Freshwater scarcity is a growing concern, placing considerable importance on the accuracy of indicators used to characterize and map water scarcity worldwide. We improve upon past efforts by using estimates of blue water footprints (consumptive use of ground- and surface water flows) rather than water withdrawals, accounting for the flows needed to sustain critical ecological functions and by con ... read more >>

Georgia’s latest deep drought is not only challenging the resolve of state residents, it is also testing measures that Georgia has taken since a devastating dry spell in 2007, including new laws, a new planning process, and new money for water supply projects that were designed to put the state on a path to a more secure water future. Click on the infographic below to see the policies enacted in ... read more >>

A short description about what meander of river is and why it takes place. ... read more >>

It’s pretty clear that glaciers and ice fields have been melting the past few decades under relentless global warming. But scientists aren’t sure exactly how fast the melting will proceed, whether it will speed up, or perhaps stabilize at some point.
A new study looking back at historic changes in response to climate variations may help answer some of those questions. The research shows that gla ... read more >>

Ice fields in southern South America are rapidly losing volume and in most cases thinning at even the highest elevations, contributing to sea-level rise at "substantially higher" rates than observed from the 1970s through the 1990s, according to a study published Wednesday.
The rapid melting, based on satellite observations, suggests the ice field's contribution to global sea-level rise has incr ... read more >>

The forest of towering, dead mangrove trees stretches along the beach as far as the eye can see. As the crashing waves rise and fall, short stumps emerge and vanish beneath the Pacific Ocean. Climate change has come early to the Bajo Lempa region of western El Salvador.
A tiny rise in the sea level has, according to local people, seen about 1,000ft of the mangroves on which they depend vanish be ... read more >>

The International Joint Commission today applauded the governments of Canada and the United States for updating the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (Agreement). A new Agreement protocol was signed today by Peter Kent, Canada’s Environment Minister and Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Updated for the first time since 1987, the accord is a blueprint for ... read more >>

China's plan to rapidly expand large coal mines and power plants in its arid northern and western provinces threatens to drain precious water supply and could trigger a severe water crisis. ... read more >>

Energy costs, environmental concerns and the cloud computing transformation are inspiring more businesses -- including Microsoft -- to overhaul their hosting infrastructures ... read more >>

Ecosystems are essential to our well-being and prosperity as they provide us with food, clean air and fresh water. Ecosystems also represent an exceptional source of outdoor recreation opportunities. The functions performed by ecosystems that increase our well-being are called ecosystem services. The PEER Research on EcoSystem Services (PRESS) initiative describes how different EU policies can he ... read more >>