Water

Tulare County, California is Out Of Water

November 24, 2014

Tulare County near Fresno, California is out of water. There’s none available for bathing, flushing toilets, or doing dishes. What’s doubly strange about that is Tulare is just south of California’s lush Central Valley where most of the fruits and vegetables grown in the US come from. How could it have no water? State officials say that at least 700 households have no access to running water, but they acknowledge that there could be hundreds more. The county only recently began aggressively tracking homes without running…

Vertical Garden Exhibit at Chicago MSI

September 18, 2014

Green roof design is becoming popular all over the world, but this vertical garden conceptual model – part of the Fast Forward exhibit at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) – takes the concepts of aquaponics, locally-grown produce, and urban farming to new heights by stuffing all those things into a single, “green” skyscraper. Vertical farming, which some experts claim uses just 1/6 of the resources required by conventional “flat” farming to produce a given quantity of produce, is…

Hydraulic Fracturing Hypocrisy: Exxon CEO Says No to Fracking

February 22, 2014

The dangerous gas mining process of hydraulic fracturing is threatening the fresh water supply on our planet. And though petrochemical companies still try to feebly claim that fracking is safe, in a most revealing move, Exxon’s CEO is now fighting to stop hydraulic fracturing on his own land.

Australian Building Codes Mandate Rainwater Harvesting

September 7, 2013

Access to clean water is becoming increasingly scarce, but in an arid nation like Australia, water is most especially precious. Now many homes across the vast country are beginning to learn just how simple and important it can be to collect their own rainwater. Several areas in the country have even begun requiring rainwater catchment systems for all newly constructed buildings.

Friendly Water for the World Helps Bring Clean Water to Millions for Pennies

June 16, 2013

Nearly half the people on our planet do not have safe water to drink. Friendly Water for the World is a nonprofit organization, founded by Quakers, whose mission is to help expand access to low-cost clean water technologies, as well as information about health and sanitation, to people in need. They teach communities how to construct simple biosand water filters, which remove nearly 99% of all parasites, disease and water-borne pathogens.

Shell Tried Moving its Now Grounded Oil Rig During Storm to Avoid Paying Taxes

January 8, 2013

Late last month the Kulluk Shell oil rig was run aground on the pristine shores of Alaska’s Kodiak Island while it was being towed to Seattle during a ferocious storm. Why would anyone even attempt towing something as dangerously precarious as an oil rig in the middle of a massive winter storm? The reason that the mobile offshore drilling unit was being moved out of Alaska at the end of December, in spite of hurricane force winds and treacherous 40 foot waves, was because Shell was trying to avoid paying a few million dollars in taxes.

Gus Van Sant’s Promised Land Movie Explores the Dangers of Fracking

November 23, 2012

Hollywood is finally tackling the deadly drilling process known as fracking in the upcoming drama, “Promised Land”. Gus Van Sant’s latest film highlights a small rural community that is struggling economically, as they fight back against a large corporate gas company intent on poisoning their local farmland with hydraulic fracturing. The timely story not only illustrates the destructive environmental impact of fracking, but also explores our nation at the crossroads where big business and the powerful strength of small-town community converge.

Please Help Preserve Utah’s Rare Pah Tempe Mineral Hot Springs

September 9, 2012

The clear healing waters of the Pah Tempe Mineral Hot Springs run through an awe-inspiring desert canyon near Hurricane Utah. Many different First Nations tribes have visited this wondrous pristine site for centuries, and believe it to be most sacred. Unfortunately, this natural wonder may soon be destroyed by threatened development, but you can do something help to save these beautiful springs.

Ecogram from Alaska: The Far-Reaching Pernicious Impact of Humans

July 15, 2012

A visit to Alaska is an eye-opener for the environmentally sensitive. Its immense natural beauty is also a reminder that we humans have pretty much destroyed many such regions around the world. We all — not just environmental groups or nature lovers — must wake-up and initiate immediate action if we want to preserve what is left of such wilderness.

Enbridge Knew Tar Sands Pipeline was Damaged 5 Years Before Michigan Oil Spill

July 11, 2012

Two years ago the worst onshore oil spill in United States history was caused in Michigan by a Canadian company named Enbridge. Over one million gallons of tar sands crude spewed out of a ruptured pipeline into the Kalamazoo River, and the attempted clean up has only just been completed, sort of. The NTSB has released a report analyzing the extreme negligence that led to this environmental disaster, and found that the company knew five years beforehand that this burst pipeline was sorely in need of repair, but did nothing to fix it.

Martian Microbes, Wind Energy & the Great Pacific Garbage Patch: Link Party

June 13, 2012

Ecolocalizer is a member of an interconnected blog cooperative known as Important Media, a community of websites dedicated to news that matters. Each week we highlight a list of featured articles from different sites across our diverse network, including some compelling posts from Crafting a Green World, Eat Drink Better, sustainablog, Planetsave, CleanTechnica and Blue Living Ideas. Please take a moment to read some of this week’s headlines, and you might learn something new.

Cheap Solar, Mutant Eggplants & Indefinite Detention: Network Link Party

May 30, 2012

Ecolocalizer is a member of a blog collective known as Important Media. Each week we share a list of featured articles from across our diverse network, including compelling posts from Eat Drink Better, Blue Living Ideas, Planetsave, Crafting a Green World, Feelgood Style and CleanTechnica. Please take a moment to read some of this week’s highlighted articles, and you might learn something new.

Come Join Important Media’s Link Party

May 22, 2012

Ecolocalizer is a proud member of a blog cooperative called Important Media, which is a community of websites devoted to news that matters. Each week we highlight a list of featured articles from across our diverse network, including posts from Eat Drink Better, Blue Living Ideas, Crafting a Green World, Sustainablog and Ecopreneurist. Please take a moment to read some of this week’s highlighted articles, and you might learn something new.

Gulf Coast Deadzones: Environmentalists Sue the Toothless EPA

March 23, 2012

Oceanic dead zones are in the news again this week, and the lifeless sea regions seem to be spreading. Several environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the EPA because of their stance on waterway contamination and their enforcement (or lack thereof) on pollution limits. Pollution is the major cause of oceanic dead zones, which are characterized by hypoxic (oxygen deficient) waterways that are uninhabitable to most living organisms.