homehome Home chatchat Notifications


The price of oil without water

The environmental challenges we have to overcome (fast) cover virtually every field in human activity. Focuses such as finding green fuels, renewable and sustainable sources of energy and other related findings attract more people, more ideas, and visible steps are made towards the right direction. Probably the only concern is how fast and how effective […]

Mihai Andrei
July 24, 2008 @ 4:14 pm

share Share

oasis desert

The environmental challenges we have to overcome (fast) cover virtually every field in human activity. Focuses such as finding green fuels, renewable and sustainable sources of energy and other related findings attract more people, more ideas, and visible steps are made towards the right direction. Probably the only concern is how fast and how effective these methods will prove to be. Hopefully, due to all the brilliant minds involved, the response will probably be positive(maybe I’m being to optimistic, but is there any other way to be??).Still, it concerns me to see how little attention is being paid to water. Maybe it’s not right to call it a water crisis, but the thing is water scarcity is showing up even in some unexpected place. Despite the fact that oil is the elixir behind industry, water is the elixir behind life; and life is behind industry, so a scarcity in water is without a doubt a bigger threat than oil. This leads to the simple yet pretty much ignored observation that if water runs out, oil will be pretty hard to drink.

What should worry pretty much everybody is the fact that water scarcity threatens farm productivity, limits growth, increases business expenses, and drains local treasuries. Also, why people ar

e>e ignoring the dangers of building cities and other related things in deserts is quite hard to understand, at least for me. It’s the desert, it was never meant to have cities; and we definitely can’t support them against the desert when our planet has so many things to be worried about.

“I truly believe we are moving into an era of water scarcity throughout the United States” said Peter Gleick, science adviser to Circle of Blue and president of the Pacific Institute, a think tank specializing in water issues based in Oakland, California. “That by itself is going to force us to adopt more efficient management techniques.”

share Share

This Plastic Dissolves in Seawater and Leaves Behind Zero Microplastics

Japanese scientists unveil a material that dissolves in hours in contact with salt, leaving no trace behind.

A 30-Year-Old Study Says Croissants Are Absolutely Terrible. Here's why

They're the least filling food ever.

The oceans are so acidic they're dissolving the shells of marine creatures

We've ignored ocean acidification for far too long.

A Unique Light-Sensitive Resin Could Make 3D Printing Faster and Cleaner

Smart resin forms tough parts with UV light and dissolvable supports with visible light. This dual nature can make 3D printing waste-free.

Your Cat Can Smell the Difference Between You and a Stranger and They Prefer the Stranger

Cats know who you are and they're probably judging you.

Frog Saunas Offer a Steamy Lifeline Against a Deadly Amphibian Pandemic

For some frog species, sitting in a hot brick could mean the difference between life and death.

People want climate labels on products, especially meat, cars, and flights

Citizens suggest carbon labels on advertised products could help consumers make better decisions.

Why December-Born Kids Are Far More Likely to Get Speech Therapy

The youngest kids in class are far more likely to receive therapy they may not need.

Your Morning Coffee Might Be Sabotaging Your Meds — Here’s What You Need to Know

It's not always a problem, but sometimes, it is.

Climate Change Is Rewriting America’s Gardening Map and Some Plants Can’t Keep Up

Warmer winter temperatures have altered frost patterns and growing seasons across the United States.