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Despite Massive Conservation, Recycling, Imports, Shenzhen Faces Water Shortages
›Shenzhen sits in subtropical south China, where four-fifths of the country’s water resources flow. The monsoon brings heavy rains from April to September; at its peak, Shenzhen’s more than 7 million residents see pouring rain almost every day. So why is this city facing a serious water shortage?
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Oakland’s Water Treatment Plant Generates Its Own Energy and Then Some
›Although treating wastewater generally ranks alongside police and fire safety, schools, and transit as the top priorities of any sensible city hall, new ideas about cleaning up sewage almost never attract headlines or TV airtime. In its 90-year history, for instance, The New Yorker, the most urbane and expansive magazine in the country, has never published a feature article on sewage treatment.
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Oakland’s Web of Waters Shapes New Economy, Civic Energy
›In March 1999, not long after he was sworn in as the 47th mayor of Oakland, Jerry Brown called Lesley Estes, the supervisor of the city’s watershed protection program. Brown, who is now California’s governor, wanted the city staffer he called “Creek Lady” to describe the most formidable ideas she had to conserve natural areas, make parks more beautiful, and clean up the city’s waters.
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Eric Larson and Sarthak Gupta, Climate Central
Shift from Coal to Gas Means Power Plants Are Using Less Water [Infographic]
›As the U.S. has undergone a rapid and massive shift to natural gas from coal, one benefit has gone almost entirely overlooked: the amount of water needed to cool the nation’s power plants has dropped substantially.
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Water Scarcity Could Prevent Fracking From Spreading Into Northern Mexico
›Before world oil prices collapsed late last year, shop owners closest to the banks of the Rio Grande River in Piedras Negras joked that they could hear the groans of Texas drilling rigs advancing toward their fast-growing northern Mexico city.
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A State Divided: A Snapshot of India’s Water-Energy Choke Point
›The landscape of the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya is rapidly changing. What was once a predominately agricultural economy has shifted to coal mining with significant consequences for people and the environment. “Once you extract coal from the land, it’s really hard to go back to an agricultural economy,” says ECSP’s Sean Peoples in an interview with Wilson Center NOW, about the Global Choke Point film, Broken Landscape.
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Under Modi, India’s Climate Goals Tied to Clean Energy Development
›India occupies a precarious position in the global climate change order. It trails only China, the United States, and the European Union in total emissions, but per capita emissions are far lower. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi won the 2014 elections on a strong pro-development platform and continues to wave this flag at all levels, making energy security a major priority and pledging to expand the country’s coal mining industry. But he also insists he will work with the international community on mitigating climate change. During a recent visit to France, Germany, and Canada, he declared, “India will set the agenda for the upcoming Conference of Parties” in Paris this fall.
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Illustrating China’s Water-Energy-Food Choke Points [Infographics]
›Last month, the China Environment Forum released a new Global Choke Point report, China’s Water-Energy-Food Roadmap. To date, we believe this is the most comprehensive report on China’s interlinked natural resource insecurities – dwindling water resources in the face of growing energy use and increasing food demand.
Showing posts from category Choke Point.