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Top 10 U.S. Cities Running Out of Water
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on August 14th, 2014
EcoWatch: Even as we watch the stunning footage of an overwhelmed Detroit drowning under massive rainfall, U.S. Drought Monitor shows other regions of the country parched and longing for more water. The organization releases weekly maps tracking the extent of drought in the U.S., ranking regions on five levels: "abnormally dry," "moderate drought," "severe drought," "extreme drought" and "exceptional drought."
Its current map documents a huge swath of the western U.S., extending as far east as Kansas, Missouri...
Fracking Waste Disposal Fuels Opposition in U.S. and Abroad
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on August 14th, 2014
EcoWatch: A poll taken by Public Policy Polling revealed this week that 65 percent of California residents oppose dumping fracking waste in the ocean. The actions of fracking companies in both the U.S. and England, the eagerness of many government bodies and officials to cater to them, and the obfuscation around the disposal of the waste show they have reason to be concerned.
Ban Michigan Fracking reports that 12 tons of radioactive fracking waste is heading for a hazardous waste facility in the Detroit...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Fracking Waste Disposal Fuels Opposition in U.S. and AbroadPrecious Water Bottled and Shipped Out of Drought-Ridden California
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on August 13th, 2014
EcoWatch: California is suffering through a record drought. Water is being rationed and its usually fertile agriculture industry is suffering.
Meanwhile, someone in Minnesota or Kentucky or Maryland may be drinking a bit of California`s precious commodity. Mother Jones reported this week that at least four major bottled water companies--Aquafina, Dasani, Crystal Geyser and Arrowhead--use water from California, either ground (spring) water or tap water. Aquafina and Dasani both bottle and sell treated tap...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Precious Water Bottled and Shipped Out of Drought-Ridden CaliforniaCumulative Climate Impacts of Tar Sands Pipelines
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on August 11th, 2014
EcoWatch: Last summer, President Obama delivered a major climate speech in which he laid out his plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent by 2020. He also committed to deciding the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline based on its climate impacts, stating unequivocally: "The net effects of the pipeline’s impact on our climate will be absolutely critical to determining whether this project is allowed to go forward."
While the evidence shows that Keystone XL would result in significant greenhouse...
California Experiencing Most Severe Drought Ever Recorded
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on August 1st, 2014
EcoWatch: One of the worst North American droughts in history could be getting a whole lot worse. According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor Map released on Tuesday, more than 58 percent of California is in an “exceptional drought” stage. That’s up a staggering 22 percent from last week’s report. And, in its latest drought report released earlier today, the National Drought Mitigation Center warned that “bone-dry” conditions are overtaking much of the Golden State, and noted that, overall, California is...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on California Experiencing Most Severe Drought Ever RecordedRight Breathe Fresh Air, Drink Clean Water and Eat Healthy Food
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on July 29th, 2014
EcoWatch: A now-famous 1972 photo of Earth taken by Apollo 17 astronauts from 45,000 kilometres away became known as “the blue marble.” The late scientist Carl Sagan described a 1990 picture taken from six billion kilometers away by the unmanned Voyager 1 as a “pale blue dot."
The vision of Earth from a distance has profoundly moved pretty much anyone who has ever seen it. “When we look down at the earth from space, we see this amazing, indescribably beautiful planet,” International Space Station astronaut...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Right Breathe Fresh Air, Drink Clean Water and Eat Healthy FoodGAO Report: Drinking Water Risk Underground Fracking Waste Injection
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on July 28th, 2014
EcoWatch: The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly released its report today finding that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is "not consistently conducting two key oversight and enforcement activities for class II programs" for underground fluid injection wells associated with oil and gas production. The report shows that the EPA`s program to protect drinking water sources from underground injection of fracking waste needs improvement.
According to the report, "The U.S. EPA...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on GAO Report: Drinking Water Risk Underground Fracking Waste InjectionExtreme Drought in CA Triggers Halting Fracking Waste Injection Avoid Aquifer Contamination
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on July 18th, 2014
EcoWatch: California officials have ordered an emergency shut-down of 11 oil and gas waste injection sites and a review of more than 100 others in the state`s drought-wracked Central Valley out of fear that companies may have been pumping fracking fluids and other toxic waste into drinking water aquifers there.
The state`s Division of Oil and Gas and Geothermal Resources on July 7 issued cease and desist orders to seven energy companies warning that they may be injecting their waste into aquifers that could...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Extreme Drought in CA Triggers Halting Fracking Waste Injection Avoid Aquifer ContaminationScientific Document Shows Why NY Fracking Moratorium Imperative
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on July 10th, 2014
EcoWatch: Less than two weeks ago, local communities triumphed over the fracking industry in a precedent-setting case decided by the New York Court of Appeals. The court ruled that the towns of Dryden and Middlefield can use local zoning laws to ban heavy industry, including oil and gas production within municipal borders.
While the court decision is a victory for the two towns, many New Yorkers continue to rally and push for a statewide fracking moratorium. In this vein, Concerned Health Professionals...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Scientific Document Shows Why NY Fracking Moratorium ImperativeYou Can’t Have a Tea Party Without Clean Water
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on July 9th, 2014
EcoWatch: People like to breathe. Rich people, poor people, Tea Party Republicans, progressive Democrats, old people, young people, Americans, people from other countries--all are united in the biological necessities of being human. Water, food and air are all better when they are not filled with toxic substances. The political support for environmental protection is derived from this fundamental fact, along with the equally-fundamental awareness that all of these resources are at risk on a crowded and increasingly...