H2ORadio

When It Rains, Plants Panic. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water. In an effort to breathe life into the declining coal industry, the Trump administration wants to further roll back protections for water. Plants that were treated with fracking wastewater have weakened immune systems. When it's raining, plants send alerts from leaf to leaf. Neonicotinoid pesticides have...

Climate Catastrophe is Coming and Americans Could Face a Grim Future, Says the U.S. Army. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water. A new study from the U.S. Army War College warns of blackouts, disease, thirst, and starvation without serious investment in infrastructure. Many of the 600,000 bridges in the U.S. are threatened by rising temperatures from climate change, acc...

Colorado completed its first ever Water Plan in 2015 in an effort to balance the needs of a growing state population against a likely reduction in water supply with climate change. The Colorado Water Plan laid out broad objectives to close the gap between demand and supply—without any way to pay for its recommendations. In November, Colorado voters are being asked to approve Proposition DD that wo...

Airplanes from Algae? It could happen. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water. Algae gets a bad rap for toxic blooms but the microorganism could be cleaning up its image by way of two new promising innovations. Is antibiotic use in livestock affecting soil health? They're calling them "stormquakes." Freshwater mussels that live in rivers are dying, and scientists aren't...

Fake Grass May Lead to Real Problems. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water. Getting the lead out? Environmental groups say new EPA rule does not go far enough. Former EPA officials are asking for an investigation into whether the agency has abused its authority. A new study shows that fast-food packaging is harmful. Artificial grass may eliminate the need for watering,...

Three environmental groups are asking a federal court to order the government to consider tearing down Glen Canyon Dam. One in five households rely on septic systems and many of them could be impacted by climate change. A new gel-like fluid has been developed that might help prevent wildfires. Scientists have developed a non-toxic water repellent for textiles. If it's blue, it’s safe to swim. If i...

Two New Dams Are Proposed on the Little Colorado River. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water. The latest IPCC report says the planet has warmed 1 degree Celsius above the pre-industrial era and that oceans are "taking the heat." A proposal to generate electricity on the Little Colorado River is being severely criticized. Farmers of California's Central Valley are turni...

America’s reservoirs are filling up with sediment. A leading expert at the Bureau of Reclamation says reservoir sedimentation is like cholesterol in your arteries. You can feel fine until you have a heart attack or stroke....

We’ve heard about the deteriorating status of American infrastructure and most imagine crumbling bridges and potholed roads. But there’s another looming infrastructure crisis that’s getting little to no attention—and it will eventually impact everyone: America’s reservoirs are filling up with sediment. Their storage capacity peaked in the 1980s and it’s been going downhill ever since—sometimes wit...

Researchers Break Down Forever Chemicals in 100 Days. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water. Slow-moving tropical cyclones like Imelda are becoming more frequent. A surprising result in the latest report card that describes how well countries are doing in meeting their Paris Agreement targets. New research suggests that global warming will put human brains at risk. A re...

Trump’s Border Wall Is Sucking Up Desert Water. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water. Water is needed to construct Trump's border wall with Mexico—and they're using precious groundwater. The Trump administration rescinded a rule that was intended to protect drinking water and the environment. The Trump administration will seek to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refug...

The Feds Plan to Rip Out Trees in a National Monument. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water. Crude oil may be leaking into aquifers and coastal ecosystems, adding to the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian. The BLM will remove trees in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by using bulldozers to drag a chain that upends everything in its path. There's a ne...

Algae Are Changing the Weather. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water. Hurricane Dorian made landfall in the Bahamas as the strongest storm to hit the island region in modern records. This Asian capital is sinking—so the country's president decided to move it. Cloud seeding bacteria from the ocean have implications for the climate. Beavers build biodiversity. When you’r...

Harvard Helps a Tree to Tweet. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water. Brazil's space research agency rejected claims by president Jair Bolsonaro that dry conditions were responsible for the Amazon fires. Russia launched a floating nuclear power station. What could go wrong? Climate change could make waves go wacky. As sea levels rise, the question is no longer whether s...

Elephants Are Helping to Fight the Climate Crisis. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water. The EPA ordered Newark, New Jersey, to begin distributing bottled water to residents facing high levels of lead in their tap water. Dogs are dying across the U.S. from these warm weather toxins. Tidal wetlands along the coast of Washington, Oregon, and Northern California are disap...

Solar Panels Throw Shade...in a Good Way. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water. Further degradation of the earth's land must be stopped to prevent catastrophic global warming. According to a new report, 17 countries face extremely high water stress such as taps running dry. A ubiquitous shrub in British Columbia may be declining because of the recent drought along the...

Cigarette Butts Are a Bigger Problem Than Just Litter. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water. There's a disturbing weather pattern playing out across the nation—and it's likely to continue. If you want to see the iconic Joshua trees in southern California, time is running out. Cigarettes are damaging more than hearts and lungs. Snowmaking might be helpful beyond the ski...

A study in 2016 showed that lawns are the largest irrigated crop in America. There are over 40 million grassy acres in the continental U.S., and they take a lot of water to thrive. But in the West, where rainfall is less plentiful, many water providers have been offering rebates to residents willing to tear out turf and replace it with drought tolerant plants. The programs are working and thousand...

How Did a Mule Save a Fish? That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water. The heavy rains brought by Hurricane Barry can be directly connected to manmade climate change. Several countries are making travel plans to go to the moon—and one reason is water. A new cruise ship is heading to the Arctic—and is akin to a Prius. Prospectors are digging up ancient woolly mammoths for th...

Could Deep-Sea Mining Lead to Deep Trouble? That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water. A new study says that covering an area with trees equivalent to the size of the U.S. might be a solution to global warming. If plans move forward for deep-sea mining, they would not only destroy habitats and pollute areas that have been undisturbed for millennia—it could also exacerbate t...

Should We Worry About Contrails After All? That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water. Contrails form when water vapor condenses around soot from an airplane’s exhaust and freezes to form cirrus clouds. Researchers have discovered a new form of plastic pollution—"plasticrust." A new study shows that atmospheric rivers have become much warmer during the past 36 years, and tha...

Are Nitrates in Water Causing Cancer? That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water. An enormous aquifer has been discovered off the U.S. East Coast roughly between Massachusetts and New Jersey. The drinking water standard for nitrates was set in 1962. It needs to be revisited. Boaty McBoatface goes into the abyss and makes an amazing discovery. Eight U.S. senators from both pa...

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said a changing climate is predicted to affect drinking water treatment and distribution systems in a negative way. Disturbances like wildfires, hurricanes, and floods are being exacerbated by global warming, and those who operate treatment facilities to ensure safe water comes out of our faucets are going to need to meet the challenge. Moni...

How the Zebra Got Its Stripes. That story and more on H2O Radio’s weekly news report about water. Nearly 60 years ago, Rachel Carson warned about the dangers of DDT, and although the pesticide was banned, the effects may still be with us. As climate change brings more droughts, there are increased efforts to conserve water. But conservation has some surprising consequences. In Greenland, highly un...

”Ghost Forests" Are the New Face of the Climate Crisis and They’re as Frightening as They Sound.” That story and more on H2O Radio’s news report about water. A new study reveals that heat waves in the South are strongly associated with declining sea ice in the Arctic. Which aspect of climate change will be more threatening to U.S. agriculture—heat or drought? "Day Zero" has hit India. There's a li...