Nearly 40 percent of businesses globally have already experienced “detrimental” effects related to water security, including disruptions caused by drought and other shortages, flooding, poor quality, and increased prices, according to a new report. In a survey of companies from 25 nations, more than half responded that risks to their business are “current or near (more…)

If you are planning to move in the near future, you might want to consider not just the economic, cultural and civic advantages of your new choice, but the likelihood that it will be affected by some of the changes predicted by global warming. (more…)

According to a new study by National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) scientist, Aiguo Dai, the United States along with many other heavily populated countries in the Western Hemisphere is looking at a growing threat of severe and extended drought in the years to come. (more…)

Farmers and horticulturists are being advised to act now in order to survive the years of drought ahead.

A recent report commissioned by the Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) shows that higher temperatures and lower annual rainfall in summer is likely to reduce river flow (more…)

For thousands of years, nomadic herdsmen have roamed the harsh, semi-arid lowlands that stretch across 80 percent of Kenya and 60 percent of Ethiopia. Descendants of the oldest tribal societies in the world, they survive thanks to the animals they raise and the crops they grow, their travels determined by the search for water and grazing lands. (more…)

Lake Mead, the massive reservoir that supplies water to millions of people across the southwestern U.S., has reached its lowest levels in nearly 75 years. Water levels dropped to 1,083 feet above sea level on Oct. 17, the lowest elevation since 1937, when the lake was first filled with the completion of the Hoover Dam.

The dropping water level — which beats a (more…)

International drink and snack giant PepsiCo has vowed to cut the carbon emissions and water consumption of its UK operations by 50 percent in five years. PepsiCo, which is the parent company of Britain’s biggest-selling brand of potato chips, says it will switch to potatoes that require less water and are grown using more efficient methods of irrigation. Through these improvements, (more…)

Chilean officials are launching an initiative that will require companies to measure the effects of water consumption on local watersheds and their own business sustainability. A coalition of partners, including the government-created Chile Foundation, is advocating the use of the “water footprint,” which will measure the total volume of freshwater required to (more…)

A burgeoning human population has doubled the rate at which it is pumping dry sources of groundwater in recent decades, according to a new study. Relying on a global database of groundwater use and demand, the researchers from Utrecht University calculated that the rate of withdrawal of groundwater stocks jumped from about 30 cubic miles annually (126 (more…)

Several stories recently have highlighted the other side of the regulatory coin–regulations are only effective if they are enforced. 

On Monday, the Department of Energy issued 27 penalty notices to companies for failure to meet energy efficiency and water conservation standards.

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