Clipmarks | pokkets's 'water' clips

Amazing Deep Water Creatures

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 14:19:50 GMT

clipped by: janwaren
clipper's remarks: why do they choose living in the deep?

Tags: deep, water, sea, creatures, amazing

The hottest water on Earth

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:42:03 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: "Black smokers deep in the Atlantic are spouting 'supercritical' water at over 407 °C – something never before been seen in nature."

Clip Source: environment.newscientist.com

Even Jules Verne did not foresee this one. Deep down at the very bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, geochemist Andrea Koschinsky has found something truly extraordinary: "It's water," she says, "but not as we know it."

At over 3 kilometres beneath the surface, sitting atop what could be a huge bubble of magma, it's the hottest water ever found on Earth. The fluid is in a "supercritical" state that has never before been seen in nature.

Tags: science, geology, water, black smokers

What Makes Earth Special Compared to Other Planets

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:10:09 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: "The most impressive attribute of the Earth is the existence and amount of liquid water on its surface,"

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Earth is one special planet.

It has liquid water, plate tectonics, and an atmosphere that shelters it from the worst of the sun's rays. But many scientists agree our planet's most special feature might just be us.

"It's the only planet we know of that has life," said Alan Boss, a planet formation theorist at the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Washington, D.C.

Though other bodies in our solar system, such as Saturn's moon Titan, seem like they could have once been hospitable to some form of life, and scientists still have hope of eventually digging up microbes beneath the surface of Mars, Earth is still the only world known to support life.

"So far, we haven't found it anywhere else," said Alex Wolszczan of Pennsylvania State University, who co-discovered the first planets beyond our solar system. He agreed that life was Earth's single most impressive characteristic.

Tags: earth, us, water

Water Shortage: Worst nightmare becoming true

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 01:55:55 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Amy Goodman interviews Peter H. Gleick and Maude Barlow about "water problems" appearing seriously on the horizon, globally.

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

For the longest time, people have taken water for granted. Most people don't think about where their water comes from. They just turn on the tap, and they expect it to be there. Those days are ending.

This notion that we'll have water forever is wrong. California is running out. It's got 20-some years of water. New Mexico has got 10, although they're building golf courses as fast as they can, so maybe they can whittle that down to five. Arizona, Florida, even the Great Lakes now, there's huge new demand.

The Nile River doesn't reach its end. The Colorado River, the Yellow River in China, they, for the most part, don't flow anymore to the sea.

You know those movies where there's the comet coming at the earth, and all of a sudden the governments of the world say, "Gee, we're not -- our differences aren't so big anymore, because we're about to all die"? That's really where we are. There is a comet coming at us. It's called water shortage.

Tags: water, climate change, earth, resources, water shortage, science

Huge 'Ocean' Discovered Inside Earth

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 17:58:27 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Scientists scanning the deep interior of Earth have found evidence of a vast water reservoir beneath eastern Asia that is at least the volume of the Arctic Ocean.

The discovery marks the first time such a large body of water has found in the planet’s deep mantle.

Looking down deep

The pair analyzed more than 600,000 seismograms—records of waves generated by earthquakes traveling through the Earth—collected from instruments scattered around the planet.

They noticed a region beneath Asia where seismic waves appeared to dampen, or “attenuate,” and also slow down slightly. “Water slows the speed of waves a little,” Wysession explained. “Lots of damping and a little slowing match the predictions for water very well.”

“That’s a real back of the envelope type calculation,” Wysession said. “That’s the best that we can do at this point.”

Tags: science, earth, water, ocean

Fabled Vacationland on the Verge of Water Collapse

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 13:09:36 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Across the Mediterranean, water is being pumped out of the earth at an unsustainable pace. In Italy's Milan region, groundwater levels have fallen by more than 80 feet over the past 80 years.

at least 50 percent of the region's wetlands are at risk,

more than 100,000 square miles of coastal regions -- roughly the same area as the United Kingdom -- are under threat of desertification.

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

During the second half of the 20th century, water usage in the Mediterranean doubled.

Tags: environment, water, i-crisis, i-decrease

Weird water

Sat, 19 Jan 2008 10:14:32 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: Discovery challenges long-held beliefs about water's special properties

Clip Source: physorg.com

Beyond its role as the elixir of all life, water is a very unusual substance: Scientists have long marveled over counter-intuitive properties that set water apart from other solids and liquids commonly found in nature.

The simple fact that water expands when it freezes -- an effect known to anyone whose plumbing has burst in winter -- is just the beginning of a long list of special characteristics. (Most liquids contract when they freeze.)

That is why chemical engineer Pablo Debenedetti and collaborators at three other institutions were surprised to find a highly simplified model molecule that behaves in much the same way as water, a discovery that upends long-held beliefs about what makes water so special.

“The conventional wisdom is that water is unique,” said Debenedetti, the Class of 1950 Professor in Engineering and Applied Science.

It forces you to rethink what is unique about water.”

While their water imitator is hypothetica

Tags: water

Water may hide harmful chemical cocktail

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 14:37:12 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: environment.newscientist.com

Next time you're washing your hair, spare a thought for your neighbours' health. A report by the UK's Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) says chemicals from consumer products and drugs could be breaking down and recombining into a harmful brew in water supplies.

The report, released on Monday, says synthetic chemicals in shampoos, perfumes, medicines and other healthcare products that are washed down the drain are sneaking through the filters at water purification plants. The list includes phthalates, a family of some 120 chemicals linked to reproductive problems in men and wildlife, and parabens, a preservative with a suspected link to breast cancer.

Though concentrations of such chemicals in water are probably too low to be harmful, the effects of their breakdown products are poorly understood, says Jeff Hardy of the RSC. "We do not know if the breakdown products affect the health of people." The cocktail effect may also make these chemicals more harmful, he adds.

Tags: water, science, life, environment

Many States face Water Shortage

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 09:10:35 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: 36 States are expected to have shortages in 5 Years. There is talk of 'plans.', with the conclusion that water will be expensive. Now wouldn't it be good to have shares in a water company. I'm sure it will be illegal to use tanks, or any water sources that are not monitored by official channels. I would not trust the water produced by any company today.

Clip Source: www.mail.com

By BRIAN SKOLOFF

An epic drought in Georgia threatens the water supply for millions. Florida doesn't have nearly enough water for its expected population boom. The Great Lakes are shrinking. Upstate New York's reservoirs have dropped to record lows. And in the West, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is melting faster each year. Across America, the picture is critically clear -- the nation's freshwater supplies can no longer quench its thirst

The government projects that at least 36 states will face water shortages within five years because of a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, urban sprawl, waste and excess

"Is it a crisis?

If we don't do some decent water planning, it could be," said Jack Hoffbuhr, executive director of the Denver-based American Water Works Association

Water managers will need to take bold steps to keep taps flowing, including conservation, recycling, desalination and stricter controls on development

there's just not going to be any more cheap water

Tags: water, shortage, dry, drought, freshwater

The Art of Protozoa

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 12:29:09 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: amazing!

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

In this image entitled "Protozoa in Real Time," created in a college biology class, one can see the dynamic, energetic life that abounds in a drop of pond water.

The image was submitted as part of the 2007 International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge, an effort jointly administered by the National Science Foundation and the journal Science. Winners from the SciViz challenges can be seen at: http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/scivis/index.jsp.

Tags: art, science, water, protozoa

Nature Creates A River

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 07:29:07 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature."

Clip Source: m3.lackcolor.com

Tags: river, water

Georgia Uni asks stadium fans not to flush

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 13:25:00 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: They can save a lot of water going down the drain if rather than everyone flushing, the the urinal is rinsed periodically. There is another water saving method that can be used in toilets, where a house brick is placed in the cistern, to reduce the total volume lost in a flush, by the amount the brick displaces.

Clip Source: www.mail.com

Fans who have had their fill of beer at the University of Georgia's homecoming football game on Saturday be warned -- no flushing allowed.

Earlier this week, crews put up signs in bathrooms asking people not to flush "if it's yellow" and to leave the handle-pulling to attendants, who will do the job for the estimated 93,000 people at Saturday's game.

It's part of the university's "Every Drop Counts" water conservation effort in the drought that's struck Georgia and much of the Southeast.

The university is considering replacing all of the stadium's old toilets, which use 3.5 gallons of water per flush, with new ones that use

less than half that amount -- 1.6 gallons -- per flush, said Arthur Johnson, associate athletic director

But two old-fashioned trough urinals that have constant running water will be open beneath the west end stands during the game against Troy University

Now drought in almost one-third of the Southeast has been deemed "exceptional" -- the most severe drought category.

Tags: water, crowd, flush, urinal, football game.

Dengue Fever outbreak hits parts of Asia.

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 00:19:34 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: Dengue Fever is quickly spread, when rain, and floods, in tropical areas, allow the mosquitoes that carry the virus, to breed in large numbers. Experts are questioning whether global warming is partly to blame, but I wonder what the point is. Shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted. Leading to a conclusion like
'While we have discovered that global warming is partly responsible, we have absolutely no idea what that means, or what we 're going to do about it. If we did know what to do about it, it is very unlikely that we will do anything."
Except watch .

Clip Source: www.mail.com

By MARGIE MASON

The worst outbreak of dengue fever in years has hit Southeast Asia, prompting the World Health Organization to call for better prevention campaigns as experts question whether global warming is partly to blame.

Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand have all experienced large outbreaks. Most of the victims are children who arrive at hospitals burning up with fever and crying from intense joint pain, a common symptom of the so-called "bone-breaker" disease.

There is no vaccine or cure for the four different varieties of the mosquito-borne virus spreading within the region. Even though outbreaks in several countries appear to

be waning, many patients are still falling ill.

Dengue infects up to 50 million people worldwide every year;

19,000 deaths occurred in 2002,

It causes rashes, blistering headaches, nausea and excruciating joint aches

The most serious form of the disease can cause internal bleeding, liver enlargement and circulatory shut down.

Tags: denge fever, water, mosquito, rain, disease, virus

Calif Fires Burned while copters grounded

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:36:14 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: The National Guard's c-130 cargo planes were grounded, because they were yet to be fitted with fire retardant tanks promised 5 years ago

Clip Source: www.mail.com

By AARON C. DAVIS and MICHAEL R. BLOOD

As wildfires were charging across Southern California, nearly two dozen water-dropping helicopters and two massive cargo planes sat idly by, grounded by government rules and bureaucracy

How much the aircraft would have helped will never be known, but their inability to provide quick assistance raises troubling questions about California's preparations for a fire season that was widely expected to be among the worst on record

It took as long as a day for Navy, Marine and California National Guard helicopters to get clearance early this week, in part because state rules require all firefighting choppers to be accompanied by state

forestry "fire spotters" who coordinate water or retardant drops. By the time those spotters arrived, the powerful Santa Ana winds stoking the fires had made it too dangerous to fly.

The National Guard's C-130 cargo planes, among the most powerful aerial firefighting weapons, never were slated to help

They've yet to be outfitted

Tags: water, copter, red tape, burocracy, california, fire

Wave farm could soon make a splash

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 03:02:03 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: Solve two problems at once. Not to mention, the vast amount of dissolved minerals, and metals, present in seawater, which could be refined from the salt.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Anna Salleh

Commercial wave-powered water desalination and electricity generation is one step closer to reality, report Australian developers.

Trials of a technology called CETO have yielded promising results, says Dr Michael Ottaviano of Carnegie Corporation, which is developing the system in the southern hemisphere.

The tests, carried out in Fremantle, Western Australia, verify predictions of how much electricity and water the technology can produce under various wave conditions.

"We've found a perfect correlation between the results our models predicted and what we've actually measured in the ocean, which is a major technical milestone," says Ottaviano.

Click here to enlarge an animation of how the wave farm would work

The CETO technology, first conceived by

Alan Burns in 1975, consists of submerged buoys connected to seawater pumps fixed to the seabed.

As each buoy moves back and forward

it generates energy

to drive a reverse osmosis desalination plant as well as hydroelectricity turbines.

Tags: wave, farm, energy, electricity, osmisis, desalination, sea, water, ocean