April 12, 2023 - Your Scoop in CDR!

Nature article study on South African Water Supplies The sustainable management of urban water supply constitutes one of the key challenges of our time. During the first two decades of the twenty-first century alone, more than 80 large metropolitan areas have experienced extreme drought and water shortages. Urban water crises are expected to become more frequent, with over one billion urban residents projected to experience water shortages in the near future. In both the Northern and the Southern hemispheres, metropolitan areas experience extreme droughts and unsustainable levels of water consumption. In the face of fluctuating supplies, meeting the growing urban water demands and finding a sustainable balance among the city, its rural hinterland and environmental flow requirements is becoming increasingly challenging.

Inside Climate News analysis If you own a wealthy home with a swimming pool, keep your garden well watered and regularly wash your car, you may be contributing to urban water shortages as much as climate change or population growth, according to a new study. It’s the latest evidence to suggest that the lifestyle and consumption habits of rich communities are disproportionately contributing to the planet's environmental and humanitarian crises.

The study, published Monday in the journal Nature Sustainability, modeled the water use of residents of Cape Town, South Africa, based on their income levels. It found that the city’s wealthiest people consumed 50 times more water than its poorest—and mostly for non-basic needs like “garden watering, car washing and filling swimming pools.” Cape Town’s richest residents make up just 14 percent of the city’s population but consume 51 percent of the city’s water, according to the study. In contrast, Cape Town’s poorest residents make up 62 percent of the population but consume a mere 27 percent of the city’s water resources.

Inside Climate News EPA Is Set to Propose New Rules Meant to Drive Up Electric Car Sales Tenfold: The Biden administration is planning to announce some of the most stringent auto pollution limits in the world, designed to ensure that all-electric cars make up as much as 67 percent of new passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2032, Coral Davenport reports for the New York Times. That would be a major jump for the nation’s adoption of EVs, which made up just 5.8 percent of the total vehicles sold last year. President Biden had previously pledged to ensure half the new vehicles sold in the U.S. were EVs by 2030.