Clicking on a headline will open a new browser window. To return to Ocean Futures just close the news window. Across India and the developing world beyond, the big story is tucked away behind small headlines and backyard conversation in villages like Mokhi.
Water is a fighting word, and it is causing casualties to mount.
Despite the reams of evidence that already support minimizing the risk of arsenic in drinking water, the Bush administration has decided to launch a new round of scientific studies on the acceptable levels of the toxic substance. Environmental groups charge that delaying the new arsenic standard for further study will unnecessarily endanger U.S. citizens. The National Wilderness Institute, a Washington, DC based conservation organization, applied to a federal court Tuesday to grant an injunction to prevent the Army Corps of Engineers from dumping sediment into the Potomac River which runs through the nation's capital. Under international human rights law, water is implicitly and explicitly protected as a human right, yet one sixth of the world's 6.1 billion people lack access to improved sources of water. A swamp that is the source of drinking water for the city of Jacksonville and critical habitat for threatened Florida black bears was today approved for purchase by the state.