Comprising more than 4,700 chemicals, perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of widely used, man-made chemicals that accumulate over time in humans and in the environment. They are known as ‘forever chemicals’ as they are extremely persistent in our environment and bodies.
Still another device, called the Roots Up Dew Collector, is now being developed for Ethiopia in a project together with the University of Gondar. The device, which can also be used to grow vegetables and other crops, is dew trapping and will be used in the country's arid northern regions.
Finding ways to augment supplies of fresh drinking water have been around for years. These ideas vary from basic “low tech” ones like a Yemenite funnel water cone to extract fresh water from saltwater to using water created by aircon units. Purifying sewage systems to create safe, drinkable fresh water are also being tried; and have received visible […]
Engineers at Lockheed-Martin recently developed and patented a molecular filtration membrane called Perforene which can desalinate seawater using only 1/100th the energy of the best existing desalination systems. Perforene is made from graphene, the exciting new nanomaterial which comes in the form of one-atom thick sheets of carbon atoms. Like an overzealous nanotechnology, graphene seems […]
Here is a cautionary tale of two very different countries which once shared a similar water use philosophy and usage patterns. The right photo is in Jordan’s Wadi-Rum desert. The forest on the left is in Ireland.
Ample fresh water supplies for agriculture and drinking by the world’s burgeoning population are becoming more and more scarace these days due to over-consumption and the ravages of global warming and climate change. This has resulted in the need to tap into prehistoric underground aquifers, such as North Africa’s Nubian Aquifer under Libya; and the the […]
Cyprus has one of the worst fresh water shortage than other regional countries, including Lebanon, Israel and Syria. The problem is so bad that reservoirs have gone dry and trees are dying.
Jordan’s Minister of Water and Irrigation and Agriculture, Hazim Al Naser, disclosed that the controversial Red-Dead Water Conveyor project may now be shelved in favor of a series of smaller schemes to provide the kingdom with drinking water. His statements mark the first time that a ranking official questioned the project’s viability. Al Naser spoke […]
Pollution of fresh water supplies in large Asian countries is becoming more and more serious due to increasing populations and rapid industrialization. This is especially true in countries like India, where it’s largest river system, the Ganges, is one of the world’s most polluted. China, the world’s most populated in now in serious “water” trouble. […]
Lotus flowers were once considered sacred in Egypt and parts of Asia. They hold a secret to a clean nanotechnology. Like the ancient blue pigment found in ancient Egypt, old spiritual materials like the lotus flower inspire new environmental science: As assistant professor of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at King Abdulla University of Science and […]
SunDwater’s solar powered water distiller can convert polluted water like this into clean drinking water Chronic and even acute shortages of fresh drinking water is one of the developing world’s most serious issues today; especially in areas torn by internal conflict such as Syria. A number of viable methods for making water potable have been […]
Take some guys interested in cutting edge technology and add a dash of old-fashioned capitalism and sometimes amazing alchemy results: That teamwork just happened in Lima, where collaboration between Peru’s University of Engineering and Technology and advertising agency Mayo DraftFCB resulted in the world’s first billboard that converts air into drinking water. The brilliant billboard […]
A deal was brokered over the weekend that will allow a subsidiary of Israel Chemicals to sell water purification tablets that will be used to purify dirty water in Syria. Already a near-dry state, Syria’s drinking water supply has deteriorated sharply since the onset of a bloody war that has displaced and killed thousands of people. Special […]
Jordan’s armed security forces have been enlisted to protect the Kingdom’s scarce water resources from recurring vandalism and theft. Jordan is dealing with an increase in water theft. Ironically, as I type, I am awaiting a water truck arrival to refill our new apartment’s tank: I’d jumped in the shower, turned the knobs, and was met […]
Tomato sprouts growing with AC water: waste not want not! Another hot summer is now upon us and most people in the Middle East that have them are running their air conditioning units at full blast. Many people may not realize that their AC units are also producing large amounts of “run off” water that […]