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Indonesia: Children at risk as Jakarta floods – aid workers
Posted by AlertNet: Emma Batha on January 18th, 2013
AlertNet: Aid workers responding to floods that have swamped the Indonesian capital Jakarta fear an outbreak of disease, especially among children playing in dirty floodwaters.
At least 12 people have been killed and more than 18,000 forced to flee their homes by the floods, which began on Wednesday following torrential rains.
Overall, some 250,000 people have been affected across the sprawling city, according to Save the Children. But there are warnings the rains could worsen in the coming days.
Water...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Indonesia: Children at risk as Jakarta floods – aid workersHow much “virtual water” do you use every day?
Posted by AlertNet: Emma Batha on July 24th, 2012
AlertNet: If you had a cup of coffee, a couple of slices of toast and an egg this morning, you also inadvertently consumed around 450 litres (120 gallons) of water - enough for three typical baths.
That's a calculation made according to a global water footprint standard that seeks to measure both direct and indirect uses of water in everything from making cars to growing apples.
The indicators underline that water is not just for washing and drinking. The world uses phenomenal amounts of water to produce...
Land grabs leave Africa facing ‘hydrological suicide’
Posted by AlertNet: Emma Batha on June 12th, 2012
AlertNet: A scramble for cheap African farmland by foreign investors threatens to leave millions of people without water and could ultimately drain the continent's rivers, a report warns.
"If these land grabs are allowed to continue, Africa is heading for a hydrological suicide," said the report's co-author Henk Hobbelink, coordinator of GRAIN, an organisation supporting small farmers.
Foreign governments and wealthy individuals are snapping up millions of hectares of land on the continent for large-scale...