• ASCE assigns Grade of D to U.S. infrastructure

    Civil engineers association assigns a D grade to U.S. infrastructure, and says $2.2 trillion in repairs needed

  • Keeping water clean

    Researchers develop hydrogel material that can detect and remove contaminants in water; the hydrogel shrinks as it absorbs heavy metal pollutants, signaling the presence of cadmium and other toxic ions, even as it absorbs them from the contaminated water

  • The top 11 contaminants in U.S. drinking water

    U.S. citizens may upset to learn — should be upset to learn — that their drinking water contain disturbing amounts of pharmaceuticals and hormonally active chemicals; the concentrations are small, for now, but individuals with some health conditions should consult their physicians

  • New chemical radar among national security innovations in ACS podcast

    The American Chemical Society wants to do its share to bolster societal safety — and a new series of an the organization-sponsored podcasts describe an array of technologies to help assure personal safety and national security

  • Midwest floods to create record dead zone in Gulf of Mexico

    Each year, an influx of nutrients — mainly nitrogen — which come from fertilizers flushed out of the Mississippi basin creates dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico — zones where there is not enough oxygen to sustain life; the summer’s Midwest floods flush record levels of nutrients into the Gulf, creating a dead zone the size of New Jersey

  • New way to purify water

    Water-attracting materials seem to repel impurities, thus leaving a layer of pure water near their surface; making tubes from these particle-excluding materials would allow for a new way to purify water — if, for now, in relatively small quantities

  • Purifying farm-yard waste water

    Scottish researchers develop a method for turning farm-yard waster into water fit to bathe in; new method also prevents loss of contaminants to rivers and lakes, where they may be detrimental to animal or human health

  • U.S. intelligence agencies: Climate change threatens national security

    Climate change could threaten U.S. security in the next twenty years by causing political instability, mass movements of refugees, terrorism, or conflicts over water and other resources in specific countries

  • New mercury detector developed

    University of Massachusetts researcher develops new mercury detector which detects minute quantities of mercury even in the presence of other metals

  • Ocean changes may trigger U.S. megadrought

    From AD 800 to 1250 the North American continent suffered from an exceedingly dry period; experts build climate model which shows that the warming of the oceans may lead to another long parched period — what they call “megadrought”

  • New method to treat deadly water-polluting fish disease

    Viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) has caused massive declines in population among fish species, ranging from walleyes to salmon, in all of the Great Lakes except Superior; new water treatment method could help keep a deadly fish disease out of Lake Superior

  • Nanotechnology-based biosensor

    NASA develops nanotechnology-based biosensor that can detect trace amounts of specific bacteria, viruses, and parasites; New York-based Early Warning, Inc. will initially market the sensor to water treatment facilities, food and beverage companies, industrial plants, hospitals, and airlines

  • New London mayor approves desalination plant

    Boris Johnson has just been elected mayor of London, and one of his first acts in office was to withdraw of the legal challenge launched by his predecessor, Ken Livingstone, against a desalination plant to be built on the banks of the Thames; the plant will be the first in London to take water from the tidal stretch of the Thames, removing salt from the water

  • Australian budget tackles environment concerns

    New government budget show government’s intent to tackle Australia’s growing water problems; critics charge that the government has not gone far enough to save the Murray-Darling Basin; the huge river system is drying up under the pressure of Australia’s epic drought and excessive water extraction for irrigation

  • Lessons from Kazakhstan about safe water

    A key UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) is to halve the number of people without access to safe drinking water and sanitation by 2015; research shows, however, that the MDG definition is too narrow and can be misleading