Honduras puts a stop to open-pit mining
What is open-pit mining? Open-pit mining is one of the most common and also most harmful methods of extracting minerals from the Earth. Many countries and organizations are trying to do away with this practice because it involves enormous displacement of soil and causes a great deal of damage to Read More...
This technique measures drinking water quality using a smartphone camera
While the provision of safe drinking water in impoverished countries is of vital importance, people often lack the facilities necessary to test the water for pollutants. To help solve that problem, a team of scientists has developed a system that uses a smartphone camera to check up on tiny aquatic Read More...
Bacteria can filter toxic metals out of wastewater to make it drinkable
From recycling car batteries to tackling plastic pollution, bacteria has been increasingly under the microscope of scientists working to provide solutions to some of the most challenging global issues. Most recently, researchers in India have discovered a strain of bacteria that can filter Read More...
Watergen filters clean water out of the air
Two billion people on earth are without clean drinking water, and this problem will only be exacerbated by the climate crisis. Fortunately, independent businesses are working on a myriad of differing solutions. One Israeli company, Watergen, has taken advantage of the fact that the Earth's Read More...
This self-cleaning filter safely quenches the thirst of communities in need
Opening the tap on any faucet in your home to access a stream of clean drinking water is a privilege that not everyone is afforded. The reality is that millions of people around the world must retrieve water with jugs and buckets from sources like rivers and wells. In many cases, despite all the Read More...
There may be a better and more beautiful way to treat wastewater: Willow trees
The unpredictable and extreme weather patterns we are experiencing due to the climate crisis are making it increasingly difficult, especially for big urban areas, to stay on top of storm drainage and wastewater management. Heavy rainfall and flooding overwhelm stormwater management systems, Read More...
Scientists use aerogel to generate clean drinking water out of thin air
With 700 million people worldwide suffering from water insecurity, it would surely be great if we were able to pull clean water out of thin air. Well, thanks to a team of scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS), we could soon do that in a simple and efficient way. The new Read More...
The bold plan to save Appalachia’s endangered mussels
You probably haven’t heard of the golden rifleshell mussel, but for Kentucky’s Center for Mollusk Conservation in Frankfort, saving these yellowy, fan-shaped river-dwellers from extinction is a daily battle. More than two-thirds of all identified North American freshwater mussel species are Read More...
New device aims to bring potable water to millions of people worldwide
While substantial progress has been made in increasing access to clean drinking water, billions of people worldwide still lack this basic need. Seeking to alleviate the problem, a startup has embarked on a mission to supply millions of people globally with clean drinking water, with the help of an Read More...
Rose-shaped gadget offers a revolutionary way of collecting and purifying water
Roses may traditionally symbolize love and romance, but who knew that the shape of this iconic flower would inspire a revolutionary new way of collecting and purifying water? The idea blossomed at the University of Texas in Austin, where a rose has inspired researchers to develop a new device Read More...