The warning was stern: Do not enter the water. Not because of the tide. Not because of sharks. Because of the sewage. For almost two centuries, rowers from Oxford University have raced their rivals from Cambridge in a contest that typically ends with jubilant members of the victorious crew jumping into the River Thames in […]
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Artificial reef designed by MIT engineers could protect marine life, reduce storm damage
The beautiful, gnarled, nooked-and-crannied reefs that surround tropical islands serve as a marine refuge and natural buffer against stormy seas. But as the effects of climate change bleach and break down coral reefs around the world, and extreme weather events become more common, coastal communities are left increasingly vulnerable to frequent flooding and erosion. An […]
Read MoreUnderstanding the impacts of mining on local environments and communities
Hydrosocial displacement refers to the idea that resolving water conflict in one area can shift the conflict to a different area. The concept was coined by Scott Odell, a visiting researcher in MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative (ESI). As part of ESI’s Program on Mining and the Circular Economy, Odell researches the impacts of extractive industries […]
Read MoreWhy the Panama Canal Didn’t Lose Money When Ship Crossings Fell
Low water levels have forced officials to slash the number of ships that are allowed through the Panama Canal, disrupting global supply chains and pushing up transportation costs. But, remarkably, the big drop in ship traffic has not — at least so far — led to a financial crunch for the canal, which passes on […]
Read MoreThe Hotel That Owed Over $300,000 in Water Bills
Good morning. It’s Thursday. Today we’ll find out about the city’s efforts to collect on what it says are delinquent water bills. We’ll also see why a judge decided not to punish Donald Trump’s onetime fixer for fake legal citations concocted by an artificial intelligence program. The Hotel Hayden promotes itself as “a buzz-worthy boutique […]
Read MoreAngela Chao Was Intoxicated When She Died in Car Wreck, Police Report Shows
Angela Chao, the chief executive of a shipping company and part of a prominent family in American politics, was legally intoxicated when she drove into a pond in Texas and died last month, according to a police report released on Wednesday, which called the episode an “unfortunate accident.” The report, released by the Blanco County […]
Read MoreChile’s Deadliest Wildfire Is Said to Have Been Made Worse by a Lack of Water
As a fast-moving wildfire swept through the cities of Viña del Mar and Quilpué on Chile’s Pacific Coast last month, flames engulfed residents on the street, destroyed homes and overwhelmed the utility grid. Power shut off, communications went down and not enough water reached a critical line of defense: the fire hydrants. In this video […]
Read MoreSouthern Europe Is in Serious Trouble
The state rebates and federal tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act are helping, but the main reason heat pumps are being adopted so quickly, this story suggests, is that once one household installs a heat pump as proof of concept—often despite strong initial skepticism—everyone else wants one. From the Times: “Ten years ago, they […]
Read MoreReducing pesticide use while increasing effectiveness
Farming can be a low-margin, high-risk business, subject to weather and climate patterns, insect population cycles, and other unpredictable factors. Farmers need to be savvy managers of the many resources they deal, and chemical fertilizers and pesticides are among their major recurring expenses. Despite the importance of these chemicals, a lack of technology that monitors […]
Read MoreA new sensor detects harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water
MIT chemists have designed a sensor that detects tiny quantities of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — chemicals found in food packaging, nonstick cookware, and many other consumer products. These compounds, also known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down naturally, have been linked to a variety of harmful health effects, including cancer, […]
Read MoreThe Staggering Environmental Toll of Artificial Intelligence
This problem is finally getting a small piece of the attention it deserves, thanks to recent coverage by the Financial Times, Nature, and The Atlantic. But the tech industry’s fossil fuel–like tactics of greenwashing, gaslighting, and refusing to comment are going to make thorough reporting on this difficult. The closest we’ve gotten to candor came […]
Read MoreThe Scariest Part About Artificial Intelligence
This problem is finally getting a small piece of the attention it deserves, thanks to recent coverage by the Financial Times, Nature, and The Atlantic. But the tech industry’s fossil fuel–like tactics of greenwashing, gaslighting, and refusing to comment are going to make thorough reporting on this difficult. The closest we’ve gotten to candor came […]
Read MoreTyla’s New Album ‘Tyla’: Everything To Know Including The Release Date, Tracklist & More
South African superstar Tyla has the world in a chokehold. In addition to dropping hit after hit, Tyla recently starred in a Gap campaign — a dream she has manifested for so long. Next month, she will release her hotly-anticipated self-titled debut album. Tyla has big plans for this album rollout, and we’ve put together […]
Read MoreWill Tyla & Travis Scott Drop A Video For ‘Water?’
It looks like the “Water Challenge” on social media hasn’t run dry just yet. According to Tyla, the remix of her breakout single “Water” featuring Travis Scott will receive a music video. While sitting for a Complex segment, “What’s In Your Phone?” the South African star confirmed that the video is done (after making sure […]
Read MoreIllustrating India’s complex environmental crises
Abhijit Banerjee, the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at MIT, and Sarnath Banerjee (no relation), an MIT Center for Art, Science, and Technology (CAST) visiting artist share a similar background, but have very different ways of thinking. Both were raised for a time in Kolkata before leaving India to pursue divergent careers, Abhijit as […]
Read MoreMADMEC winner creates “temporary tattoos” for T-shirts
Have you ever gotten a free T-shirt at an event that you never wear? What about a music or sports-themed shirt you wear to one event and then lose interest in entirely? Such one-off T-shirts — and the waste and pollution associated with them — are an unfortunately common part of our society. But what […]
Read MoreBig Companies Cashed In on Mississippi’s Water. Small Towns Paid the Price.
In winter 2021, more than 150,000 people living in Jackson, Miss., were left without running water. Faucets were dry or dribbling a muddy brown. For weeks, people across the city lost the water they normally relied on to drink, cook and bathe. With no way to flush their toilets, some parents sent their children into […]
Read MoreWhere Groundwater Levels Are Falling, and Rising, Worldwide
An investigation into nearly 1,700 aquifers across more than 40 countries found that groundwater levels in almost half have fallen since 2000. Only about 7 percent of the aquifers surveyed had groundwater levels that rose over that same time period. The new study is one of the first to compile data from monitoring wells around […]
Read MoreAs Switzerland’s Glaciers Shrink, a Way of Life May Melt Away
For centuries, Swiss farmers have sent their cattle, goats and sheep up the mountains to graze in warmer months before bringing them back down at the start of autumn. Devised in the Middle Ages to save precious grass in the valleys for winter stock, the tradition of “summering” has so transformed the countryside into a […]
Read MoreCalifornia Farms Dried Up a River for Months. Nobody Stopped Them.
During California’s most recent drought, officials went to great lengths to safeguard water supplies, issuing emergency regulations to curb use by thousands of farms, utilities and irrigation districts. It still wasn’t enough to prevent growers in the state’s agricultural heartland from draining dry several miles of a major river for almost four months in 2022, […]
Read MoreK. Lisa Yang Global Engineering and Research Center will prioritize innovations for resource-constrained communities
Billions of people worldwide face threats to their livelihood, health, and well-being due to poverty. These problems persist because solutions offered in developed countries often do not meet the requirements — related to factors like price, performance, usability, robustness, and culture — of poor or developing countries. Academic labs frequently try to tackle these challenges, […]
Read MoreA new way to swiftly eliminate micropollutants from water
“Zwitterionic” might not be a word you come across every day, but for Professor Patrick Doyle of the MIT Department of Chemical Engineering, it’s a word that’s central to the technology his group is developing to remove micropollutants from water. Derived from the German word “zwitter,” meaning “hybrid,” “zwitterionic” molecules are those with an equal […]
Read MoreColorado River States Are Racing to Agree on Cuts Before Inauguration Day
The states that rely on the Colorado River, which is shrinking because of climate change and overuse, are rushing to agree on a long-term deal to share the dwindling resource by the end of the year. They worry that a change in administrations after the election could set back talks. Negotiators are seeking an agreement […]
Read MoreIndiana’s Plan to Pipe In Groundwater for Microchip-Making Draws Fire
When Indiana officials created a new industrial park to lure huge microchip firms to the state, they picked a nearly 10,000-acre site close to a booming metropolis, a major airport and a university research center. But the area is missing one key ingredient to support the kinds of development the state wants to attract: access […]
Read MoreSheco Swarm Water-Drones Pioneering Large-Scale Pollution Removal
SHECO (official site) is a startup which produces largescale pollution-removal solutions for public waters or various industrial environments such as ports, shipyards, industrial plants etc. located nearby bodies of water at risk. Water-pollution events only make it to the evening news when they are large or catastrophic. Every day, there are about 3200 “pollution incidents” […]
Read MoreDon’t Flee the American Southwest Just Yet
This summer, when the temperature hit 110 degrees Fahrenheit or above in Phoenix for 31 straight days, many were fretting about the Southwest’s prospects in the age of climate change. A writer for The Atlantic asked, “When Will the Southwest Become Unlivable?” The Washington Post wondered, “How Long Can We Keep Living in Hotboxes Like […]
Read MoreSnow Shortages Are Plaguing the West’s Mountains
With gusts of wind howling around Mount Ashland’s vacant ski lodge this week, Andrew Gast watched from a window as a brief snowfall dusted the landscape. It was not nearly enough. The ski area’s parking lot remained largely empty. On the slopes, manzanita bushes and blades of grass were poking through patches of what little […]
Read MoreMatt Damon, Fran Drescher and an Indian Soybean Farmer on 2024
What are your hopes for 2024? See how they compare with those of 11 people I put that question to. (Most of them replied by email. The people from Afghanistan and India spoke by phone.) Fran Drescher, an actress and the president of SAG-AFTRA, which staged a 118-day strike against movie and television producers this […]
Read MoreCali Approved Sewage Waste To Be Converted To Drinking Water, But Should Black Folk be Wary?
Regulators in California have approved the use of advanced filtration and treatment facilities that would convert sewage waste into pure drinking water. In addition, that water would be feed into systems for millions of households via tap. ‘Married to Medicine’s’ Toya Bush-Harris Talks Phaedra, Quad, & More In A Game of “What’s Worse” Off English […]
Read MoreSouthern peninsula communities awarded federal grants to improve water systems
Three southern peninsula communities will receive funds to improve their water systems as part of a federal investment announced earlier this month. U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development State Director for Alaska Julia Hnilicka announced in a Dec. 11 press release that 21 projects to improve rural Alaskan water and wastewater infrastructure have been federally […]
Read MoreCalifornia Allows Wastewater to Be Recycled Into Drinking Water
California officials on Tuesday voted to allow wastewater from showers and toilets to be purified into drinking water as the state braces for years of drought-induced shortages. The rules, adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board, made California the second state, behind Colorado, to allow agencies to harness a water source that residents have […]
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