Water is scarce in the American West. Where’s in going? You’re eating it. It’s not long showers, swimming pools, lawn watering, at-home car washes, irrigating golf courses hotel fountains in Las Vegas. It’s agriculture.
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99% of Americans have Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), “forever chemicals,” in their blood. Christophe Haubursin, Mac Schneider, and Joey Sendaydiego explain how it happened in this Vox video.
More:
“The ‘forever chemicals’ fueling a public health crisis in drinking water,” Tom Perkins, The Guardian
“Government Studying Widely Used Chemicals Linked to Health Issues,” Eric Lipton, New York Times
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“Vast amounts of ancient Martian water may have been buried beneath its surface instead of escaping into space, scientists report in the journal Science. The findings, published Tuesday, may help untangle a clash of theories seeking to explain the disappearance of Mars’ water, a resource that was abundant on the planet’s surface billions of years ago.
Through modeling and data from Mars probes, rovers, and meteorites, researchers at the California Institute of Technology found that a broad range — between 30 to 99 percent — of the Red Planet’s earliest amounts of water could have vanished from the surface through a geological process called crustal hydration, where water was locked away in the rocks of Mars.”
— “Mars might be hiding most of its old water underground, scientists say,” Joey Roulette, The Verge
More:
“Mars: Vast amount of water may be locked up on planet,” Paul Rincon, BBC News
“Oceans’ Worth of Water May Live in Minerals Beneath Mars’ Surface,” Brad Bergan, Interesting Engineering
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The Flint water system was privatized by Republican Governor Rick Snyder. Then people started getting sick.
“Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, his health director and other ex-officials have been told they’re being charged after a new investigation of the Flint water scandal, which devastated the majority Black city with lead-contaminated water and was blamed for a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, The Associated Press has learned.”
— “Michigan plans to charge ex-Gov. Snyder in Flint water probe,” Ed White, David Eggert, and Tammy Webber, Associated Press
More:
“Everything we know about charges Rick Snyder, others face in Flint water scandal,” Joe Guillen and Christine MacDonald, Detroit Free Press
Updates:
“Flint water crisis: Michigan charges ex-governor Rick Snyder,” BBC News
“Ex-Governor of Michigan Charged With Neglect in Flint Water Crisis,” Julie Bosman, New York Times
“2 ex-health officials charged with manslaughter in Flint,” David Eggert, Ed White, and Corey Williams, Associated Press
“The Unfinished Business of Flint’s Water Crisis,’ Anna Clark, ProPublica
Related:
“Judge gives preliminary OK to $641 million Flint water crisis settlement,” Ron Fonger, MLive
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Two new studies indocate that there are “cold traps” on the moon full of water. NASA spied on Luna from a high-flying jet named SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) and found the unique signature of water all over the place on sunlit portions of the moon. A secord study finds that frozen water could be hiding in lunar shadows on 15,444 square miles of the moon’s real estate. Astronauts are probably planning lakeside chateaus as you read this.
There’s a 12-mile-wide lake of liquid water a mile beneath the southern ice cap of Mars. The discovery was made using the Marsis radar instrument on board the European Space Agency’s Mars Express, which has been orbiting the red planet for 15 years. Thirsty astronauts shouldn’t expect instant refreshment, though. The lake is filled with salt water.
More:
“Mars: huge underground lake raises prospects of life on planet, astronomers say,” Ian Sample, The Guardian
“A 12-mile-wide body of water lies beneath a Mars ice cap,” Carolyn Y. Johnson, Washington Post
“Scientists detect giant underground aquifer on Mars, raising hope of life on the planet,” Loren Grush, The Verge
“Liquid water ‘lake’ revealed on Mars,” Mary Halton, BBC News
“Deep within Mars, Liquid Water Offers Hope for Life,” Lee Billings, Scientific American
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With the help of HiRISE, a powerful camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, scientists have found vast quantities subsurface ice reserves that astronauts could mine for drinking, growing crops, or converting into hydrogen for fuel.
“The deposits begin at depths as shallow as one meter and extend upwards of 100 meters into the planet. The researchers don’t estimate the quantity of ice present, but they do note that the amount of ice near the surface is likely more extensive than the few locations where it’s exposed. And what’s more, the ice looks pretty damn pure.”
— “Scientists Discover Clean Water Ice Just Below Mars’ Surface,” Robbie Gonzalez, Wired
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“The Bucket,” a desert video by John Wells of the Southwest Texas Alternative Energy and Sustainable Living Field Laboratory (The Field Lab) in Terlingua, Texas, who notes “the swimming bees were rescued.” Ehru music by Doug Maxwell.
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“Residents in Flint, Mich., are about to start paying the full cost of their water again, even though what’s flowing from their taps has yet to be declared safe to drink without an approved filter.
On Wednesday, state officials will end a program that has helped pay residents’ bills since a series of ill-fated decisions by state-appointed emergency managers left the city’s water system contaminated with lead. Since that 2014 disaster, the state has spent roughly $41 million in credits to help offset local utility bills. Residents have gotten a 65 percent credit each month on their water use, while commercial accounts received a 20 percent credit.”
— “Flint residents must start paying for water they still can’t drink without a filter,” Brady Dennis, Washington Post
Flint residents pay one of the country’s highest water rates for the privilege of receiving lead-laced drinking water that poisons their children. About 40 percent of Flint residents live below the poverty line.
The Flint water system was privatized by Republican Governor Rick Snyder.
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Federal Court Judge David M. Lawson has ordered Michigan state and local governments to provide home delivery of at least four cases of water a week to each resident of Flint, unless officials verify that the household has a properly installed and maintained water filter. Deliveries must continue until the city’s water lead hazard ends.
Bottled water had previously been available for pick-up at various locations throughout the city, but restrictive access hours and limits per family placed the burden on residents, 40 percent of whom live below the poverty line. Many do not own cars, and had to walk to and from the water supply centers.
As Judge Lawson observed:
“In modern society, when we turn on a faucet, we expect safe drinking water to flow out. As the evidence shows, this is no longer the case in Flint. The Flint water crisis has in effect turned back the clock to a time when people traveled to central water sources to fill their buckets and carry the water home.”
The water became tainted with lead in 2014 when the Republican state government privatized Flint’s water utility, which then instituted cost-cutting measure while charging residents some of the highest rates in the nation.
More:
“Federal judge orders delivery of bottled water in Flint,” Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press
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