Using new airborne sensors to measure mountain snowpacks, NASA says it has opened a new era in understanding the source of 75 percent of the drinking water in the American West. "We believe this is the future of water management in the western United States," a NASA scientist said in an announcement today. ... read more >>

Many city residents prefer not to think about the underground network of dark and dirty pipes that carry their water and waste somewhere … else. Michael Cook isn't one of them. On the contrary, Cook goes out of his way to explore and illuminate all types of drain systems winding below his native metropolitan Toronto, as a means of raising awareness about city sewage problems. ... read more >>

Say the words "crop insurance" and most people start to yawn. For years, few nonfarmers knew much about these government-subsidized insurance policies, and even fewer found any fault with them. After all, who could criticize a safety net for farmers that saves them from getting wiped out by floods or drought? But consider this: According to a new analysis, crop insurance allowed corn and soybean ... read more >>

Chinese photojournalist Lu Guang goes deep into China's ravaged heartlands and documents the environmental crisis that has been triggered by the nation's dizzyingly rapid economic growth and development. Exposing the droughts caused by open-cast coal mines in Inner Mongolia, documenting under-reported oil spills and sidestepping censorship over chemical pollution of rivers, Guang is a fearless do ... read more >>

Recent reports from China and the USA indicate the production of staple foods including rice, wheat and soya are likely to be hit in the coming decades due to increasing incidences of extreme weather. Experts warn that as the world's population and temperatures rise, so added stress will be placed on regions such as the Lower Mekong Basin, which millions rely on for their supply of rice. Speaking ... read more >>

The Arctic's sea ice melted at a record pace in 2012, the ninth-hottest year on record, compounding concerns about climate change underscored by extreme weather such as Hurricane Sandy, the UN weather agency said Thursday.

In a report on the situation in 2012, the World Meterological Organisation said that during the August to September melting season, the Arctic's sea ice cover was just 3.4 m ... read more >>

The skin of sea ice that covers the Arctic Ocean has reached its maximum extent for 2013, the National Snow and Ice Data Center announced Monday, and the annual melt season has begun. As of March 15, ice covered 5.84 million square miles of ocean, the sixth-lowest since satellite observations began in the 1970’s, and 283,000 square miles lower than the 1979-2000 average. Reflecting the influence ... read more >>

The University of Waterloo’s Water Instituteheld its annual symposium Thursday to share research conducted at UW and around the world. Among the speakers was Dr. Asit K. Biswas, one of the world’s leading authorities on water management. ... read more >>

According to Zpryme, for the second month in a row, U.S. citizens had a more positive (9.5%) than negative (4.4%) view of the smart grid than they had 12 months ago. However, the majority (73.8%) of U.S. adults are still not familiar with the smart grid. There is some evidence to show that energy security concerns revolve around a nation’s reliance on petroleum and strong energy efficiency polici ... read more >>

"Inertia and uncertainty" over EU energy policy is preventing institutional investors supporting desperately needed clean energy projects, a House of Lords committee will warn today. Around €1trn of investment is required by the end of the decade to support the development of a secure and low-carbon energy supply, peers say in a new report. But it expresses alarm at "the degree of uncertainty, co ... read more >>