Earth Thirst: Solving the Freshwater Crisis
New approaches help keep our water supplies safe, but much remains to be done around the world
It's a Water-Full World
From space Earth is simply a pale blue dot. It's blue because of all the water on its surface.
A Fine Brine: New Desalination Technique Yields More Drinkable Water
A new, more energy-efficient seawater distillation membrane is designed to yield greater amounts of potable water, and less briny discharge
Can Soil Sensors Save Georgia Waterways from Drought?
An innovative effort would embed sensors in agricultural fields in a bid to cut down on irrigation--saving farmers money and preserving water for endangered species
Improved but Not Always Safe: Despite Global Efforts, More Than 1 Billion People Likely at Risk for Lack of Clean Water
U.N. Development Goals for better drinking water have already been reached, but a closer look shows that the measures fail to truly account for the lack of access to safe water
Which Nations Consume the Most Water?
Much of the life-sustaining resource is traded across national borders
![Aqua Plan: Could Cell Phones Help Aid Workers Ensure Haiti's Supply of Clean Drinking Water? [Slide Show]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/DB66D59A-5364-4899-BF332A3D736BE6C4_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Aqua Plan: Could Cell Phones Help Aid Workers Ensure Haiti's Supply of Clean Drinking Water? [Slide Show]
One aid group working in Haiti is turning to SMS text messaging to ensure Haitians are keeping their drinking water free of cholera-causing bacteria
How Can We Cope with the Dirty Water from Fracking?
Advanced membranes, unusual solvents and new drilling processes could clean and recycle a growing flood of contaminated water
Fracking Could Work If Industry Would Come Clean
VANCOUVER—Resistance to hydraulic fracturing in the U.S. has risen steadily in recent months. Citizens and politicians are worried that fracking deep shales to extract natural gas can contaminate groundwater, trigger earthquakes and release methane, the potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.
Book Review: The Future of Water
The Future of Water: A Startling Look Ahead, by Steve Maxwell, with Scott Yates, Published in 2011 by the American Water Works Association, Denver Colo., ISBN 978-1-58321-809-9 Full disclosure: I answered an open e-mail solicitation for reviewers of this new book and received a review copy for free in exchange for my promise of a published review.
Engineering students consider using the sun to clean contaminated drinking water in Tanzania
Editor's Note: Students from Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering are working in Tanzania to help improve sanitation and energy technologies in local villages.
Getting to Know Your Water
That sound you do not hear is a half-million people not sighing in relief as the reservoir that slakes the thirst of the population of Raleigh, NC, and many surrounding smaller towns nears capacity for the first time in nearly a year.
Philadephia Uses Tough Love to Overhaul Water and Sewer System
A new "Green City, Clean Waters" plan aims to address water and climate issues, but it is not inspiring much brotherly love among some
The Coming Crisis Over Water - Texas Tribune Festival panel
There were a lot of interesting panels and sessions at this weekend's Texas Tribune Festival. A lot of nuggets of information, some good dialogue back and forth about energy and environmental policy in Texas.
Clean Dirty Water with the Sun
Bring Science Home: Activity 18
Facing the Freshwater Crisis
As demand for freshwater soars, planetary supplies are becoming unpredictable. Existing technologies could avert a global water crisis, but they must be implemented soon
Is water on the public's mind? Not really. Not yet.
This is the question that bounced around my head after I read through the results of the latest Energy Poll out of The University of Texas at Austin.
Gee Whiz, Why Not Recycle Urine for Drinking Water?
The U.S. can no longer afford to ignore sewage as a source of drinking water, scientists argue. David Biello reports
Water Filtration System in a Straw
LifeStraw makes previously contaminated water drinkable by removing bacteria and viruses
How Much Water Do Nations Consume?
Population drives demand, but so do water-intensive foods such as meat
![How Can We Ensure Clean Water for All? [Slide Show]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/82ECFD11-6177-4596-9F16DA734568448A_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
How Can We Ensure Clean Water for All? [Slide Show]
An exhibition of inventions, artwork and artifacts explores our relationship with water and how the world might cope with future scarcity of this invaluable resource
Top 10 Water Wasters: From Washing Dishes to Watering the Desert
The many ways we squander water, from unintentional leaks to outright negligence
Want Clean Water? Turn on the Lights
Companies kill deadly bacteria and strip out heavy metals in water using new technologies that range from ultraviolet (UV) light to microbubbles