A group of climate activists in Italy have poured what they described as “a charcoal-based black liquid” into the water of Rome’s famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) – to “sound the alarm about the black future that awaits humanity.”
Cities’ relationship with water is a fragile balance. Too little leads to parched landscapes and water shortages; too much can cause deadly flooding, washing away homes, lives and livelihoods.
By 2050, the number of people in cities facing water scarcity is projected to nearly double from 930 million people in 2016 to up to 2.4 billion, the report found. Urban water demand is expected to increase by 80% by 2050.
When US startup Make Sunsets released two weather balloons into the skies above Mexico’s Baja California peninsula last year, it kicked up a fierce debate about one of the world’s most controversial climate solutions.
The Australian government on Wednesday turned down a proposal for a new open-cut coal mine near the Great Barrier Reef, invoking environmental laws and the risk of “irreversible damage.”
In a closed-door negotiation last week over the fate of the Colorado River, representatives from California’s powerful water districts proposed modeling what the basin’s future would look like if some of the West’s biggest cities – including Phoenix and Las Vegas – were cut off from the river’s water supply.
