Worried AI Is Taking Jobs? It’s Also Taking Water. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:

A poet who wrote prophetically about Libya's failed state and infrastructure died in the floods that ravaged his city last week.

Dead zones occur worldwide in oceans, but thanks to climate change, now they're also happening in rivers.

Artificial intelligence is slurping up text, images, video—and water.

"Gimme Shelter"—just not a bus shelter.

This Week in Water for September 17, 2023

Drought Is Drawing Saltwater Upriver. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:

Drought in the Midwest and South has caused the Mississippi River to be so low that saltwater is flowing up from the Gulf of Mexico.

Is remote work better or worse for the environment? A new study breaks it down.

Biden has launched the “American Climate Corps” to train young people for careers in clean energy, conservation, and climate resiliency.

Niue wants you to sponsor its marine territory.

This Week in Water for September 24, 2023

Why Some Trees Are Worsening Air Pollution. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:

Disheartening...a stab in the back,...and an about-face on campaign promises.

Arizona terminates a lease that allowed Saudi-owned firms to drain groundwater.

Some trees are releasing the second-highest emitted hydrocarbon on Earth (that you’ve probably never heard of).

The United Auto Workers had surprising company on the picket lines.

This Week in Water for October 8, 2023

Could a House Plant Detect Toxins in Water? That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:
Conditions in the Colorado River Basin have improved, which could keep the region on a stable footing for the next few years.

BlueTriton is sucking up groundwater across the country.

Smoke detectors? Check.
Carbon monoxide alarms? Check.
House plants to warn about toxins in water? Maybe?

So long, has-beans—wake up and smell the coffee.

This Week in Water for October 29, 2023

Kicking the Salt Habit. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:
It's getting hotter, faster. Scientists say we now only have six years to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Humans are making Earth’s air, soil, and fresh water saltier, posing an existential threat to biodiversity and ecosystem vitality.

Ever heard of the food additive brominated vegetable oil or BVO? The FDA wants to revoke its approval.

One way to take a bite out of climate change starts on your dinner plate.

This Week in Water for November 5, 2023

Could This Discovery Be a Climate Game Changer? That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:

The climate was a winner in last week's elections.

The EPA says thousands of people in Minnesota could be drinking water contaminated with nitrates.

Has a solution to the climate crisis been buried beneath our feet all along?

Snail mail? Letters have been opened 265 years after they were sent.

This Week in Water for November 12, 2023

Going Nuclear in a Small Way. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:

In a major turnaround, the U.S. is planning to announce an international agreement to triple the use of nuclear power by 2050.

They are everywhere on Earth—and now even found in clouds.

Green sea turtles are facing a triple whammy.

Did you notice that 2023 was a “mast year”?

This Week in Water for November 19, 2023

They’ve Been Called an “Ecological Train Wreck.” That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:

Blue whales are thriving thanks to this country’s “debt-for-nature” swap.

They’re the most invasive animal on the planet and are roaming close to the U.S.-Canada border, where their populations are exploding.

Could skunks lose their stripes? Yes, and that would make them happy.

How “koala corridors” could save the iconic endangered animals.

This Week in Water for November 26, 2023

The War in Israel Comes for U.S. Water Systems. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:

A group called “Cyber Av3ngers” attacked a municipal water system in Pennsylvania, saying “Down with Israel.”

The COP28 climate summit opened last week with an agreement to establish a historic loss and damage fund to help poorer countries.

Using plants to put an end to “period poverty.”

Bottlenose dolphins have a newly discovered shocking sense.

This Week in Water for December 3, 2023

Phase Down? Or Phase Out? That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:

Will countries finally agree that it’s time to end the fossil fuel age?

A new UN report shows that meat alternatives could give those concerned about the planet’s future much to chew on.

The dirt on how the Great Wall of China is staying great.

What do volcanoes have in common with coffee beans—and why does it make for a better espresso.

This Week in Water for December 10, 2023

Was This Year’s COP Half Full or Half Empty? That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:

COP28 was, according to one expert, “the fossil fuel industry’s dream outcome, because it looks like progress, but it isn’t.”

A new study suggests boosting beaver populations could have toxic consequences.

How seaweed can help heal wounds.

What if you could invest in nature—and make money by protecting it?

This Week in Water for December 17, 2023

How Whales Might Help Us Communicate with Extraterrestrials. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:

What is a “snow drought”? You’ve probably already experienced one.

The new “industrial revolution” has a map, and it could help protect the world’s oceans.

El Niño has a sweet tooth.

If extraterrestrials do try to make contact, whales will help us speak their language.

This Week in Water for January 7, 2024

How Boxed Wine Is Better Than Bottled. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:
Flows in Colorado rivers will shrink by up to 30 percent because of climate change.

Shippers avoiding attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea are diverting around Africa, adding time and carbon emissions.

A single bottle of water contains, on average, some 240,000 plastic fragments small enough to pass into blood, cells, and the brain.

How to box in the wine industry's carbon emissions.

This Week in Water for January 14, 2024

Your Next Email Could Heat a Swimming Pool. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:

Was global warming responsible for last week’s freezing temperatures?

Bottom trawling fishing boats are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Perhaps leopards can’t change their spots, but butterflies can when it gets too hot.

How swimming pools are being heated with your data.

This Week in Water for January 21, 2024

A Beverage That Slows Aging. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:

The Biden administration is pausing the approval process for new exports of liquefied natural gas or LNG.

A dormant uranium mine just south of Grand Canyon National Park is restarting operations, raising concerns about water contamination.

How one tiny ant species can cause an ecological chain reaction that makes life difficult for lions.

Skip looking for the fountain of youth. An anti-aging beverage might already be in your kitchen.

This Week in Water for January 28, 2024

We study history to learn from the past. But what if the pages in a history book melted away? A library just west of Denver is trying to preserve clues of antiquity before they become “cold cases” that could never be solved.

Frozen Assets—The Race Against Time to Protect Priceless Artifacts

It’s Getting Harder for Some Trees to Breathe. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:
Ocean sponges are like tree rings and might be showing us that we've warmed the planet more than we thought.

A new study says the Atlantic Ocean circulation pattern is nearing a tipping point, where it shuts down completely and irreversibly.

According to a new study, some trees are struggling to “breathe” as the Earth warms.

On this Valentine’s Day, Utah is playing Cupid for anglers, offering “speed baiting.”

This Week in Water for February 11, 2024

The Lies of the Plastics Industry—Exposed. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:
The plastics industry lied when it promoted recycling, knowing it wasn’t technically or economically viable.

There’s a wrinkle in the negotiations around how to allocate the Colorado River.

Greenland is turning green—and that’s not a good thing.

Flower power! Scientists find a novel way to clean rivers.

This Week in Water for February 18, 2024

Despite the War, Ukraine Plans to Be a Green Energy Hub. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report.

Headlines:

Despite Russia’s destroying half of its electricity infrastructure, Ukraine is building a lot of renewable energy.

Botanic gardens are among the best ways to cool cities during heat waves.

To tackle space junk, Japan is making satellites out of...trees.

A cure for snoring—that’s also good for the planet.

This Week in Water for February 25, 2024

The European Union Moves to Criminalize Ecocide. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:
Record-setting heat fueled the largest wildfire in Texas history.

The EU passed a law requiring member states to restore degraded ecosystems—and to criminalize ecocide.

Want a way to have fewer microplastics in your tap water? Boil it, a new study says.

Expectant mothers know to supplement their diets for the health of their babies—musk oxen moms are no different.

This Week in Water for March 3, 2024

A Man Was Indicted for Smuggling Greenhouse Gases. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report.

Headlines:

The seven states negotiating water use on the Colorado River hope the impasse will pass.

Coral reefs that have been degraded by human activity and climate change can be restored fast—in just four years.

A man was arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border last week on suspicion of smuggling, not drugs or weapons, but greenhouse gases.

Springing forward to Daylight Saving Time bug you? Blame a guy who was looking for bugs.

This Week in Water for March 10, 2024

The Benefits of Noisy Neighborhoods. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water.

Headlines:

Two men are going to prison for tampering with rain gauges to get crop insurance payments.

Drought causes the release of greenhouse gases, new study shows.

Sounds that to us might resemble sizzling bacon or the grunts of pigs are pitch perfect for restoring these degraded habitats.

Snakes—the new, high-protein superfood.

This Week in Water for March 17, 2024

Cyberattacks Are Striking Water Systems. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report.

Headlines:

Cyberhackers have targeted and disabled water and wastewater systems throughout the country.

For Mexico City, “day zero” is a possibility. In Johannesburg and Barcelona, things aren't much better.

We are choking on “e-waste” from discarded electronics like computers, cell phones, microwaves, and photovoltaic panels, with no end in sight.

Zoning out—some plants that used to grow in a region will no longer thrive there.

This Week in Water for March 24, 2024

Women make up half the population, so the cars they choose to drive matters—especially if they’re electric vehicles that can wean us off fossil fuels. Moms could help save the planet from climate change. Is anybody listening?
Story: https://h2oradio.org/this-week-in-water/women-could-drive-the-electric-vehicle-revolutionwhats-stopping-them

Women Could Drive the Electric Vehicle Revolution. What’s Stopping Them?

How Taking a Walk Can Clean Water. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report.

Headlines:

The EPA has taken its first step to regulate “forever chemicals” in drinking water.

“Archaic plumbing” inside the Glen Canyon Dam is aggravating Colorado River Basin woes.

An environmental crisis has been averted following the Baltimore bridge collapse...so far.

A ten-minute walk could deliver clean water—and faster if you pick up the pace.

This Week in Water for April 14, 2024

Fool’s Gold May Turn Out to Be Golden. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report.

Headlines:

The Biden administration made 13 million acres of wilderness in Alaska off limits to oil drilling and mineral mining.

Manufacturers of toxic “forever chemicals” may now be on the hook to clean them up.

A lab accident has revealed an amazing superpower of queen bees.

The next “gold” rush? Head to oil and gas waste sites.

This Week in Water for April 21, 2024

Good news is sometimes hard to come by, so this week we have assembled a few recent positive stories from H2O Radio that you might have missed.

Coral reefs that have been degraded by human activity and climate change can be restored fast—in just four years.

How swimming pools could be heated with your data.

If extraterrestrials do try to make contact, whales could help us speak their language.

Flower power! Scientists find a novel way to clean rivers.

This Week in Water for April 28, 2024

Sacking Sackett? Biden Moves to Protect Wetlands. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report. 

Headlines:
The outlook for the Colorado River could be better than previously thought.

In response to the Supreme Court's Sackett decision, the Biden administration moves to protect wetlands.

A new study proves that conservation works—and that we’re getting better at it.

An orangutan reaches for a natural first aid kit after a brawl.

This Week in Water for May 5, 2024

We’ve heard about the deteriorating status of American infrastructure and most imagine crumbling bridges and potholed roads. But there’s another looming infrastructure crisis that’s getting little to no attention—and it will eventually impact everyone: America’s reservoirs are filling up with sediment. Their storage capacity peaked in the 1980s and it’s been going downhill ever since—sometimes with disastrous consequences.

Damned From the Start—Many U.S. Reservoirs Could Be Rendered Useless—And That Was Part of the Plan

In 1948, a World War II-era bomber crashed into Lake Mead, the massive reservoir formed by Hoover Dam that straddles the Arizona-Nevada border. After several failed attempts to locate the plane, it was finally discovered in the early 2000s—still remarkably intact. As lake levels fall, will the draw to see the plane finish it off?

The World War II Bomber at the Bottom of Lake Mead

H2O Radio is journalism about water. We follow water wherever it leads us and report on what we find. We interview experts— from engineers and scientists to legislators and politicians in order to get the facts. But we also talk to ordinary folks to ask how water issues affect their lives. Why? Because we're all in this together. This is a conversation about water and our collective water future.

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