Tuesday, February 17, 2015

What Happens When Environmental Stewardship Goes Out the Window


Taps Start to Run Dry in Brazil's Largest City.  (The New York Times, 2/16/2015)
As southeast Brazil grapples with its worst drought in nearly a century, a problem worsened by polluted rivers, deforestation and population growth, the largest reservoir system serving São Paulo is near depletion. Many residents are already enduring sporadic water cutoffs, some going days without it. Officials say that drastic rationing may be needed, with water service provided only two days a week.
Behind closed doors, the views are grimmer. In a meeting recorded secretly and leaked to the local news media, Paulo Massato, a senior official at São Paulo’s water utility, said that residents might have to be warned to flee because “there’s not enough water, there won’t be water to bathe, to clean” homes.

This Financial Times video report is from October 2014.



Related article:
The science is clear: Forest loss behind Brazil’s drought.  (Forests News, 1/29/2015)
The role of tropical deforestation in global climate change has been the subject of much international discussion and debate in the media and in policy forums like the UN Climate Change Convention. However, the role of deforestation in local climate change has received much less attention. 

Now, with southern Brazil suffering from unprecedented drought, attention is turning toward more localized impacts of deforestation. 

Other climate change posts:
Republicans need to generate a new climate change meme.  (1/21/2015)
Cold enough for you?  (3/9/2014)

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