Circle of Blue

2 weeks ago | circleofblue.org | Christian Thorsberg

India has pledged to break a decades-old water-sharing treaty with Pakistan, promising to cut off Indus River flows into the latter nation in the coming months. Lead mining in Myanmar has boomed since the country’s 2021 coup, with rivers and streams enduring harsh pollution as a result. In the high plateaus of Bolivia, where both drought and deluges have discouraged many from taking up farming, two ancient crops have shown they can withstand harsh weather.

2 weeks ago | circleofblue.org | Brett Walton

Interior radically shortens environmental review and public comment period for energy projects. Reclamation reviews a plea to halt the decommissioning of a California dam project. Congress returns from break with water-related hearings. EPA administrator pledges to help resolve Tijuana River sewage pollution. GAO assesses environmental and water impacts from generative AI. And lastly, the EPA mulls changes to PFAS regulations.

2 weeks ago | circleofblue.org | Christian Thorsberg

Heavy, deadly rain and snow fell last week on Italy and Switzerland, swelling several rivers and disrupting travel through multiple regions. Villagers in northern Colombia’s wetlands have long endured salty rivers and fish die-offs as a result of development — now, they are advocating for change. New York winegrowers contending with climate change fear their efforts to operate more sustainably — to improve soil health and water quality — will soon lose funding.

3 weeks ago | circleofblue.org | Christian Thorsberg

Drought is imminent in the Netherlands, researchers say, as groundwater reserves and major rivers are much emptier compared to years past. Snowfall in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region this year was down significantly, a change with wide-reaching effects on several major Asian river basins. Louisiana, home to the largest area of America’s coastal wetlands, is at risk from oil development that threatens to harm waterways and release stored carbon.

3 weeks ago | circleofblue.org | Keith Schneider

I was a very young cat, just turned 14 years old, when 20 million Americans celebrated the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. Schools closed where I was raised in White Plains, N.Y., to give students like me freedom to take part in all manner of eco-sustaining activities. I gathered a few friends to join me downtown to paint the White Plains train station and drag tires and old appliances from the dark, heavily polluted waters of the Bronx River.