With megadrought a growing reality, one way into the story is through ubiquitous water management agencies. TipSheet surveys the “waterscape” of these governmental bodies — from local irrigation districts to multi-state regional water compacts — and how focusing on them can yield vital insights for drought stories. Plus, questions to ask and links to reporting resources.
"When the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was hacked in 2018, it took a mere six hours. Early this year, an intruder lurked in hundreds of computers related to water systems across the U.S. In Portland, Oregon, burglars installed malicious computers onto a grid providing power to a chunk of the Northwest."
"The Pine Island Glacier’s ice shelf loss accelerated in 2017, causing scientists to worry that with climate change the glacier’s collapse could happen quicker than the many centuries predicted. The floating ice shelf acts like a cork in a bottle for the fast-melting glacier and prevents its much larger ice mass from flowing into the ocean."
"Docs suggest that in more than 80 U.S. locations, the failure of an aging dam could flood a major toxic waste site".
"Plastic items from takeaway food and drink dominate the litter in the world’s oceans, according to the most comprehensive study to date."
"Lake Mead has declined to its lowest level since the reservoir was filled in the 1930s following the construction of Hoover Dam, marking a new milestone for the water-starved Colorado River in a downward spiral that shows no sign of letting up."
"Liberal Senate Democrats are unloading on a bipartisan group of senators working on an infrastructure deal, warning that the effort to win GOP backing could erode support on the left -- underscoring the stiff resistance the negotiators face in shepherding the proposal through a narrowly divided Congress."
"The surprising value of the country’s dive tourism industry gives another reason to protect its marine ecosystems."
"An international team of scientists is preparing to trap a dozen baleen whales off the coast of Norway and conduct hearing tests on them to gauge their sensitivity to human-made sounds such as sonar."
"Iron ore miner Vale SA's decomissioned Xingu dam is at "imminent risk of collapsing," according to a statement on Wednesday by the Regional Labor Department for the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais."
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