., the largest desalination plant came online in Carlsbad, San Diego County this past December— along with a billion-dollar price tag. Although smaller plants have been operating since the 1970s …
This podcast features *spoilers – so, please listen after you’ve read the book unless you are okay with hearing about major plot details and the ending of this amazing novel.
Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Water Knife looks at our use and manipulation of water and water rights in the US and brings us to an ultimate conclusion. In a Southwest decimated by climate change, with the Colorado River a trickle, local and state governments in the Southwest are employing any means necessary to secure water rights. Following several main characters in a desperate search for recently discovered senior water rights for the city of Phoenix. Is #PhoenixRising or is #PhoenixDownTheTubes? NPR, All Things Considered called the novel, “A noir-ish, cinematic thriller set in the midst of a water war between Las Vegas and Phoenix. . . . Think Chinatown meets Mad Max.” Join us as we discuss the plausibility of this near-future Phoenix and the dire straits it’s characters find themselves in.
by Patricia Quintero Estades The water crisis in Flint Michigan has shed light on problems of water contamination and of crumbling water infrastructure facing communities all over the U.S. With presidential candidates like Trump and Sanders regularly highlighting infrastructure issues as key aspects of their platforms and the considerable national attention given to water because of Flint, it…
Here are five important facts about #WorldWaterDay as well an opportunity to help those most affected by lack of access to fresh, clean water.
Running water in our homes is sort of magical when you think about it. It’s one of the most important technological improvements of industrialized societies, which has, without a doubt, had a major impact on our quality of life … it is hard to keep water policy in the public discourse and in the forefront of policy when we don’t really educate ourselves about how basic water management works.
by Raphael Bostic About 150 years ago, people figured out that lead pipes could kill them. In 1861, fifty prisoners in King County Jail in Brooklyn started vomiting uncontrollably, until a doctor realized that the water supply was contaminated with lead. Seven years later, a New York City woman named Elizabeth Galler was accused of poisoning…