Water in the News

Recent headlines (as of March 2005):

Basin turns nervous eye to snowpack (MSNBC): "As the sun keeps eating away at the mountain snowpack, Klamath Basin farmers and ranchers are trying to digest a drought plan implemented Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation."

Clean Water Fund Facing Major Cuts (New York Times): "The discretionary budget of the Environmental Protection Agency would be cut by 5.6 percent, to $7.57 billion, under President Bush's budget. The greatest single cuts would be in federal payments to a joint state-federal fund that underwrites projects to improve water quality."

For Iraq's Great Marshes, a Hesitant Comeback (New York Times): "In Iraq, a grand experiment in turning back the environmental clock is under way."

Himalayan glaciers 'melting fast' (BBC News): "Melting glaciers in the Himalayas could lead to water shortages for hundreds of millions of people, the conservation group WWF has warned. ...India, China and Nepal could experience floods followed by droughts in coming decades."

In Sudan's refugee camps, tensions rise over water (USA Today): Fighting has broken out over scarce water supplies in Kalma, the largest camp for internally displaced people in Darfur, western Sudan.

New ecosystem at Atlantic hydrothermal vent (CNN): "A strange world of see-through shrimp, crabs and other life forms teems around a newly explored field of thermal vents near the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, scientists report."

Rebirth of a Wetland (CNN): "The drained and dammed marshlands of Iraq could soon be flooded with wildlife if a planned restoration project gets international support."

River Jordan 'nearly running dry' (BBC News): "The river Jordan is in danger of disappearing altogether under pressure from huge water diversion programs, an environmental group has warned."

Tsunamis leave environmental devastation (CNN): "Scientists from around the world have expressed grave concerns about the health of local ecosystems and their ability to sustain survivors of the tsunamis that struck parts of Asia and Africa last month."

Water firm fined over pollution (BBC News): "United Utilities has been fined £3,500 after admitting polluting a river tributary in Lancashire with sewage."

Thinkquest Team "Fish," March 2005, Disclaimer and copyright information