Water/Drought Archives - Inside Climate News

Scientists Disagree About Drivers of September’s Global Temperature Spike, but It Has Most of Them Worried

By Bob Berwyn — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0000

The month’s shocking surge is likely to make 2023 the hottest year on record and drive extreme impact around the globe. It could also be a harbinger of even higher temperatures next year.

By Bob Berwyn

September’s stunning rise of the average global temperature is all but certain to make 2023 the warmest year on record, and 2024 is likely to be even hotter, edging close to the “red line” of 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming above the pre-industrial level that the 2015 Paris climate agreement is striving to avoid.

Biden Creates the American Climate Corps, 90 Years After FDR Put 3 Million to Work in National Parks

Interview by Aynsley O’Neill, “Living on Earth” — Sat, 30 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0000

The new workers will remove wildfire fuel in forests, install EV chargers in cities, retrofit thermostats in low-income homes and, it is hoped, move on to union jobs in the clean energy economy.

Interview by Aynsley O’Neill, “Living on Earth”

First Floods, Now Fires: How Neglect and Fraud Hobbled an Alabama Town

By Lee Hedgepeth — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0000

In the majority Black town of Prichard, deterioration of water infrastructure has led to a crisis impacting nearly every aspect of residents’ lives—and now some may be forced from their homes.

By Lee Hedgepeth

PRICHARD, Ala.—Sometimes it’s the water that plagues them. Other times, it’s the fire.

The Era of Climate Migration Is Here, Leaders of Vulnerable Nations Say

By Nicholas Kusnetz — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 15:41:48 +0000

Heads of climate-vulnerable nations gathered on the sidelines of a United Nations climate summit to call for new policies and agreements to manage the millions of people who are being forced from their homes by extreme weather.

By Nicholas Kusnetz

As world leaders gathered Wednesday at the United Nations in New York to rally for more aggressive climate action, the heads of some of the most vulnerable nations met on the sidelines to highlight the daunting challenges they face as extreme weather forces millions of people to flee their homes. The problem is here already, they said, and it will only get worse unless governments slash emissions and prepare for what will effectively be a new world map.

A Fracker in Pennsylvania Wants to Take 1.5 Million Gallons a Day From a Small, Biodiverse Creek. Should the State Approve a Permit?

By Jake Bolster — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0000

PennEnergy says such withdrawals are “safe and responsible” and “highly regulated.” Environmental activists counter that the company’s application used old data and doesn’t do enough to protect imperiled species.

By Jake Bolster

Sometimes, when evaluating a river, size matters. If you need to supply 40 million people in seven states with drinking water, you would hope for a body of water that resembles the Colorado River—classified as an order seven watershed for its size and biological diversity. The Amazon river, the world’s largest, is an order 12 watershed.

Industrial Plants in Gary and Other Environmental Justice Communities Are Highlighted as Top Emitters

By Aydali Campa, Phil McKenna and Victoria St. Martin — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 10:00:00 +0000

A new report on toxic pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, health metrics and environmental justice indicators could guide investments to clean up heavy industry.

By Aydali Campa, Phil McKenna and Victoria St. Martin

GARY, Ind.—It has been a bittersweet homecoming for Maya Etienne. Her affection for her birthplace runs deep—despite the decline of the city’s once-robust steel-manufacturing industry.

Summer of Record Heat Deals Costly Damage to Texas Water Systems

By Dylan Baddour — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 18:16:06 +0000

As dry soils contract, underground pipes rupture and cities contend with thousands of costly water leaks, frustrating conservation efforts and highlighting the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to a warming climate.

By Dylan Baddour

The hottest summer on record for many Texas cities has brought millions of dollars in damage to municipal plumbing and the loss of huge volumes of water during a severe drought.

Standards Still Murky for Disposing Oilfield Wastewater in Texas Rivers

By Martha Pskowski — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Researchers are still studying the chemical makeup of produced water from the Permian Basin. But regulators say they’re ready to issue permits to discharge the water into rivers and creeks.

By Martha Pskowski

State of Denial: Second in a series about Texas’ environmental regulators.

The Federal Bureau of Reclamation Announces Reduced Water Cuts for Colorado River States

By Wyatt Myskow — Tue, 15 Aug 2023 22:34:40 +0000

This year’s ‘above-average precipitation’ will allow for less extensive water cuts for Arizona, Nevada and Mexico next year, but negotiations continue over big reductions in the future.

By Wyatt Myskow

Federal officials announced Tuesday they would be easing water cuts on the Colorado River next year following a wet winter that has now given the Southwest some breathing room as users continue to negotiate long-term solutions to the region’s drought.

Solar Is Booming in the California Desert, if Water Issues Don’t Get in the Way

By Wyatt Myskow — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Utility-scale solar farms spreading rapidly across the desert Southwest are stressing the region’s already overtaxed groundwater and communities are beginning to push back.

By Wyatt Myskow

DESERT CENTER, Calif.—Solar farms stretch out mile after mile along Interstate 10 around Palm Springs, creating one of the densest areas of solar development in North America in the heart of California’s Colorado Desert. But the area’s success in meeting the state and the nation’s renewable energy goals is running up against the Southwest’s biggest climate challenge: Having enough water.