At a time when Iran is again in the headlines for war, conflict, and fire, a different story emerges. It is a story about water, truth, and survival. Kaveh Madani, once branded a “water terrorist” in his own country of Iran, has been named the 2026 laureate of the Stockholm Water Prize, often called the Nobel Prize of water.

It is a striking reversal. A scientist exiled for telling inconvenient truths about water scarcity is now being honored on the global stage for the very same work.

Madani, now director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, has spent his career confronting one of the most uncomfortable realities of our time. The world is not facing a temporary water crisis. It is entering what he calls “water bankruptcy.” This is not semantics. It is a shift in how we understand collapse. In his own country aquifers and water resources are being bled dry. Lakes, like Lake Urmia, have completely vanished from overuse.

Madani’s framing is simple and devastating. Humanity is no longer living off the renewable flow of water. We are draining ancient reserves, aquifers built over millennia, spending down the planet’s savings account with no plan to repay it. For countries like Iran, this is not theoretical.

Born in Tehran, Madani grew up inside a system already under stress. He trained as a civil engineer, studied water systems in Sweden, and earned his doctorate in California (like our beloved architect Nader Kahlili). By his early 30s, he was teaching at Imperial College London, one of the world’s leading institutions. Iran, readers should know, was the inventor of the ancient qanat system. They had water aquaducts figured out before the Romans.

Then he did something unusual. He went back.

In 2017, he returned to Iran to serve as Deputy Vice President and Deputy Head of the Department of Environment. It was a move filled with risk working with the regime there, but also hope. His calls for transparency, reform, and honest accounting of Iran’s water crisis collided with entrenched power in the Islamic regime. He was accused of espionage, labeled a threat, and targeted by security forces. Friends and colleagues were arrested. One of his friends died in custody.

Madani fled and then rebuilt his work, moving through Yale and eventually to the United Nations, where he now leads one of the world’s most influential water think tanks. The voice that was silenced at home now advises governments across the globe.

Today Madani challenged a core assumption in water management. That people cooperate. Using game theory, he showed that in reality, individuals, regions, and nations often act in their own interest, even when it leads to collective failure. Water conflicts are not engineering problems alone. They are human ones.

This insight has reshaped how water systems are modeled, negotiated, and governed, especially in regions where trust is thin and resources are shared across borders.

With nearly a million followers online, he has become one of the most visible environmental scientists in the world. He speaks plainly, often bluntly, translating complex hydrology into something people can understand which is the language of survival.

Water is not just about taps and rivers. It is about food, energy, migration, and peace.

He was also one of the first to push water into the climate conversation at the highest level. At COP23, he criticized the lack of attention to water in the Paris Agreement, a gap that still lingers today. Now, as director of the UN’s water institute, he continues to press that point. Without water, there is no climate solution.

The Stockholm Water Prize citation recognizes not just his research, but his ability to turn science into policy and public understanding, often under personal risk.

In his acceptance remarks, he spoke of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, where water symbolizes light and purity. For him, the prize is not personal. It is shared with those who stood by him, and with those who paid a higher price for protecting nature.

In a press release sent to Green Prophet, Madami says: “In the Persian tradition of Nowruz, water is a symbol of light and purity on our New Year table. To be named the Stockholm Water Prize Laureate at this specific moment is a vindication I share with all Iranians who believed in me when I was labeled a ‘threat’ for simply speaking the truth. I accept this honor with profound humility, and I am deeply grateful to my nominators, the selection committee, and the mentors, colleagues, and students who have been my intellectual family throughout this journey. 

“I share this award with the millions of compatriots who stood by me, with my friends in the conservation community, who were imprisoned and killed for their love of nature, and with the brave and innocent Iranian lives taken from us in January 2026, and those lost before and since.”

“It is a profound coincidence that this news arrives as my country and the region whose sustainability I have fought for have been burning in the fires of conflicts and a war being conducted in defiance of international law.

“I hope that in the midst of this fragmented world, this Prize and World Water Day serve as a reminder that water does not wait for politics. Water bankruptcy is a common threat that transcends every military line. We must recognize our shared vulnerability if we are ever to find our shared peace.”

The post From “Water Terrorist” to Global Laureate: Iran’s Kaveh Madani Wins the Nobel of Water appeared first on Green Prophet.

A new project in Spain shows how digital twins, which are virtual replicas of real environments, are becoming powerful tools for protecting ecosystems. Fujitsu and the BCN Port Innovation Foundation have announced a proof of concept to create an ocean digital twin at the Port of Barcelona. (Will they use Mirai robots at sea?)

The initiative will use underwater drones, artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to generate detailed digital models of the seabed and marine life. The goal is to support “the regeneration of the marine environment, the protection of biodiversity and the promotion of the blue economy.” Using non-destructive sensing, the system will visualize biodiversity, estimate vegetation coverage and calculate blue carbon stored in marine algae.

Digital twins work by collecting real-world data through sensors, drones or satellites and feeding it into a digital model that mirrors the real ecosystem. In Barcelona, autonomous vehicles will map the seabed while machine-learning systems translate the information into measurable indicators. According to the project description, “Machine learning models convert this data into quantitative environmental intelligence, estimating vegetation coverage, assessing habitat extent, and calculating blue carbon absorption.”

One powerful feature of digital twins is the ability to test future scenarios before action is taken. The platform developed by Fujitsu will allow environmental simulations to evaluate policy or infrastructure impacts. The system “enables the simulation of ‘what if’ scenarios, helping pre-verification of environmental measures before they are implemented to prioritize investments based on their real impact.”

Ángeles Delgado, president of Fujitsu Spain and Portugal, says the approach turns complex marine data into practical insight: “This project demonstrates how technology can become a true ally of sustainability. The ocean digital twin allows us to transform complex data from the marine environment into actionable information to protect biodiversity, promote blue carbon initiatives, and make evidence-based decisions.”

Ocean twins are part of a broader trend using digital replicas to manage environmental systems. Cities are building urban digital twins to model climate impacts, researchers are creating forest twins to track carbon storage and wildfire risk, and global projects such as Europe’s Destination Earth climate twin aim to simulate the entire planet to improve climate forecasting and environmental planning.

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Atmospheric water generators (AWGs) sound like magic: machines that can pull drinking water out of air. The idea is mentioned in the Bible, where the elders would pray for water collected as dew on plants and the catch on turning this into a machine is in the physics. To turn invisible vapor into liquid, you must remove heat, especially the latent heat of condensation. In real machines, that usually means refrigeration (cooling air below its dew point) or heating/desorbing moisture from sorbents. Either way, energy use rises fast as humidity drops. While many solutions exist on the market, the solutions aren’t magic. Too much energy needs to go into the AWG machines to make the water from thin air concept work.

Peer-reviewed assessments put many active AWGs in the rough range of ~0.35 to >1.1 kWh per liter depending on climate and design see this paper. A broader scientific review of atmospheric water harvesting thermodynamics estimates maximum yields around 0.34 to0.73 L/kWh under various assumptions, equivalent to roughly ~1.4 to 2.9 kWh per liter in the “best case” envelope. See PNIH resource. Lab and field results can be lower or higher depending on temperature, humidity, airflow, and heat exchange losses.

The core problems of AWG, water from air generators

• Low humidity = tiny water per cubic meter of air. The drier the air, the more air you must process to get a liter, which means bigger fans, larger heat exchangers, and more power.
• Cooling penalty. Condensation-based AWGs must cool air below dew point; that’s energy-intensive, especially in hot-dry regions where dew point can be very low.
• Heat management. You must dump heat to the environment (or recover it). Poor heat rejection and frosting risks can crater performance.
• Water quality isn’t “free.” Collected water still needs filtration/UV/mineralization and safe storage, adding energy and maintenance.

So how can AWGs be solved?

The most promising pathways don’t “beat physics” — they change the system boundary:

• Use low-grade heat or solar thermal to regenerate sorbents instead of running compressors. MOF-based devices have shown solar-driven harvesting in arid climates (Kim et al., in this 2018 Nature article).
• Hybridize with HVAC/dehumidification you already pay for to run. If a building must remove humidity anyway, capturing and polishing that water can be “incremental” rather than “extra.” While it might not run showers, the water can be used to water gardens or flush toilets. See our article on top uses for AC water.
• Raise efficiency via better sorbents + heat recovery. New cycling strategies and materials aim to cut regeneration energy and speed cycles (Kang et al., 2024).
• Target the right use cases. Emergency backup, remote sites, islands, and places where trucking water is expensive can justify higher kWh/L.

10 promising companies in the AWG space

1. SOURCE Global (solar “hydropanels”) — promising for off-grid drinking water where sunlight is abundant (SOURCE how it works).
2. Watergen — large deployments and claimed efficiency improvements; best fit in warm/humid conditions. See our past article on Watergen.
3. Genesis Systems — containerized systems positioned for disaster resilience and humid climates.
4. Aquaria — scaling “water from the sky” for housing developments; success depends on cost per liter vs local supply (Time on Aquaria).
5. Skysource / Skywater Alliance (WEDEW) — notable for renewable-energy framing and resilience applications (XPRIZE profile).
6. AirJoule — one to watch if real-world data confirms lower energy via novel separation/recovery approaches (AirJoule investor deck).

   

7. Uravu Labs — interesting liquid-desiccant path tied to renewables and local bottling models (Mongabay India).
8. Kara Water — consumer appliances; compelling product story, but energy economics must be transparent (Kara Water).
9. EcoloBlue — long-running commercial/home units; performance varies heavily with climate (EcoloBlue specs).
10. WaHa from Saudi Arabia is positioning around “water + dry air” and grid-independent operation; worth watching for verified field performance (WaHa). Professor Omar Yaghi, a distinguished chemist from the University of California, Berkeley, and pioneer of reticular chemistry (inventor of Metal-Organic Frameworks/MOFs). Born in Jordan and working in California, he was awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared with Richard Robson and Susumu Kitagawa, for this work. Waha is active in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

    

    

AWGs are rarely the cheapest way to make water where pipelines, wells, or desalination are available. They are commonly used by armies to create water in remote locations where energy isn’t an issue. Diesel or solar does the heavy lifting. But as materials improve, and as systems tap waste heat, solar thermal, or existing dehumidification loads, AWGs can become a practical niche tool, especially for resilient, point-of-use drinking water in the places that need it most in off-grid sites and in emergency settings.

Let’s aim for the day when fusion energy is real, and we can all pull water from the air to drink. Just add some Mayu minerals to make the water work well for your body.

The post What are AWG air-water generators, and why they aren’t a golden-bullet solution (yet) appeared first on Green Prophet.

Jordan, which has long received a lion’s share of USAID for survival, and which receives $1.5 billion USD every year to help with water and basic needs, is one of the poorest countries and most water-scarce countries on Earth. In parts of Amman, the most unwalkable city on the planet, households still receive municipal water only once a week. You order a truck and a you pay $50 or so for the company to fill up your water tank. If you are lucky, you build 2 or 3 tanks so you can be sure about your next shower.

National renewable freshwater availability stands at well under 100 cubic meters per person annually, which is far below the international benchmark for “absolute scarcity.” And Jordan has started building itself as a greenhouse and agriculture center of the region.

Now Jordan is advancing one of the the largest infrastructure project in its history: the Aqaba–Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance Project. The plan links a massive Red Sea desalination plant to a 450-kilometer pipeline that will transport water north to the capital. An original plan over the years was the Red Dead Canal, a partnership with Israel. But after decades of inaction from both sides, they want to do it alone if they can pull off the billions in financing needed.

In 2025, the Jordanian government signed agreements with a consortium led by Meridiam and SUEZ, alongside VINCI Construction and Orascom Construction. Under a 30-year concession agreement, the consortium will design, build, finance, operate, and maintain the system before transferring it back to the Jordanian government. The total investment is estimated at approximately $6 billion USD.

What the Desalination Project Will Deliver

At full capacity, the system is expected to supply 300 million cubic meters of desalinated water per year, covering roughly one-third to 40% of Jordan’s drinking water demand.

The system includes:

• A large reverse osmosis desalination plant near Aqaba on the Red Sea
• A 300-mile conveyance pipeline to Amman
• High-capacity pumping stations lifting water more than 1,000 meters in elevation
• Expanded storage infrastructure in the Amman region

The plant’s projected output — about 800,000 to 850,000 cubic meters per day — would make it one of the largest seawater reverse osmosis facilities in the world. Saudi Arabia, which borders Jordan, currently runs the largest desalination plant in the world, a title taken from Israel not long ago. Israel has long been a pioneer of membrane technology, which is the technology needed to separate salt and brine from the water.

According to SUEZ, the project “will significantly strengthen Jordan’s long-term water security while integrating environmental best practices in desalination.”

Who Will Profit from Jordan’s Water?

The financing structure is a public-private partnership. The consortium will raise a significant portion of the capital through a mix of private equity and project debt. Multilateral development banks are expected to participate, including institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corporation, alongside export credit agencies and commercial lenders.

Jordan’s government will ultimately purchase the water under long-term offtake agreements, creating predictable revenue streams for the concession holders over three decades.

That means: Infrastructure investors like Meridiam earn a stable, long-term return. SUEZ generates operating revenue from managing one of the region’s most strategic water assets. Construction giants VINCI Construction and Orascom Construction secure multi-billion-dollar engineering contracts. Lenders collect interest over the concession period. Jordan gains water security.

The question now is whether the financial model keeps water affordable for citizens while delivering returns to international investors? Locals I have spoke with found the cost of water to be negligible in their montly expenses, but will the costs increase going forward? In some countries the cost of water is free, and in others water is difficult to obtain, like on islands in Thailand where you can’t think of drinking tap water. Desalinated water is drinkable, as long as added minerals are put in place. Can Jordan do this?

Another option is for Jordan to strengthen trade with Saudi Arabia, which operates extensive desalination infrastructure along the Red Sea, producing over 3 billion cubic meters of water daily and accounting for nearly 50% of global desalination capacity. If the Vision 2030 ever comes to be, this is probably what will happen in reality.

The post Jordan’s $6 Billion Aqaba–Amman Desalination Project from the Red Sea Moves Forward appeared first on Green Prophet.

About 20 years ago we were all throwing out bottles and food packaging that contained BPA. The words BPA stand for (bisphenol A) – it’s a chemical used to make hard, clear plastics and protective resin linings inside metal cans. It helps plastics stay strong and heat-resistant, but small amounts can migrate into food and drinks. But the chemical is an endocrine disruptor, hurting our bodies in a number of ways.

We’ve come a lot further since BPA. We now have microplastrics and PFASs to worry about. Forever chemicals, or PFAS, are man-made chemicals and products made to repel water, grease, and stains. They’re in firefighting foams, non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing (yes, they’ve been used by the eco-darling Patagonia), stain-resistant carpets, fast-food packaging that seem like paper but which are water-proof, and many industrial processes.

PFASs don’t break down, and they escape factories, landfills, and training sites into soil and groundwater, eventually reaching our drinking water. Wastewater plants can’t fully remove them, so they circulate in rivers and crops too. Long-term exposure has been linked to immune, hormone, and cancer risks.

This report on Green Prophet explores PFAS in German drinking water.

Consumers can reduce exposure by limiting grease-proof packaging, choosing PFAS-free textiles and cookware, and supporting water testing and filtration in their communities. And now the EU is taking a bold step in making sure all European Union member states worked to monitor and reduce PFAS levels in drinking water. Consider that if you live in Iraq, PFAS are the last thing you need to worry about – European, American and Chinese oil companies are leaking crude oil right into the water, and they know about it.

But those same Europeans who want to make the world a better place, at least where they live, has created a  Drinking Water Directive. Don’t click on that link if you have an aversion to bureaucratic policy speak.

According to a press release sent out, EU countries will need to inform the commission on PFAS in water, including data on exceedances of the limit values. According to the commission, rife with overpaid bureaucrats who engage in political activities against western values,  the new reporting system is reportedly “simpler than under the previous Drinking Water Directive and reduces the amount of data to be reported.

“It is the first time systematic monitoring of PFAS in drinking water is being implemented in the EU,” they write.

What happens if your country exceeds the limits put in place? The EU countries must inform the public, and protect public health. Actions may include closing contaminated wells, adding treatment steps to remove PFAS, or restricting the use of drinking water supplies for as long as the violation continues.

The UE believes that people should have access to safe drinking water.

If you are from a non-EU country and are concerned about PFAS in your drinking water, take these guidelines to your ministry or oversight group in your region or country dealing with water monitoring.

The EU says that the guidelines were developed with member states.

“PFAS pollution is a growing concern for drinking water across Europe. With harmonised limits and mandatory monitoring now in force, Member States have the rules and tools to swiftly detect and address PFAS to protect public health, says Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and Competitive Circular Economy.

How to remove PFAS from your tap water at home?

Next question for readers and entrepreneurs? The most common in-home water filters that remove PFAS are activated carbon filters like those found in a Brita Elite jug or Berkey filter, but the best is reverse osmosis and undersink-ROs like Aquafor.

In Canada and the US, the main Berkey-style gravity water filter options people compare are Berkey, ProOne, British Berkefeld, Alexapure, and Waterdrop.

Dual stage filters (activated carbon + reverse osmosis) the best option.

If you are taking minerals out of the water, you do need to put them back in. The  company Mayu developed a novel method to rejuvenate purified water after understanding how “dirty” tap water has become. And on that note, here are 6 ways to soften hard water naturally.

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Soil pollution levels in parts of Basra are 1,200% to 3,300% higher than those typically measured in cities like Toronto or New York, according to new comparative soil data. It’s getting into water.

When ExxonMobil quietly returned to Iraq’s oil fields, signing new agreements tied to the Majnoon field and surrounding infrastructure in late 2025, it was framed as a story of stability. Security concerns once deemed too great were now manageable. Production would rise, pipelines would be upgraded, and jobs would follow.

While the US company promotes its renewed developments in Iraq to extract oil from a field known as “Majnoon”—Arabic for “crazy”—located roughly 50 miles from Basra, a city of five million people, no press release mentions what oil looks like when it enters a glass of water.

Within a five-mile radius of Basra city, oil operations are dominated by the Iraqi state-owned Basra Oil Company and international partners BP–PetroChina at Rumaila and Eni at Zubair. ExxonMobil’s former operations were located farther north and do not sit directly adjacent to the city itself.

“There is oil in the water, and it’s in the soil. Half of my mother’s brothers—six of them—have cancer, the youngest being 40, with leukemia. This has become normal now. We know that the oil fields just outside Basra are polluting our water and soil, but what can we do?” asks Sara (name changed), a young environmentalist I met in Istanbul.

She asked to remain anonymous, saying it would be dangerous to speak publicly. Pointing to a map, she showed where some of the world’s largest oil companies—such as BP and Eni—are drilling close to city limits in Basra, indicating areas where cancer rates are highest. She said no local researchers will touch the subject that children in these areas are dying from leukemia. She knows some of them.

“I sent my sisters to study in Istanbul so they can be far away from this pollution,” she told me, pointing to her sisters we are sitting with at the shisha cafe.

“We know that there are high levels of levels of cancer in Basra and it’s known that oil is in the tap water. Of course I don’t clean my dishes with the water but we do use it for clothes and showering. Farmers use the water even though it’s not safe. Don’t clean dishes. Children living next to the oilfield in the area of Rumalia, with estimates of cancer being 20% higher than the rest of the country. Some kids are living within a mile of the oil drills which is not normal.”

Rumaila is known locally as the “cemetery” for the high rates of cancer and disease among the population, left in the dark without resources despite supporting the lucrative oil fields nearby.

“Children living next to the Rumaila oil field get cancer,” says Sara. “There are babies being born with cancer. My friend works at the government owned chemical company that processes oil. Her 5 year-old sister died of cancer. She was playing outside and fell on her eyes when they found the tumor. She died a year later.”

How do people in Basra cope? It is a mix of avoiding drinking the water and giving up. The water is still used to wash clothes, clean dishes, shower, and water gardens.

Cancer is no longer whispered, it is assumed.

The BBC has reported extensively on soaring cancer rates in southern Iraq, particularly in Basra, where decades of oil extraction, gas flaring, industrial runoff, and war debris have combined into what doctors describe as an environmental health emergency. While doctors point to gas flaring, our source says oil contamination in water and soil may now be the greater concern. Flaring can be reduced around city centers (although data shows that is it only growing in Iraq), but oil that has entered soil and groundwater remains.

The BBC reported: “For health reasons Iraqi law prohibits flaring within six miles (10km) of people’s homes, but we found towns where gas was being burned less than 250m from people’s front doors. A leaked Iraq Health Ministry report, seen by BBC Arabic, blames air pollution for a 20% rise in cancer in Basra between 2015 and 2018.”

Sara says flaring and pollution continue despite the laws, while government agencies and universities turn a blind eye to the health impacts. She also says oil company employees sent to Basra are exposed to dangerous conditions, often late in their careers, and later receive large pensions due to prolonged environmental exposure.

Doctors interviewed by the BBC describe pediatric cancer wards overwhelmed. Leukemia, breast cancer, and rare tumors appear at rates far beyond global averages.

A 2025 study examining soil around Basra found pollution levels 1,200% to 3,300% higher than those typically measured in cities like Toronto or New York.

Average TPH levels ranged from 8 µg/g (dry weight) in agricultural areas to 265 µg/g along roads. During the wet season, levels reached as high as 340 µg/g, as rain drives oil residues deeper into the soil rather than removing them.

The study concluded that oil refineries are the main source of soil contamination, with additional pollution from vehicles, fuel stations, power generation, and oil infrastructure.

For context, Canadian soil safety standards, used in cities like Toronto, set acceptable levels far below the hundreds of µg/g measured in Basra.

Another 2024 study found elevated TPH levels across Basra’s major oilfields, including Majnoon, Rumaila, West Qurna, and Al-Zubair, exceeding thresholds associated with human health risk

Iraq’s oil sector includes BP, Shell (formerly Basra Gas Company), TotalEnergies, ENI, Lukoil, CNPC, and PetroChina, many operating through state partnerships. Gas flaring remains widespread.

According to the World Bank, Iraq ranks among the world’s top gas-flaring countries. These emissions settle into lungs, groundwater, and the bodies of children.

“It’s not safe to grow up there anymore,” says Sara.

Government employees in Iraq are currently banned from speaking publicly about pollution from oil fields.

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If you’ve ever picked up plastic on a beach cleanup, you may have held more than trash in your hands. A new study shows microplastics are rapidly colonized by pathogenic and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria — turning tiny plastic pellets, wrappers and bottles littering the beach into traveling vehicles for disease.

RELATED: microplastics in plastic orthodontics aligners 

Microplastics — plastic fragments under 5 mm — now blanket every part of the planet. They are in plastic aligners used in orthodontics, and are in the air we breath. More than 125 trillion pieces drift through the ocean, with more found in rivers, soils, animals, and even the human body.

But scientists tell Green Prophet that the danger isn’t just the plastic itself: it’s the Plastisphere, the microbial biofilm that forms on each particle.

A team led by Dr. Emily Stevenson (Plymouth Marine Laboratory & University of Exeter) sent us a new study saying that they found that microplastics in real environmental conditions, from hospital wastewater to coastal waters, carry pathogens and antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria at every stage of their journey.

Their study, Sewers to Seas, tested five substrates — bio-beads, nurdles, polystyrene, wood, and glass — placed along a waterway flowing from high-pollution zones toward the sea. After two months, metagenomic analysis revealed: Pathogens and AMR bacteria were found on all plastics, at all sites.

What they found as data

• Polystyrene and nurdles posed the highest AMR risk, likely due to their ability to absorb antibiotics and promote biofilm growth.
• Over 100 unique AMR gene sequences were found on microplastic biofilms — far more than on natural materials like wood.
• Some pathogens became more abundant downstream, riding microplastics from sewage outflows toward beaches.
• Environmental conditions strongly shaped bacterial communities and AMR prevalence.
• Microplastics near aquaculture sites may pose biosecurity risks for shellfish and filter feeders.

Each microplastic particle can act as a miniature, mobile petri dish, transporting superbugs from hospital wastewater to swimming beaches and seafood beds.

“This study highlights the pathogenic and AMR risk posed by microplastics littering our oceans and coasts,” said Dr. Stevenson. “We strongly recommend volunteers wear gloves during beach cleanups and wash hands afterward.”

Prof. Pennie Lindeque added that microplastics “act as carriers for antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, enhancing their survival and spread… each particle becomes a tiny vehicle capable of transporting pathogens from sewage works to beaches, swimming areas and shellfish-growing sites.”

Senior Lecturer Dr. Aimee Murray concluded: “Microplastics aren’t just an environmental issue — they may be spreading antimicrobial resistance.”

The big picture

As microplastics continue to accumulate globally, researchers warn the Plastisphere could worsen the spread of superbugs. The study calls for: better waste management, stronger monitoring of microplastic pathways, urgent reductions in plastic discharge and an integrated strategies across wastewater, healthcare, and marine policy.

The post Microplastics Are Becoming Superbug Highways — New Study Warns Beachgoers to Wear Gloves appeared first on Green Prophet.

Iran’s second-largest city, Mashhad, is facing an acute water emergency after dam reservoirs feeding the city fell below three percent capacity, according to Iranian state and local media. Officials warn that without rainfall or improved inflows from neighboring Afghanistan, the city’s supply could soon collapse. It’s happened before that Iranian generals have accused Israel for stealing their clouds.

Iranians on X are talking about murdered bodies showing up in the dried sediment. “Reports that at least 74 bodies have been found in the Karaj Dam in Iran, all thought to be executed anti-regime dissidents,” says X commentator Nioh Berg.

“Because of the drought and lack of rain, this dam has dried up almost completely and revealed a MASS GRAVE. The victims had their hands and feet tied, and they were rolled into rugs, as well as wrapped in plastic. Their murderers didn’t account for the drought, and thought the bodies would never be found. This news story was published and then quickly deleted by regime media, after they realised it’s probably their own doing.”

“The water storage in Mashhad’s dams has now fallen to less than three percent,” Hossein Esmaeilian, the chief executive of the water company in Iran’s second largest city by population, tells ISNA news agency. He adds that “the current situation shows that managing water use is no longer merely a recommendation — it has become a necessity.”

Mashhad lies in Razavi Khorasan Province in northeastern Iran, a semi-arid region dependent on a small network of dams for drinking water, agriculture, and limited power generation. The most critical of these are the Doosti (Friendship) Dam, built jointly by Iran and Turkmenistan on the Hari (Harirud) River; and the smaller Kardeh and Torogh dams that directly supply the urban network.

The Doosti Dam, completed in 2004 near the Turkmen border, was designed to provide up to 60 % of Mashhad’s potable water. But its inflows have plummeted after Afghanistan’s Taliban government inaugurated the Pashdan Dam upstream on the Hari River near Herat earlier this year. Iranian officials accuse Kabul of violating cross-border water agreements and cutting off critical flows. The Iranian daily Jomhouri-e Eslami warned this week that the new Afghan dam “threatens the very survival” of Mashhad’s reservoirs.

The Hari River — about 1,000 kilometers long — originates in Afghanistan’s central highlands, flows west through Herat into Iran, and ends in Turkmenistan’s Karakum Desert. Historically, its seasonal floods recharged aquifers and sustained farming along the Iranian border. But with multiple new Afghan dams under Taliban control, less water is reaching Iran’s northeastern provinces, even as rising temperatures and a prolonged regional drought accelerate evaporation.

Related: The Taliban kills Japanese water hero

Within Iran, years of poor water management compound the crisis. Kardeh and Torogh dams, both built in the 1970s, are now near “dead storage,” with barely enough volume for municipal use. Over-extraction of groundwater around Mashhad — home to more than three million people and millions of pilgrims annually — has further destabilized the system, causing land subsidence and salinization of wells.

Iran has also been spending billions normalizing terror by finding Palestinians to join Hamas, Lebanese to join the Hezbollah and for the Yemenites to become Houthis. Paying for conflict and not supporting your own people, comes with a high cost. The Iranian regime hates Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel so much that it will sacrifice anything in its global jihad.

Experts say the situation underscores both climate vulnerability and political risk in transboundary basins. Iran’s government is pressing for negotiations with the Taliban over shared water rights, as Afghanistan pulls the plug on its water by creating its own dams, but cooperation remains uncertain amid border skirmishes and mistrust.

If inflows from Afghanistan remain restricted and rainfall fails again this winter, Mashhad could face mandatory rationing and long-term aquifer collapse — a warning sign for the entire region as climate change and geopolitics converge in Iran’s drying east. Could we see a bigger conflict between Iran and Afghanistan? A good possibility. Similar tensions have been brewing for years between Ethiopia building the GERD dam and Egypt which is being denied water upstream.

If you’ve ever travelled to cities like Amman, Jordan, the water-stressed city shows how life goes on with water stress. Some city folks get water piped in once a week, but because municipal supply is so limited, many households, businesses, and institutions buy extra water from private tanker trucks and store this in private reservoirs so they never run out.

The post Iran’s holiest city about to run dry as terror chosen over water management appeared first on Green Prophet.

Europe is dealing with polluted water and the EU wants polluters to pay. They are pushing back

We just got back from Berlin where we stayed at the world of the Michelberger Hotel. We’d already read about the pollution in the rivers that circle that city.  A new Yale Environment 360 investigation reveals that a large-scale survey of European rivers has detected an alarming 504 harmful substances in the rivers — including 175 pharmaceuticals like painkillers and antidepressants — in waterways stretching from Germany to Spain.

The findings have alarmed scientists and public health officials who warn that even low-dose residues of medicines and cosmetics are reshaping aquatic ecosystems. Fish and amphibians exposed to drugs such as diclofenac show hormone disruption, sex changes, and organ damage.

Diclofenac is a widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) — the same drug class as ibuprofen or aspirin. It’s prescribed to treat pain, arthritis, and inflammation, often under brand names like Voltaren, Cataflam, or Dicloflex.

However, it’s also one of the most problematic pharmaceuticals for the environment. After being excreted or washed off, diclofenac passes through sewage systems largely unchanged. In waterways, it can accumulate in fish and aquatic mammals, damaging their livers, kidneys, and reproductive systems.

Studies have shown that chronic exposure can cause organ failure and sex changes in fish, and even contributed to the mass die-off of vultures in South Asia, where livestock treated with diclofenac poisoned scavenging birds.

Because of its toxicity and persistence, diclofenac has become a symbol of the pharmaceutical pollution crisis now being addressed by the EU’s new wastewater directive.

To tackle the growing “chemization” of Europe’s rivers, the EU has adopted a revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, mandating a fourth stage of purification — or “quaternary treatment” — using ozonation or activated carbon to strip out micropollutants. Plants must begin upgrading between 2027 and 2045, with the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries required to pay at least 80 percent of the costs, following the polluter-pays principle.

Yet those same industries are now pushing back. Trade groups and companies including L’Oréal and generic-drug manufacturers have filed legal challenges at the European Court of Justice, arguing that the rule unfairly singles them out while sparing other polluters like the food and chemical sectors.

Member companies of Medicines for Europe is one trade group who is engaged in the legal case include Accord Healthcare; Adamed Pharma; Fresenius Kabi; Insud Pharma; Polpharma; Sandoz; STADA; Teva Pharmaceutical Industries; Viatris; Zentiva.

Cosmetics industry players (though specific individual cosmetic companies are less publicly named in the same detail) are also flagged as being part of the push-back, via their trade bodies. These include companies such as Chanel and L’Oréal in broader media coverage, according to the Yale report.

At Berlin’s Schönerlinde wastewater plant, a pilot ozonation system set to open in 2027 offers a glimpse of the future. “There’s no doubt who has to pay for it — the industries that cause the pollution,” says Andreas Kraus, Berlin’s permanent secretary for climate protection and environment.

Environmental economists warn that delaying these upgrades will only allow micropollutants to seep deeper into groundwater and drinking water. As Green Prophet has reported, water contamination is not only a European crisis: pharmaceuticals and pesticides are already affecting rivers from the Jordan Valley to the Nile Delta.

The debate over who should clean Europe’s water — polluters or the public — is now a litmus test for whether the continent’s Green Deal commitments can survive political and industrial pressure.

All the more reason to filter your home water. Green Prophet has featured solutions like the Berkey Filter, trusted by many environmentalists. Some go a step further, using reverse osmosis systems along with Mayu for all drinking water and then re-adding essential micronutrients. Others prefer living water drawn from a clean, untouched spring. We’ve also featured American wastewater treatment companies like BioprocessH2O which is helping companies avoid reparations by cleaning up the first time at the source.

Whatever your choice, the message is clear: we are poisoning our own wells with the very medicines meant to heal us. Something has to change — and it starts with awareness and action at home.

Related Reading on Green Prophet

• Sea creatures and reefs are taking blood pressure medication and laxatives
• Water management using the Israeli method, a report from a World Bank expert
• Are you drinking your country’s drug stores?

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Saudi Arabia, a nation better known for its oil wealth, is rapidly reinventing itself as a marine sustainability player. Positioned between the ecologically sensitive Red Sea and the economically strategic Arabian Gulf, the Kingdom now has its sights set on becoming a global hub for blue economy innovation.

As part of this shift, Jeddah will host the Ocean Action Forum on October 27–28, 2025, at the Jeddah Hilton, gathering policymakers, scientists, investors, infrastructure developers, marine engineers, and climate strategists. The event promises not just high-level discussion but a new governance model for ocean-positive development in the Gulf.

According to the official agenda, the forum is designed to “shed light on key industry trends and issues, foster strategic partnerships, and explore cutting-edge solutions to safeguard marine ecosystems.”

Under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has made an unusual promise for a hydrocarbon nation: to restore coastal ecosystems, expand marine protected areas, scale mangrove forests, and build new “nature-compatible” infrastructure across its rapidly developing coastal cities.

In early 2025, the Kingdom took a symbolic global step by assuming the Secretariat of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), giving it a front-row seat in shaping global coral protection policy. This forum is the first major marine policy gathering since that appointment, making it a signal moment in the Kingdom’s environmental diplomacy.

Related: We’ve reach coral reef tipping point

A Closer Look at Day One

The event opens with remarks by Dr. Vienna Eleuteri of the Saudi Red Sea Authority, who will set the tone with a call for “long-term marine stewardship backed by measurable outcomes and inclusive governance.”

From there, discussions quickly move from policy to hard innovation:

• Marine Spatial Planning as Climate Defense
  How do you balance tourism, fishing, shipping lanes, and offshore development without collapsing delicate marine ecosystems? Experts from KAUST, Fujairah Research Centre, and Buro Happold will debate new zoning and monitoring tools.

• Turning Ports into Reefs
  In one of the most anticipated talks, Ocean Ecostructures CEO Ignasi Ferrer will present how AI, robotics, and bio-designed structures can convert concrete seawalls and breakwaters into living habitats, transforming industrial coastlines into biodiversity zones.

• Aquaculture Reimagined
  With global pressure on wild fisheries, KAUST’s Aquaculture Development Program will outline how precision aquaculture and filtration technologies could make farmed fish part of a regenerative, not extractive, ocean economy.

Mangroves, Microplastics and Machine Learning

Late-afternoon sessions focus on restoration at scale, including Saudi-led platforms like Netzero’s Mangrove Action initiative, which uses satellite monitoring and digital tracking tools to verify coastal restoration outcomes—a shift toward data accountability for nature projects.

There will also be a tech spotlight on microplastic-free aquaculture, with filtration innovators from TraCon GmbH showcasing Aqua BIO Kat, a new German-engineered system designed to reduce contamination and protect human health through clean water cycles.

From Coastal Luxury to Coastal Responsibility

Saudi Arabia’s massive Red Sea tourism projects—including NEOM, the Red Sea Global regenerative tourism initiative, and luxury island developments—have drawn both investment interest and ecological scrutiny. The Ocean Action Forum appears to be the Kingdom’s answer: framing development and marine restoration not as opposing forces, but as parts of a “regenerative coastal economy.”

The success of the event will depend on what happens after the panel lights turn off—whether restoration targets, monitoring systems, and local community roles become embedded in policy, not just PowerPoint slides.

But one thing is clear: Saudi Arabia is no longer observing the marine sustainability movement from the sidelines. It is positioning itself to lead it. The Ocean Action Forum 2025 at the Jeddah Hilton may well be the moment the region begins to define its own blueprint for marine resilience—not borrowed from Europe or island nations, but rooted in the realities of the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf.

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