Water

Researchers Make Progress Toward High-Performing Water Desalination Membranes

http://www.sci-news.com/othersciences/materials/high-performing-water-desalination-membranes-09209.html

Biological membranes can achieve remarkably high permeabilities while maintaining ideal selectivities by relying on homogeneous internal structures in the form of membrane proteins. In new research, a team of scientists led by Penn State University and the University of Texas at Austin applied such design strategies to desalination polyamide membranes.

Dr. Enrique Gomez, Dr. Manish Kumar and their colleagues from Iowa State University, Penn State University, the University of Texas at Austin, DuPont Water Solutions, and Dow Chemical Co. found that creating a uniform membrane density down to the nanoscale of billionths of a meter is crucial for maximizing the performance of reverse-osmosis, water-filtration membranes.

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Flooded Mines Cause Toxic Sludge in Vietnam

             

The Mong Duong coal mine in Vietnam's Quang Ninh province has flooded, spilling toxic sludge that contaminated land, rivers and coastline  Photo: Luu Quy Doan/Vnexpress

CLICK HERE - SITUATION REPORTS - United Nations - Vietnam

United Nations - irinnews.org - by Vu Duy - August 7, 2015

HANOI, 7 August 2015 (IRIN) - Toxic sludge that spilled out of open pit coal mines during 10 days of heavy rains may have seriously contaminated farmland, rivers and coastal areas in northern Vietnam.

Flooding has killed 30 people, wiped out roads and damaged thousands of homes, the United Nations said in a situation report on Wednesday. The UN also warned of potential risks to the environment, health and water sanitation after coal mines in Quang Ninh province flooded, spilling thick streams of dark sludge into the countryside.

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Are we reaching "Peak Water"?

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WASHINGTON, D.C. Oct. 18, 2011 — According to Dr. Peter Gleick and his colleagues in the newest volume of the most important assessment of global water challenges and solutions, more and more regions of the world, including the United States, may be reaching the point of "peak water." To conserve this critical resource without harming the economy or public health, businesses, communities, governments, and individuals are looking for new techniques to move to sustainable water management.

The World's Water, Vol. 7 offers discussion and analysis for developing those reforms. For more than a decade, this biennial report has provided key data and expert insights into freshwater issues. In the seventh volume in the series, Gleick and his colleagues at the Pacific Institute address such issues as increased conflicts over water resources, "fracking" natural gas contamination, corporate risks and responsibilities around water, and the growing risks of climate change. They specifically explore:

Water - Vietnam facts

By: Sahisna Suwal (Guest Writer)

Located in the Southeastern part of Asia, Vietnam's population totals to over 86 million with an estimated GDP per capita of $3100. Vietnam is the 13th most populous country in the world and almost two-thirds of its people live along the country's three main river basins- Thai Binh, Mekong Delta and Dong Nai.

Fragilecologies: Water Affairs in Vietnam

Exciting things are happening in faraway places. I say that because it is true wherever you live on Planet Earth. What is sparking this statement, however, is my recent trip to Vietnam in order to run a first-ever workshop entitled “Water Affairs”. Perhaps not well-known outside that country, there is a university devoted to the study of various aspects of water, Water Resources University (WRU). It has more than 9,000 students, and it grants degrees from the Bachelor to the PhD level.

China and Mekong Dams

China and the Cascading Geopolitics of Lower Mekong Dams

Much has been written on the downstream impact of China’s dams on the Lancang-Mekong River, which flows through or along the borders of five other countries after exiting China.   Most of the discussion relates to the hydrological impact of impounding water in the eight dams along the mainstream Lancang Jiang in Yunnan Province.  Particular concern surrounds the recently completed Xiaowan Dam and the recently approved construction of the Nuozhadu Dam, each of which is of a scale to impound quantities of water that can affect river hydrology throughout the basin.  The Lancang Cascade, as it is termed, has caused considerable controversy in downstream countries, most notably during the 2008 floods and the 2010 drought.  Both the floods and the droughts were blamed by many in Thailand, and some in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, on China’s actions.  Recent articles on the downstream implications of altered river hydrology and the need for China to be less disingenuous in its public relations over the issue show the confluence of river hydrology and geopolitics in an international river basin such as the Lancang-Mekong.

 

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