Water & Oceans

"Cuba is expected to begin drilling offshore for oil and gas as soon as next year in waters deeper than those the Deepwater Horizon rig was drilling in when it exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April."

"Japanese police have launched a probe after nets on holding pens for dolphins in the coastal town of Taiji were cut during an annual hunt, possibly by foreign activists, a press report said Wednesday."

"The world's rivers are so badly affected by human activity that the water security of almost 5 billion people, and the survival of thousands of aquatic species, are threatened, scientists warned."

"A once-unthinkable day is looming on the Colorado River. Barring a sudden end to the Southwest’s 11-year drought, the distribution of the river’s dwindling bounty is likely to be reordered as early as next year because the flow of water cannot keep pace with the region’s demands."

"Federal officials began a sweeping crackdown on pollution in the Chesapeake Bay on Friday - threatening to punish five mid-Atlantic states with rules that could raise sewer bills and put new conditions on construction."

Egypt's 80 million people have always depended on the Nile River. Under a 1929 treaty, 80 percent of the river's flow is reserved for Egypt and Sudan, which were then ruled as a single country. Now the seven upstream countries (Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda) want to revise the treaty, calling it an unfair relic of colonialism.

"Great Lakes pollution is getting worse because sewage systems are outdated and Ontario’s north is turning into a Wild West for miners and forestry companies, warns Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller."