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World held hostage by reliance on fossil fuels, Christiana Figueres warns — and climate health impacts are ‘mother of all injustices’
Former UN climate chief to co-chair Lancet Commission examining how sea-level rise is reshaping health, well-being, and inequality.
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Women and girls bearing brunt of water shortages globally, UN warns
Unesco calls for action as lack of access and sanitation hits health, education and food security of women.
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Ancient stepwells brought back to life as India begins to run out of water
Centuries-old wells restored to provide drinking water as parts of the country head towards “day zero” when no water will be available.
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Half the world’s 100 largest cities are in high water stress areas, analysis finds
Exclusive: Beijing, Delhi, Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro among worst affected, with demand close to exceeding supply
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‘We’re in danger of extinction’: Can Bolivia’s ‘water people’ survive a rising tide of salt and migration?
The Uru Chipaya, one of South America’s most ancient civilizations, are battling drought, salinity and an exodus of their people as the climate crisis wreaks havoc on their land.
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AI's environmental cost includes massive water and power usage
Each query processed by AI tools like ChatGPT requires significant water and electricity for server cooling, contributing to environmental strain, particularly in areas facing resource shortages.
Pranshu Verma and Shelly Tan report for The Washington Post.
In short:
- ChatGPT consumes about 519 milliliters of water to generate a 100-word email, illustrating the hidden environmental costs of AI usage.
- Data centers, essential for AI operation, use enormous amounts of water and energy, depending on regional factors like heat and electricity prices.
- Big tech companies have committed to greener practices, but their water use and carbon emissions continue to rise.
Key quote:
“AI can be energy-intensive and that’s why we are constantly working to improve efficiency.”
— Kayla Wood, spokesperson for OpenAI
Why this matters:
AI's rapidly growing use adds strain to already taxed water and energy supplies, particularly in vulnerable areas. This highlights the need for better sustainable practices in the tech industry to reduce long-term environmental impacts.
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Illinois carbon capture project faces early corrosion issues, raising long-term safety concerns
The nation’s first carbon capture and storage project, located in Decatur, IL, has violated Safe Drinking Water Act regulations due to corrosion in a monitoring well, according to the EPA.
In short:
- The Decatur project, run by Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), was the first in the U.S. to inject captured carbon into deep wells for storage.
- EPA inspections found corrosion in a monitoring well used to detect leaks, prompting concerns about long-term risks to groundwater safety.
- ADM has plugged the affected well and stated that local drinking water remains unaffected.
Key quote:
“This incident puts an exclamation point on concerns communities across the country have been raising for years about the dangers the CCS industry poses to public safety and drinking water.”
— Jim Walsh, policy director of Food & Water Watch.
Why this matters:
Corrosion and leaks in carbon capture projects could threaten drinking water and public safety. Early issues like this may signal more severe problems as these facilities age, potentially undermining their role in climate solutions.
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