To produce $1 of sugar, manufacturers use 270 gallons of water. A dollar of pet food takes 200 gallons of water. These figures include the sourcing of raw materials, processing, packaging, and shipping, according to Carnegie Mellon University scientists. A 2010 study published in Environmental Science and Technology, leveraged computer models to estimate
Category:
Water & Conservation
Bubbling New Technologies for Cost Effective Wastewater Purification: Mapal and Diffusaire
written by Walter Wang
One of the biggest challenges in the water arena is lowering the cost of wastewater purification, which is a heavy consumer of energy. Israeli start-ups Diffusaire and Mapal have developed technologies which bring dramatic cost-savings to wastewater treatment facilities.
Cleantech Disaster Relief: How Today’s Technologies Can Avert Tomorrow’s Disasters
written by Walter Wang
We all remember sights of people lined up for clean water in Haiti after the devastating earthquake in 2010, or in Japan last year after the great tsunami hit with horrific consequences. Large scale natural disasters will unfortunately continue to be a global threat. Beyond the initial loss of life and home, they also wreak
The deployment of sensors in 15 regions of the world’s oceans shows an extremely wide variation in how rapidly waters are becoming acidified, according to research conducted by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Scripps scientists have deployed more than 50 of the
The water industry is renowned for being risk averse and conservative. It’s understandable. No one wants people to experiment with their water.
But as fresh water becomes more and more precious and the cost of energy to get fresh water keeps on rising, the challenges of the water-energy nexus are
Earlier this year Ontario’s Greater Peterborough Innovation Cluster (GPIC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Regional Development Agency East Netherlands to develop opportunities and advance research in the water technology field. Energy Refuge recently caught up with Lisa Saroli,
A student at Australia’s Swinburne University last week received the James Dyson Award for a device he says is capable of harvesting moisture from the air for use in irrigation, even in the world’s driest places.
Developed by Edward Linnacre, the Airdrop is a wind- or solar-powered device that sucks air underground
Four water districts in the western U.S. are working with Mexican officials to develop two huge desalination plants in Playas de Rosarito, a coastal city located in the Mexican state of Baja California, as communities on both sides of the border look to wean themselves from the drought-prone Colorado
Major Rivers Have Enough Water to Sustain Growing Populations, Study Says
written by Yale Environment 360
A new study says the world’s major river systems contain more than enough water to meet global food production needs in the 21st century.
Following a five-year study of 10 river basins — including the Nile, Ganges, Andes, Yellow, and Niger — scientists with the Consultative Group on
Several global corporations have joined a World Resources Institute project that is developing a new database and mapping tools to help companies manage their water resources and reduce risk.
The Aqueduct project — which so far has enlisted companies such as Coca-Cola, General Electric, and
Water is one of our planet’s most precious resources. It is ubiquitous: we drink it, wash with it, swim in it, and sail on it. We also use it to produce things like food, paper, and cotton clothing, among others.
But what is “virtual water?” Is it invisible? Sort of. But it is equally – if not more – omnipresent.