From the blog of former P-I reporter Brad Wong, Tofuwatch.com:

As rain falls on the Seattle area – and at times, pelting the ground – a shortage of fresh water thousands of miles away in China’s southwest region is turning into an epic problem – believed to be the worst of its kind in 100 years.

Chinese officials have turned their attention to the drought, which is affecting an estimated 24 million people and has hit Yunnan and other provinces, according to this Wall Street Journal article.

 The drought began late last year and the shortage has caught the attention of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who recently visited Yunnan. Chinese troops and others are bringing in relief supplies.

And in a life imitates art moment, CCTV recently broadcast a reporter’s visit to Yunnan province and interviewed students, including a class of 10-year-olds who are hoarding the emergency water they’ve received from relief workers – so... (more)

It's clear that climate change is going to be the story of the century, but this week's news brings the reminder that an intertwined and nearly equally important story will be the lack of fresh water. Two developments highlight this trend on yesterday's World Water Day:

* The United Nations issued a statement  (PDF) pointing out that more people die each year from the lack of clean water than are killed in violence of any kind. Many of these people are children under the age of 5. The UN says that pollution in its traditional forms is responsible for some of these, but so is degradation of watersheds through timber-cutting, covering the ground with hard surfaces that don't allow rainfall to soak in, and other modern practices. (more)

"The 35-year-old federal law regulating tap water is so out of date that the water Americans drink can pose what scientists say are serious health risks — and still be legal," The New York Times reported Thursday.

In a special report showing the variance between health guidelines from various federal agencies and the federal clean drinking water standards, The Times breaks out water supply systems city by city, county by county and state by state.

Only 91 contaminants are regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, yet more than 60,000 chemicals are used within the United States, according to Environmental Protection Agency estimates. Government and independent scientists have scrutinized thousands of those chemicals in recent decades, and identified hundreds associated with a risk of cancer and other diseases at small concentrations in drinking water, according to an analysis of government records by The New York Times.

Based on their comparisons, Seattle area water supplies have tested fairly well,... (more)

Dog doo is killing Puget Sound, as are oil leaks, chemical fertilizers, and do-it-yourself car washes done with a garden hose in the driveway. So enough already. A coalition of more than 300 cities, counties, businesses, universities and other organizations on Wednesday launched an ad campaign called Puget Sound Starts Here, aimed once and for all to get this word out: Please, for the love of God, people. Start doing four basic things to help Puget Sound. We're even providing discount coupons to get you on board.

 The campaign doesn't use those actual words, but it might as well.

 To help ensure it captures people's attention in dog-crazy Seattle, its poster features Rover stating the following:

 "I POOP. You pick it up. Any questions?"

 So, herewith are the four easy things the campaign initially asks residents to do to reduce pollution from entering the Sound. The press release reads:

1. Take cars to a commercial car wash, where wash water is...

Nearly half the sewage treatment plants, factories and a grab-bag of other places that dumped wastewater into Washington's waterways in recent years violated federal water pollution laws.

  And yet, enforcement actions against polluters are pretty rare, according to a data-filled, groundbreaking interactive series by The New York Times.

   Even though 195 out of the Evergreen State's 435 regulated facilities violated the Clean Water Act between 2004 and 2007, few got in trouble for it, according to exhaustive data posted at NYTimes.com. For every 100 violations in the state, there were only 8.6 enforcement actions.

  Example: The U.S. Navy's Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton "has been out of regulatory compliance 11 of the past 12 quarters." It faced two violations for exceeding pollution limits on the water it dumps into a tributary of Puget Sound, one in 2007 and another in 2004. An interactive tool at the Times' site allows users to click through to the U.S. Environmental... (more)

By Marty Wingate

Special to the PostGlobe

Does anyone remember the snow? Now that our brains are fried from temperatures above 100 degrees, it’s difficult to think that we were knee-deep in snow and ice in the city a mere eight months ago. Even the garden looks shellshocked. But now is not the time to whine – now is the time to start filling in those holes in the garden, because we have three more months before we start enjoying the fall leaves.

You have permanent ideas for those empty spaces in garden, but now is not the time to rip up an entire bed or to begin replanting. It’s almost August, hot and dry, and we’d rather sit and enjoy than pull out the shovel. Plus you’ve got that outdoor party scheduled for next week. Would it do to have the place looking like a construction zone?

There are temporary ways you can mind the gap in the garden. Instead of a sad summer border, you can make a single statement by taking advantage of that space. All it takes is a trip to the nursery... (more)