Group items tagged

Central China's worst drought in more than 50 years is drying reservoirs, stalling rice planting, and threatens crippling power shortages as hydroelectric output slows, state media said Wednesday.

A shortage of auto parts and other components after Japan's earthquake has stirred unease about two pillars of manufacturing: the country's role as a crucial link in the global supply chain and "just in time" production.

More than one billion urban residents will face serious water shortages by 2050 as climate change worsens effects of urbanization, with Indian cities among the worst hit, a study said Monday.

As Bangkok dries out from epic floods that the IPCC says will only get worse as climate change accelerates, its leaders are contemplating moving the entire capital city to higher ground. But I know what you're thinking: How does this affect me? Answer: It'll hit you right in the hard drive. Now that supply chains stretch across the globe and electronics can contain components from dozens if not hundreds of countries, it means you won't be able to get an iMac with a 2TB drive, because Apple sources "many components from Thailand," says Apple CEO Tim Cook. Floods have knocked out factories critical to Apple's supply chain, and " "the recovery timeline is not known at this point," reports Ars Technica.

Given water's role in power generation, the impact of about 300 million Google searches a day is around 150,000 litres (40,000 gallons) daily -- in a world where water supplies are increasingly a major concern. "These two things -- water and energy -- come together and that's a big thing for the world to understand," says Len Rodman, a US-based water and energy expert. "If you squander water, if you indiscriminately use power, then in the long run that will have implications for the world," the chief executive of Black & Veatch, a major global water and energy company told AFP in an interview.