Dear John, OK, it’s not a gnu. It’s a water buffalo, and it’s pulling the Circle of Blue team out of a washed-out road in China’s Yunnan Peninsula, one stop in our coverage of China’s groundwater. What we do is nothing new to you, so we won’t trouble you with that. But we do hope you’ll keep in mind the challenges we face right now as funding wanes for independent journalism. We’re letting our hair down a bit on the traditional eve of celebration and anticipation - not just for the year ahead, but for the final day of our NewsMatch campaign. Up until midnight tonight, you have the chance to double your donation to Circle of Blue. NewsMatch has promised to match your new monthly donation 12 times or double your one-time gift, up to $1,000. Right now, we’re less than $2,000 away from reaching our goal of $28,000. Die-hard supporters of water issues are known to call each other “water buffaloes” — will you be one, and pull for us? | 
The team is pulled out of a washed out road in China’s Yunnan Peninsula, where Circle of Blue reported on China’s groundwater crisis. Photo © Aaron Jaffe / Circle of Blue