Credit: Water Alternatives Photos/Benjamin Noury/Flickr

India’s mega plan to connect its rivers raises big questions

India's ambitious project to link its rivers may provide solutions to water shortages but could also cause significant environmental and social disruptions.

Sushmita Pathak reports for Hakai Magazine.

In short:

India plans to launch a $168 billion project to connect its rivers, aiming to address water shortages and improve irrigation.
Experts warn that the project could displace half a million people, submerge vast tracts of land, and disrupt natural monsoon patterns.
Critics argue that the government has not adequately considered alternative, less disruptive water management strategies.

Key quote:

[The] “initial assumption, is that river basins are independent systems and output from one … can be used to feed the other. [But] changes in one can lead to changes in another.”

— Tejasvi Chauhan, water engineer and biosphere modeler, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry.

Why this matters:

This project could reshape India’s water management but might exacerbate environmental issues and displace communities, highlighting the need for sustainable solutions in tackling water crises. Read more: The planet is losing free-flowing rivers. This is a problem.

hakaimagazine.com

Senator Whitehouse puts climate change on budget committee’s agenda

For more than a decade, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave daily warnings about the mounting threat of climate change. Now he has a powerful new perch.

India’s mega plan to connect its rivers raises big questions

Massive storm Helene poses catastrophic risks across the Southeast

Southern California faces a growing wildfire threat but remains unprepared

Chicago’s Latino neighborhoods fight for more parks to combat climate change

Fossil fuel lobbyists helped push anti-protest laws nationwide

Why Michael Regan backed down on environmental justice promises

EU avoids enforcing fines despite numerous environmental violations by member states

Young voters question Kamala Harris' climate stance as election nears

LISTEN: Mokshda Kaul on making the clean energy transition work for all

“Coalitions become this interesting way to create buy-in.”

Op-ed: Is plastic the biggest climate threat?

A plastics treaty for the climate and health must address overproduction of plastics and head off the petrochemical and plastic industry’s planned expansion.

Residents say Pennsylvania has failed communities after state studies linked fracking to child cancer

Last year Pennsylvania Department of Health studies showed increased risk of childhood cancer, asthma and low birth weights for people living near fracking. Advocates say not enough has been done since.

The fossil fuel industry is disproportionately harming low-income and minority women: Report

“Women, in all of their diversity, must be at the center of climate and energy decision-making.”

Op-ed: People need shelter from climate change — their health hangs in the balance

The discourse on climate resilience must include affordable housing policy solutions.

As Biden prepares to block the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel, pollution concerns persist in Pennsylvania

“Pennsylvania steel communities have lived with dangerous air quality for generations. That needs to end.”