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Articles on Water conservation

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Suburban development in Maricopa County, Arizona, with lakes, lush golf courses and water-guzzling lawns. Wild Horizon/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

What Arizona and other drought-ridden states can learn from Israel’s pioneering water strategy

Arizona is considering a multibillion-dollar desalination project to address its urgent water needs. Three water experts call for a go-slow approach and point to Israel as a role model.
Sprinklers water a lettuce field in Holtville, California with Colorado River water. Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images

The Colorado River drought crisis: 5 essential reads

Two decades of drought have reduced the river’s flow by one-third compared to historical averages. The Biden administration is considering mandatory cuts to some states’ water allocations.
Prompts like this sign in Coalinga, California, may get people to use less water – but paying them could be more effective. Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images

A new strategy for western states to adapt to long-term drought: Customized water pricing

Even after January’s storms, California faces a water-scarce future. An economist and an engineer propose a way to test higher water prices as a conservation strategy without hurting low-income users.
The Fulford Harbour sea garden clam bed was built by First Nations in the Salish Sea near Salt Spring Island, B.C. Despite growing recognition that lands managed by Indigenous Peoples are, on average, more biodiverse, biodiversity conservation has typically marginalized Indigenous Peoples. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

COP15 biodiversity summit in Montréal: Canada failed to meet its 2020 conservation targets. Will 2030 be any better?

As we set conservation goals for the next decade, we need to evaluate what worked and what didn’t in our efforts to meet the 2020 biodiversity conservation targets.
Hundreds of freshwater basins across the world, including the dried-up Santa Olalla permanent freshwater lagoon, in Spain’s Doñana National Park, are the most likely to experience social and ecological impacts due to freshwater use. (Donana Biological Station/CSIC)

Ripple effect: As global freshwater basins dry up, the threat to ecosystems and communities grows

While we know how global changes in freshwater pose risks to humans and ecosystems, we know less about how people and ecosystems will respond to these global freshwater challenges.
As climate change accelerates, Farmers’ vulnerability to drought will depend on his choice of varieties and cropping practices. Raphael Belmin

From water conservation to crop selection, how farmers can take action against drought

As droughts intensify, how can we increase crop production in a sustainable way? This is a multidimensional scientific and societal challenge to ensure future food security.
The Carlsbad Desalination Plant in Southern California is the largest such plant in the Western Hemisphere, providing 50 million gallons of desalinated seawater per day.​ Reed Kaestner via Getty Images

Desalinating seawater sounds easy, but there are cheaper and more sustainable ways to meet people’s water needs

Nearly 97% of the world’s water is in the oceans, but desalination is no magic bullet for water-stressed coastal cities.
An orchard near Kettleman City in California’s San Joaquin Valley on April 2, 2021. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Water wells are at risk of going dry in the US and worldwide

The US has one of the highest groundwater use rates in the world. When wells run dry, households may opt to conserve water, find new sources or sell and move.
Aerial view of Lake Powell on the Colorado River along the Arizona-Utah border. AP Photo/John Antczak

Interstate water wars are heating up along with the climate

The Supreme Court recently dealt defeat to Florida in its 20-year legal battle with Georgia over river water. Other interstate water contests loom, but there are no sure winners in these lawsuits.
MNStudio/Shutterstock

Even in a ‘water-rich’ country like New Zealand, some cities could face water shortages this summer

Given long-term forecasts for growing urban populations and an increasingly variable climate, local authorities will have to think about how best to encourage people to conserve water.
A center-pivot sprinkler with precision application drop nozzles irrigates cotton in Texas. USDA NRCS/Wikipedia

Farmers are depleting the Ogallala Aquifer because the government pays them to do it

An invisible crisis is brewing in US farm country as the overpumped Ogallala-High Plains Aquifer drains. The key drivers are federal farm subsidies and the tax code.

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