Water wars?

Check this NPR story about this book coming out tomorrow... pre-order on Amazon.

The World Science Festival & Mannahatta Project

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a World Science Festival event called The Hudson Since Henry. The event was hosted by Andrew Revkin, the New York Times science writer, and incorporated a number of folks who spoke about Hudson River science and art. In my opinion, by far the most interesting presentation was given by Eric Sanderson of the Wildlife Conservation Society. He spoke about his efforts to recreate and understand the physical landscape and ecology of Manhattan before its development, called the Mannahatta Project. Check the website here, learn how they completed the project here, and make sure to explore the history of any block in Manhattan here.

Tonight it's off to Rising Waters in a Thirsty World with Maude Barlow. If Blue Gold is any indication of the quality of this event, it should be excellent.

NC mulls stricter water management

North Carolina's state legislature is considering further regulation of the state's water resources, to include mandatory permits on users that extract 100,000 gallons or more in a single day period.

Check the Senate version of the bill here and the House version here.

Water access in Asia

On Friday, the Asia Society released a report highlighting the risk that climate change, population growth, and urbanization pose to the continent's water resources.  The authors note that 1 in 5 Asians already lack access to clean drinking water and that, although it is the world's most heavily populated continent, Asia has the least water per person of any continent other than Antarctica.  The report concludes that decreased access to clean, stable water supplies "will have a profound impact on security throughout the region."

A Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty story released yesterday on water conflict in the Central Asian states serves as a reminder of the serious state of water politics today, even before popoulations swell, urban areas expand, and patterns of precipitation shift due to climate change.  Uzbekistan's President, Islam Karimov, has enlisted the support of counterparts in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to prevent the construction of hydropower stations in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and the associated disruptions in water supply in the three downstream nations.  Kyryzstan and Tajikistan argue that they cannot afford the prices their neighbors demand for oil and natural gas, and that hydropower is perhaps the only path toward energy independence and ending winter energy rationing.