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Water

water conservation keeps rivers and lakes cleanThe average American uses approximately 126 gallons of water per day, making us the largest water consumers per capita in the world. Canadians are a close second, while many European countries use half as much water we do, and most developing countries use less than 15 gallons each day.

When you are living out of a canoe or kayak, you haul your own water from the rivers and lakes you travel on and quickly realize how little water you really need. Amy and I can easily get by on 3 gallons of water per day for washing, cooking, and drinking.

Now I am not suggesting that you tell the utility company to turn off your water, because you are going to start hauling it from the nearest stream.  But there are plenty of ways to conserve water, which in the end is good for the environment and your wallet.

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Kenyan GM maize shipment blocked

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BBC: A shipment of genetically modified (GM) maize has been blocked at the Kenyan port of Mombasa after protests by environmentalists. The cargo came from South Africa - whose maize exports mainly go to Kenya - and contained maize varieties developed by US multinational Monsanto. Protestors claimed that safety checks had not been carried out on the maize and that it could contaminate the soil. GM imports have been banned in several African countries. The 40,000-tonne ...

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Vermont, Quebec groups to study Hydro-Quebec impacts

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Associated Press: Environmental groups on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border are teaming up to study the impacts of the big hydropower developments of the provincial utility Hydro-Quebec. The move comes as Hydro-Quebec has been renewing its courtship of the northeastern United States as a market for its abundance of hydroelectric power, which it describes as a clean alternative to electricity from generators that use fossil fuels like coal. Quebec Premier Jean Charest has been pushing for ...

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EPA tightens rules on pesticide linked to deaths

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Associated Press: Thu Apr 8, 6:23 pm ET SALT LAKE CITY -- Federal officials have moved quickly to clamp down on the use of potent rodent-killing pesticides after one was linked to the deaths of two Utah girls earlier this year. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said aluminum and magnesium fumigants can no longer be used near homes. The agency added other regulations about where they can be used outside and what kinds of warnings must be posted when the fumigants are applied. EPA ...

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Glaciers gone from Glacier National Park

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Associated Press: Glacier National Park has lost two more of its glaciers to climate change and many of the rest may be gone by the end of the decade, a US government researcher says. Warmer temperatures have reduced the number of named glaciers in the northwestern Montana park to 25, said Dan Fagre said, an ecologist with the US Geological Survey. "When we're measuring glacier margins, by the time we go home the glacier is already smaller than what we've measured," Fagre said on ...

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Clear Water - Mercosur's Underground Treasure

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Inter Press Service: Invisible beneath a vast area of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, the Guaraní Aquifer is one of the world's largest reserves of freshwater. Despite supplying water to millions of people, it is neither contaminated nor overexploited. "The general health of the aquifer is good, but it is essential to take care of the areas where it is recharged" in order to prevent contaminants from agrochemicals or waste from human settlements from filtering in, Jorge Santa Cruz, an Argentine ...

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Ice missions to measure climate change takes off

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Telegraph: The 'ice mission', led by British scientists, will show how melting ice could affect weather patterns in the future in the so called "Day After Tomorrow" scenario. The European Space Agency satellite, that cost £122 million to build, took off on a Russian launcher rocket from Kazakhstan and has already sent signals back to Earth. Duncan Wingham, a climate physicist at University College London, was relieved to see the launch after a previous attempt landed in the sea five years ...

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Canada: BC Hydro gets environmental OK for Mica Dam upgrade

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Reuters: British Columbia gave environmental approval on Thursday to BC Hydro's plan to add 1,000 megawatts of generating capacity to its Mica Dam on the Columbia River. The provincially owned utility plans to add two turbines to the dam north of Revelstoke, increasing its total production capacity to 2,805 megawatts. The project still requires approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission, but if approved the BC Hydro plans to have the new turbines in operation by 2016.

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