Claustrophobes beware — every October or November, millions of Cambodians jam into their capital city, Phnom Penh, for a riotous three-day water festival, clogging the riverside boulevard that runs in front of the royal palace. Although Bon Om Touk is much beloved for providing opportunities to watch boat races, slurp fertilized duck eggs, and indulge […]
Special Report
Posted inSpecial Report
The Missing Piece: A Water Ethic
Now for the million-dollar questions: Why has so much of modern water management gone awry? Why is it that ever greater amounts of money and ever more sophisticated engineering have not solved the world’s water problems? Why, in so many places on this planet, are rivers drying up, lakes shrinking, and water tables falling? The […]
Posted inSpecial Report
Changing Water Policies in the Dry Southwest
Water is taught by thirst. — Emily Dickinson Most of us in this country haven’t had to think about water very much. We turn on the tap, and out it comes, clean and cheap. What more do we need to know? Or so we thought. Then last year there was an unusual convergence of events […]
Posted inSpecial Report
The Perils of Privatization
If adequate water for drinking and sanitation is essential for life, shouldn’t we consider water a human right? Not everyone thinks so. In February, the United Nations Human Rights Council missed a critical opportunity to recognize a human right to water. As a result of lobbying by the United States and Canada, the council derailed […]
Posted inSpecial Report
Water Wisdom
Recently I visited water expert Peter Gleick at the Oakland, California, headquarters of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security, where he is president and co-founder. A MacArthur Fellowship award winner for his work on water issues, Dr. Gleick has been a practitioner in the field for some 20 years. His institute’s […]
Posted inSpecial Report
The Backlash Against Bottled Water
The worldwide demand for water is doubling every 20 years. By 2025, two-thirds of all people may be facing severe water shortages. Concurrently, the bottled-water market has been exploding in North America. Today, close to one-fifth of the population relies exclusively on bottled water for its daily hydration. In the past decade, North American sales […]
Posted inSpecial Report
Facing Up to Freshwater Pollution
The state of freshwater in the United States resembles A Tale of Two Cities. It is the best of times in that, in the latter portion of the 20th century, we reversed the general disregard for water bodies. Our nation rallied in the face of flammable rivers, water bodies used as dumps for industrial waste […]
Posted inSpecial Report
Where Has All the Water Gone?
From our June special report: The world’s water crisis poses grave threats to our survival. Can we change course?
Posted inSpecial Report
Borrowing Ill Health
Hospitals are getting more aggressive about sending debt collectors after under-insured consumers.
Posted inSpecial Report
Lessons From California
The Schwarzenegger plan was a near miss, but well worth the trouble. The stage is set for the next effort.
