Science
North America, South America
A new report from Environment America details successes of the Clean Water Act passed in the United States 42 years ago. 15 rivers, lakes and bays are highlighted. Notably, the Cuyahoga River, which once was so polluted that it actually caught fire, now supports a healthy fishery.
Researchers from Chile and the University of California-Berkeley have published a study showing a link between arsenic in drinking water and decreased rates of breast cancer. Chilean women exposed to naturally occurring arsenic in their drinking water had their chances of a breast cancer death halved.
Business
North America, Asia
A brand of sparkling water popular in Mexico is expanding its availability in the United States, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. Dr Pepper Snapple Group is seeking to increase sales of Peñafiel, its top-selling brand of sparkling water in Mexico, in U.S. markets. Overall sales of sparkling water in the United States increased 12 percent in 2013.
Calgon Carbon Corporation has won a contract to supply purification supplies to a water plant in Seoul, South Korea, Bloomberg News reported. Granular activated carbon will be used to remove taste and odor from the potable water supply of 1 million people.
Produce
South America, Europe
North American avocado demand is wreaking havoc on Chile’s water resources, Tree Huggerreported. Chilean avocado acreage has multiplied by eight in the past 21 years. In Chile, this notoriously lucrative fruit is known as “green gold” – but the crop needs far more water than is available.
Meanwhile, broccoli production in the Murcia region of Spain is going to take a hit this yearfrom a severe drought, Fresh Plaza reported. Yield per hectare is declining, according to one of the area’s top broccoli producers. Ninety percent of Murcia’s broccoli crop is exported to other destinations in Europe and the Middle East.
By CIRCLE OF BLUE - Kaye LaFond, 29. October 2014