News, Articles and Interviews

News briefs and articles about water footprints, water use and availability, as well as interviews with key people in the fields of water footprints and water use.

How Rewearing a Dress on the Red Carpet Can Actually Help Save the Planet

February 13, 2020

Move over Oscar, the BAFTA’s are leading the way on sustainability. In an effort to promote sustainability this awards season, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts sent out a guide created by the London College of Fashion that encourages attendees of the February awards ceremony to either rewear or rent an outfit for […]

Cost of environmental damage linked to Nestlé, Danone and Mondelez rises sharply

February 5, 2020

An analysis by S&P Global Market Intelligence shows that, after declining for many years, environmental damage costs linked to three of the biggest packaged food producers are once again rising. The analysis found that between 2009 and 2015, while the cost of environmental damage as a proportion of revenue linked to Nestlé, Danone and Mondelez […]

All Renewable Power Could Mean 95 Percent Cut in Water Consumption

January 27, 2020

A study by LUT University (Finland) found that 100 percent renewable power could cut water consumption up to 95 percent over conventional. Renewable power, in this case, is solar and wind, while conventional is coal, natural gas and nuclear-power generation. Renewable energy (as well as nuclear) emits no greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change, […]

700 Experts: Act Now on Groundwater Crisis

January 17, 2020

Billions of people around the world depend on groundwater for their everyday needs, yet the reality is that groundwater is being over-exploited and polluted, putting the well-being of people and ecosystems at risk. Although groundwater is often out of sight, humanity cannot keep it out of mind. About 1.7 billion people live above over-stressed aquifers, […]

"Future Water Challenges" Project Prepares Us Today

January 11, 2020

The Netherlands’ government, business and civil society are well known in the world of water for their forward-thinking and problem-solving ways. (This is probably due to the fact that much of the country sits below sea level.) As such, the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency launched a project called “The geography of future water challenges” […]

The Year 2019 Was Historically Wet

January 4, 2020

More weather stations recorded 2019 as a top 10 wettest year than ever before (685 in 2018 versus 743 in 2019). The heaviest rainfall in 2019 was centered in the Midwest and Great Plains, leaving both regions reeling from record-setting flooding. Climate change is linked to these more intense precipitation events, as explained here by […]

Corporate Farms Slurp Water and Profit in Arizona, But Towns Don’t

December 23, 2019

Large corporate farms have moved into the desert lands of western Arizona, causing an unregulated drilling frenzy of industrial-sized wells to irrigate their crops. At the same time, regional groundwater is so scarce in places like La Paz County, Arizona that household wells are drying up and local water companies advise customers to restrict home […]

Survey Says Americans Conserve Water to Help the Environment

December 20, 2019

A December 2019 Pew Research Center survey found that most Americans say they’re changing at least one daily behavior to benefit the environment, and water conservation is one behavior change that does seem to be happening. Overall the results are mixed, but water use is top of mind for many. As Pew notes: One area […]

Groundwater Overpumping Harms Rivers and Watersheds, New Study Warns

October 9, 2019

Groundwater hides in many ways. Groundwater is hidden from view on the surface while it also hides from general knowledge that it’s Earth’s largest source of freshwater beside what is locked in glaciers and ice sheets. Another hidden aspect is that groundwater overpumping not only depletes aquifers, but also the overlaying rivers and surface waters, […]