Protection and development of water resources for their many uses requires an integrated resource management at the basin level. This level has proven effective in France, working via water agencies, and elsewhere in Europe, to implement coherent and joint solutions through decentralized partnerships. Well-adapted technologies that ensure optimal use of the water resources and curtail pollutive w ... read more >>

nine people were killed and dozens injured by a magnitude 5.1 earthquake near Lorca in southern Spain. Now it seems that the earthquake was triggered by human activity. What's more, it may have been shallower, and thus more destructive, than if it had happened following a slow, natural build-up of stress. There could be a silver lining to the tragedy, though. It may provide seismologists with a r ... read more >>

Melting glaciers, extreme snow storms, flash floods and hot summers—people are constantly looking to climate change to explain abnormal weather and environmental trends. Water supply planners are also considering the effects of climate change as they prepare to meet demands. Traditionally, planners have estimated available water supplies and projected future demands. Today, they are also analyzin ... read more >>

This paper analyzes the evolution of the concept of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) at international conferences over the past three decades and addresses the prospects of IWRM in resolving the current water crisis. It also identifies seven crucial challenges to implementing IWRM. Our rivers and aquifers are the life-blood of the planet. To achieve sustainable development, we must ma ... read more >>

Why are we even talking about Iran’s nuclear program when renewable energy offers a clear way out of this conundrum? If we can remove bad politics from the equation for a moment and get back to business as usual, energy diplomacy with Iran could render the nuclear question irrelevant altogether. ... read more >>

Brooks is correct in identifying the challenges of the renewable energy industry, but the unstated implication of his piece is to question efforts to promote renewable energy without presenting a viable alternative. He surely knows that the anti-tax crowd in Congress will never agree to a carbon tax. He must also know that any new area of business faces the type of challenges faced by the renewab ... read more >>

Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud, one of Saudi Arabia’s top spokesmen, has confirmed that Saudi Arabia has plans to generate 100% of its power from renewable sources, and low carbon forms of energy. ... read more >>

Williams and colleagues from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the U.S. Geological Survey and several tree-ring laboratories developed a new tool for predicting megadroughts called the Forest Drought Stress Index. The scientists combined tree-ring data, temperature and precipitation records, and other climate records to build the tool for predicting the impact of long hot, dry spells on forests.
T ... read more >>

The 2012 drought has already set a slew of records, and is destined to go down in history as one of the worst droughts since the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s. The drought is not having the same impacts in every state, with recent improvements taking place in the lower Mississippi River Valley, parts of the Midwest, and the East. However, in the Plains and Upper Midwest, along with the West in gener ... read more >>

Global urbanization will have significant implications for biodiversity and ecosystems if current trends continue, with knock-on effects for human health and development, according to a new assessment by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
The assessment, which draws on contributions from more than 123 scientists worldwide, states that over 60 percent of the land project ... read more >>