• Water tensions, if not yet water wars, are here

    MI5, in its annual report to the U.K. government, said that one of the threats to world peace are “water wars” between countries left drought-ridden by climate change; water wars may be a while off yet, but water tensions are already here

  • Short on water, Saudis phase out wheat production

    In the 1970s the Saudi government launched an ambitious plan to make the kingdom self-sufficient on wheat; the Saudis now reverse course and plan to phase out wheat production by 2016; the reason: Wheat production requires water, and if current water consumption patterns continue, the kingdom will run out of fossil water in 20 years

  • One VC's view: "Water is the next oil"

    VC hopes to capitalize on an increasingly scarce resource

  • U.K. government, water companies mismanage water supply, treatment

    Report says water is becoming more expensive, there is massive waste in the system, infrastructure was not in a state to cope with flooding and at the same time some parts of the country could expect to face severe droughts

  • New nerve gas deactivation method offered

    What to do with thousands of tons of chemical weapon stored in rusting drums on military bases in the United States? Bleach reacts indiscriminately — even explosively — with many chemicals such as propellants, and using alkaline hydrolysis has its own drawbacks; researchers develop a deactivation method based on dealkylating agents

  • Small businesses offer real-world environmental technologies

    EPA is one of eleven federal agencies which participate in the SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) program; a surprising number of small companies offer innovative and effective technologies to deal with environmental problems

  • Ballast-free cargo ship design to reduce invasion of non-native species

    As worries about non-native species invading the great Lakes mount, Wolverines researchers develop ballast-free cargo ship design; at least 185 non-native aquatic species have been identified in the Great Lakes, and ballast water is blamed for the introduction of most

  • Warming could radically change Lake Tahoe in 10 years

    Global warming will irreversibly alter water circulation in Lake Tahoe, changing conditions for for fish and plants; effect on the Tahoe Basin as an international vacation destination unclear

  • Researchers warn that Lake Mead is drying up

    Lake Mead is a key source of water for for millions of people in the southwestern United States; research shows that if current trends — usage, climate change — continue, the lake may dry up by 2021

  • Singapore embarks on water reclamation project

    Singapore suffers increasing water shortages; the country’s Public Utility Board (PUB) has joined with two specialists in the field in a joint development of wastewater reclamation technologies using separation membranes

  • Water shortages lead Saudis to end grain production

    Growing wheat takes a lot of water; Saudi Arabia never had much water, and its rapidly growing population puts more pressure on whatever water resources there are; Saudi Arabia’s decision: The kingdom will begin reducing production annually by 12.5 percent from next year and will use imports to bridge the domestic consumption gap

  • Bacteria and nanofilters -- the future of clean water technology

    University of Nottingham researchers combine contaminant-eating bacteria with nanoscale filtration membranes to purify fouled water; additional side benefit: The waste products created by purifying water have a very high calorific value, and can be used as fuel

  • Cleaner water through nanotechnology

    As global warming causes more and more countries to have less and less fresh water for human consumption and irrigation, the purification and re-use of contaminated water becomes more urgent; Aussie researchers offer a nanotechnology-based method to purify water which is more effective and cheaper than conventional water purification methods

  • Beijing to examine water safety daily ahead of Olympics

    As is the case with many other things in China, water is polluted, too; ahead of the Summer Olympic Games, China establishes water monitoring teams to perform round-the-clock checks and maintenance of the water pipelines and ground water systems

  • On the water front // by Ben Frankel: UN secretary-general says "Water is running out"

    Serious water shortages are afflicting ever-larger swaths of the globe, with global warming exacerbating the problem; there are 192 countries in the world, with a population of nearly 6 billion: Experts say that in 102 of these countries — with a combined population of 3.9 billion — water-related crises create a high risk of violent conflict; there are opportunities here for investors and technology companies