Understanding What the ‘New Normal’ Means for Water in the West

This year, across much of the West, particularly the Southwest, there’s little in the way of abundance. At Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir in the West, runoff is predicted to be only 43 percent of average. Arizona is looking at one of its lowest runoff years in history. And in New Mexico, stretches of the Rio Grande have already run dry, months ahead of normal.

The Water Win-Win: Food and Ecosystems in balance

Sandra Postel‘s new book is Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity. It’s about the world water cycle, and about real solutions to the problem of providing water for people and food, and at the same time for nature and wildlife.

Can We Help Save our Cities’ Infrastructure by Growing more Food?

When we talk about the economic benefits of gardening, farming, and otherwise fostering a comprehensive local food system, we usually bring up reduced grocery bills, import replacement, and even preparation for national supply chain disruption if our big agriculture model ever proves unsustainable. But we less often talk about the ways that plants—including edible plants—can double as green infrastructure that can take the pressure off the man-made systems we rely on to make our cities function.

What Is It Like to Live Without Running Water? Detroit Families Know

Each day, Catherine Caldwell hauls three gallons of bottled water to her bathroom and two to her kitchen. She and her family use the water for flushing the toilet, washing hands, and— after heating it on the stove—cleaning dishes and cooking. For bathing, they head to her mother-in-law’s house a few blocks away.

Relocalization among the Most Marginalized in an “America First” World

Let’s keep our eyes on the prize and not be distracted. Let us remain focused, not only on surviving the current US administration, but on building the foundation for thriving in the oil-constrained future on the horizon. Let’s ensure that we cover the basics ─access to food and drinkable water…

Why America’s Deadly Love Affair with Bottled Water Has to Stop

This spring, as California withered in its fourth year of drought and mandatory water restrictions were enacted for the first time in the state’s history, a news story broke revealing that Nestlé Waters North America was tapping springs in the San Bernardino National Forest in southern California using a permit that expired 27 years ago.