Water & Oceans

"As the Southwest faces rapid growth and unrelenting drought, the Colorado River is in crisis, with too many demands on its diminishing flow. Now those who depend on the river must confront the hard reality that their supply of Colorado water may be cut off."

Jim Robbins reports, with photography by Ted Wood, in a 5-part series for Yale Environment 360 January 14, 2019.

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"An iceberg twice the size of New York City is about to break off of Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf, according to NASA."

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When Army Staff Sgt. Samuel Fortune returned from Iraq, his body battered by war, he assumed he’d be safe. Then the people around him began to get sick. His neighbors, all living near five military bases, complained of tumors, thyroid problems and debilitating fatigue. Soon, the Colorado health department announced an unusually high number of kidney cancers in the region. Then Mr. Fortune’s wife fell ill."

"As sea levels rise, saltwater is entering farms near the bay, damaging crops and releasing legacy nutrients into already-polluted waterways. "

"As warming brings earlier spring rains in the Arctic, more permafrost thaws, releasing more methane in a difficult-to-stop feedback loop, research shows."

"Increasing spring rains in the Arctic could double the increase in methane emissions from the region by hastening the rate of thawing in permafrost, new research suggests.

"California’s Salton Sea is a complicated place that’s not well known outside the Golden State, but its imperiled status has helped clog progress negotiating drought protection measures with water users along the Colorado River."

"The Australian government has confirmed the extinction of a small rodent native to a tiny spit of sand in the northernmost part of the Great Barrier Reef ― the first known mammal lost to human-caused climate change."

"Conservation groups fighting the Trump administration’s bid to open the Atlantic Ocean to offshore drilling asked a federal court Wednesday to block companies from conducting seismic tests to determine the location of oil and gas deposits."

"For months, Clovis, New Mexico, dairy farmer Art Schaap has been watching his life go down the drain. Instead of selling milk, he is dumping 15,000 gallons a day – enough to provide a carton at lunch to 240,000 children. Instead of working 24/7 to keep his animals healthy, he’s planning to exterminate all 4,000 of his cows, one of the best herds in his county’s booming dairy industry."

"The Supreme Court is taking up another far-reaching debate over the scope of the Clean Water Act."