Water
Texas teenager creates $20 water purifier to tackle toxic e-waste pollution
Consumer electronics, including computers and mobiles, are leaving a legacy of toxic waste in countries including China and India. Recycling factories across Asia are recovering e-waste exported from around the world, but discharging heavy metals and chemicals into local water supplies in the Read More...
Californians cut water use 31.3% in July, crushing governor’s target
Gillian Flaccus' daughter leaned to brush her teeth without leaving the water running at the family's home, near Los Angeles. Flaccus, an Associated Press reporter, and her husband are using the California drought to teach their children life lessons about conservation. Aerial view overlooking Read More...
American astronauts drink recycled urine: 'It tastes like bottled water'
What’s the difference between American and Russian astronauts on the International Space Station? The Americans drink their urine, the Russians don’t. “It tastes like bottled water,” Layne Carter, water subsystem manager for the ISS at Nasa’s Marshall Space Flight Read More...
How Ecolab turned water management into a fast-flowing revenue stream
The world’s largest producer of steel, ArcelorMittal MT , had a problem: Water costs at its huge Galati mill in Romania were escalating, and its effluent water was polluting two nearby lakes. For help, the steel giant called on Ecolab ECL : The St. Paul–based company installed its 3D Read More...
Turning the page for contaminated water: These book pages work as a filter
It's remarkable how simple the idea is: This paper sheet filters contaminated water to make it drinkable. The paper contains nanoparticles of silver or copper which kill bacteria in the water as it passes through, and is proving to be full of potential for communities in developing countries Read More...
California is beating the severe drought with innovation
California—where more than half of the fruits and vegetables in the US come from—is in the fourth growing season of a severe drought. And yet, last year, both farm employment and farm revenue increased slightly. As it turns out, Californian farmers are beating the drought. More efficient drip Read More...
Brewery hopes to tap creative minds to deal with drought
It's a new approach to an old-school solution for a state gripped by severe drought: Place a brick in a toilet tank to conserve water with every flush. The new version, dubbed Drop-A-Brick 2.0, will be unveiled Thursday as part of an unusual effort to stimulate water-saving inventions through Read More...
Millions of black plastic balls will help California conserve water
California may be experiencing the worst drought in 1,200 years. Covering the surface of a 12-billion-liter reservoirs with black plastic balls will block sunlight, preventing more than 1 billion liters of water from evaporation.They will also avoid the production of dangerous chemicals than can Read More...
A shower head that saves 70% water and gets celebrity funding
“When Nebia woos investors, it invites them to take a shower.” Good line from The New York Times. The start-up says that its revolutionary shower head uses six gallons for an average shower compared to the usual 20 gallons. And, according to reports from users who have tested the shower, the Read More...
The shower of the future recycles its own water and heat
Lloyd Alter (@lloydalter) Design / Sustainable Product Design August 11, 2015 TreeHugger is covering the INDEX: Design to Improve Life awards at the end of August; this post covers one of the 46 finalists chosen from 1,123 entries. Pour yourself a glass of Tang and think of all the great things Read More...