Tag: water

Scientists spark major breakthrough with ‘blanket’ that makes rivers drinkable: ‘We are the only ones who have made these structures’

Ohio State University researchers have developed a way to supercharge titanium oxide nanoparticles, creating a light-absorbing blanket that can clean water and generate power.

The process starts with electrospinning — a method of applying electrical force to create small fibers — in order to develop fiber-like strips of titanium dioxide (TiO2). This material is often used in solar cells, gas sensors, and various self-cleaning technologies, as the school reported.

The power generation abilities of TiO2 have previously been limited since the necessary chemical reactions only occur through the use of non-visible UV light.

Following the addition of copper, however, these new nanomat structures are able to absorb enough light energy to break down pollutants in air and water, according to Professor Pelagia-Iren Gouma, the lead author of this study.

“There hasn’t been an easy way to create something like a blanket that you can lay on water and start creating energy,” she said. “But we are the only ones who have made these structures and the only ones to demonstrate that they actually work.”

When it absorbs light, the report explained, TiO2 forms electrons that oxidize water and break down pollutants until they’re benign. The addition of copper was able to supercharge the process and optimize the material’s effectiveness.

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Pakistan Warns Of ‘Act Of War’ After India Cancels Landmark Water Treaty

India is retaliating against Pakistan in major ways as tensions soar in the wake of the Tuesday terrorist attack on Indian-Controlled Kashmir, which killed 26 tourists in the picturesque region.

Not only has India closed its border to Pakistan, declaring that no visas will be given to Pakistanis, but the Indian government has downgraded its diplomatic ties with Islamabad and suspended a crucial water treaty. Pakistani visa holders in India have also been ordered leave the country within 48 hours.

The water issue will could impact hundreds of millions of people on both sides of the border, as the 1960 Indus Water Treaty delineates how water is distributed and used from six rivers that flow through both countries, starting in disputed regions of the Himalayas in the north.

The decision was made in a meeting chaired by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who cut short a trip to Saudi Arabia. All Pakistan military advisers who were previously cooperating with their Indian counterparts have also been given a week to leave.

During the terror attack on the tourist destination in the Baisaran Valley men were separated from women and children by armed militants which had descended on the area. The men, all civilians, were then asked their names before being executed at close range. 

This apparently was to confirm that they were Hindus. India has alleged that this was a Pakistan-backed massacre conducted by Islamic extremists due to the sectarian nature of the attack. Islamabad has long been accused of harboring Islamic terror groups along the disputed Jammu and Kashmir border region.

India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri specifically charged Wednesday press conference that “cross-border linkages of the terrorist act” had been “brought out” – in a clear reference to Pakistan. Authorities have identified that 25 victims were Indian, and one a Nepali citizen. 

Pakistan has firmly rejected it had anything to do with the massacre, instead saying that terrorism in India was “homegrown”. Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said “This is the result of a Hindutva [Hindu nationalist] government exploiting and killing religious minorities, including Christians and Buddhists,” He described to a Pakistan news service this was the result of “homegrown rebels.”

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Trump threatens tariffs and sanctions on Mexico for ‘stealing’ water from Texas farmers

President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs, and possibly sanctions against Mexico, if it continues to rob South Texas farmers of Rio Grande water promised under a decades-old treaty.

In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump proclaimed that Mexico owes Texas 1.3 million acre-feet of water under the 1944 Water Treaty, though Mexico was violating their obligation.

“This is very unfair, and it is hurting South Texas Farmers very badly,” the president wrote. “Last year, the only Sugar Mill in Texas CLOSED, because Mexico has been stealing the water from Texas Farmers. Ted Cruz has been leading the fight to get South Texas the water it is owed, but Sleepy Joe refused to lift a finger to help the Farmers. THAT ENDS NOW!”

Trump continued, saying he will make sure Mexico does not violate treaties with the U.S. and hurt farmers in Texas.

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Trump Says He Sent Troops To “Turn On The Water” In California

President Trump issued an emergency directive to send active duty troops to California to help battle the fires that are still destroying people’s lives.

“The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond,” Trump announced on Truth Social.

“The days of putting a Fake Environmental argument, over the PEOPLE, are OVER,” the President asserted, adding “Enjoy the water, California!!!”

The move comes after Trump signed an executive order Friday titled “Emergency Measures to Provide Water Resources in California and Improve Disaster Response in Certain Areas.”

“For weeks, residents of the Los Angeles area have watched raging fires consume their homes, belongings, beloved pets, and childhood memories. Almost immediately, firefighters were unable to fight the blaze due to dry hydrants, empty reservoirs, and inadequate water infrastructure,” the order reads.

It continues, “Today, at least 28 people have lost their lives and thousands more have lost everything else, with some damage estimates calculating hundreds of billions of dollars in damage.”

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PFAS Found in Sludge Used as Fertilizer Can Contaminate Milk, Eggs and Meat

U.S. regulators on Tuesday added to growing concerns about the long-standing practice of using sewage sludge to fertilize farmland, releasing a report warning that chemicals contaminating the sludge pose heightened human health risks for cancer and other illnesses.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said two types of hazardous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) widely found in sewage sludge, a byproduct of wastewater treatment, can contaminate the milk, eggs and meat that come from farm animals raised on agricultural land where the sludge has been applied.

Those “exposure pathways” are among multiple ways in which people can be at risk, the EPA said.

The agency focused on perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), two well-studied types of PFAS chemicals linked to testicular and kidney cancer as well as liver problems.

The EPA last spring designated PFOS and PFOA as hazardous substances under the so-called Superfund law and announced the first legally enforceable limits for the two chemicals and four other types of PFAS in drinking water.

The EPA said that though the majority of U.S. food crops are not grown with the use of sewage sludge as a soil conditioner or fertilizer, because of the “extreme persistence” of PFOA and PFOS in soils, land where sewage sludge was applied years ago may still be contaminated.

The agency’s draft risk assessment, which was made publicly available on Jan. 14, said that “under certain scenarios and conditions,” land-applying or disposing of sewage sludge containing 1 part per billion or more of PFOA or PFOS “could result in human health risks exceeding the agency’s acceptable thresholds for cancer and noncancer effects.”

The draft assessment models health risks for people who live on or near contaminated sites or who eat primarily food or drinking water from PFAS-contaminated areas.

The report will be available for public comment over a 60-day period and may help the agency determine regulatory actions it might take under the Clean Water Act, said the EPA.

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Democrat Megadonor Couple With Monopoly On Calif. Water Supply Blamed For Exacerbating LA Fires

Amid the deadly fires currently devastating Los Angeles, California, a widely circulated video reveals that a husband and wife known for their significant donations to the Democratic Party have been diverting hundreds of billions of gallons of water annually.

The “More Perfect Union” presentation exposes Lynda and Stewart Resnick for essentially taking over the California water industry decades ago.

According to the nonprofit newsroom, the Resnicks seized control of California’s public water supply via a series of secret meetings back in 1994.

After Golden State taxpayers footed the bill for the Kern Water Bank, the couple eventually gained a 60% ownership of the water resource.

The Resnicks also have a stake in several other major water banks throughout the state.

Now, the power couple sells the state’s water back to the very citizens who have a right to the natural commodity.

Of course, donating massive amounts of money to California Democrat politicians such as Gavin Newsom and Dianne Feinstein ensures their monopoly stays intact.

In addition to funding leftist politicians, the Resnicks donate huge sums to the University of California system in exchange for collegiate departments releasing studies that suggest federal and state taxpayer dollars be used to fund water projects that further benefit the family’s H2O enterprise.

Ana Kasparian, the liberal co-host and producer of The Young Turks, shared the “More Perfect Union” report on 𝕏 and lambasted Democrat officials in L.A. for draining water supplies.

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How years of corruption and mismanagement led to LA running out of water in the middle of the Palisades wildfire

As Los Angeles firefighters faced down the most destructive blaze in the city’s history, they ran out of water.

“The hydrants are down,” a firefighter said over the radio, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Another chipped in: “Water supply just dropped.”

Fire crews were forced to watch as entire blocks of the Pacific Palisades — one of the most scenic and celeb-packed neighborhoods in LA — were incinerated in a matter of hours late Tuesday and early Wednesday.

“There’s no water in the fire hydrants,” Rick Caruso, who owns the Palisades Village mall in the heart of the devastated area, fumed to local media. “The firefighters are there, and there’s nothing they can do — we’ve got neighborhoods burning, homes burning, and businesses burning. … It should never happen.”

The water shortage was the result of years of mismanagement of LA’s water system — including a federal indictment of a leader and high-profile resignations — as well as major operational problems that drained reserves too quickly.

The Pacific Palisades fire, whipped up by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds, destroyed more than 1,000 homes and businesses. By Wednesday night, it had spread to 16,000 acres (25 square miles), bigger than the island of Manhattan in New York — and crews had not managed to contain any of it.

LA residents voiced their outrage over the conditions that allowed the fire — and two other blazes in Los Angeles County — to rage out of control. Five people had died as of Wednesday night, several others were injured and at least 70,000 were told to evacuate their homes across the LA area.

Adding insult, Democratic Mayor Karen Bass was 7,400 miles away in Africa, and months earlier she had approved an $18 million cut to the fire department.

“RESIGN! WHY ARE YOU IN GHANA?!,” one person commented on an X post by Bass’ office giving an update on the wildfires.

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Weaponising Water: Israel Assumes Control Over The Al-Mantara Dam In Syria

Israeli military forces have established fortified positions and developed advanced military infrastructure in various locations within the Quneitra countryside of Syria. Since December 24, these forces have achieved considerable control over the Al-Mantara Dam, a crucial water resource in the region, which could have significant repercussions for both Syria and its neighbouring country, Jordan.

The Al-Mantara Dam is not only a key water supply for Quneitra, but also for its adjacent rural areas, and the Daraa Governorate. Reports from the local population indicate that movement in and out of the occupied territories is severely restricted, with Israeli forces enforcing regulated schedules for civilian access.

This manoeuvre by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bears a striking resemblance to a well-documented strategy previously employed by the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq, where IS utilized water resources to advance its military and political objectives by seizing control of major dams and reservoirs along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers as part of their territorial expansion.

Tobias von Lossow, a doctoral researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, SWP Middle East and Africa Division,  authored a compelling study entitled “Water as Weapon: IS on the Euphrates and Tigris”. In this work, he explores the strategic significance of dams and reservoirs to the Islamic State (IS).

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Newly identified chemical in drinking water is likely in many homes and could be toxic, study finds

About a third of U.S. residents have been receiving tap water containing a previously unidentified chemical byproduct, a new study has found. Some scientists are now concerned — and actively investigating — whether that chemical could be toxic.

The newly identified substance, named “chloronitramide anion,” is produced when water is treated with chloramine, a chemical formed by mixing chlorine and ammonia. Chloramine is often used to kill viruses and bacteria in municipal water treatment systems.

Researchers said the existence of the byproduct was discovered about 40 years ago, but it was only identified now because analysis techniques have improved, which finally enabled scientists to determine the chemical’s structure.

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New Cochrane Review Finds Water Fluoridation Has Minimal Effect on Dental Health

Adding fluoride to drinking water provides very limited dental benefits, especially compared with 50 years ago, according to an updated Cochrane Review published today.

The review follows less than two weeks after a California federal judge ruled water fluoridation poses an “unreasonable risk” of reduced IQ in children and must be regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

It also comes as some U.S. cities and towns have moved to pause or stop fluoridating their water in response to the verdict, signaling that fluoridating water, a long-term and largely unquestioned practice in the U.S., is facing heightened scrutiny.

To determine if water fluoridation leads to reduced rates of tooth decay, researchers from the University of Manchester and other U.K. universities reviewed 157 studies comparing communities that fluoridated their water to those that don’t.

They concluded that contemporary evidence shows community water fluoridation may lead to a very small reduction in cavities in children’s baby teeth over time. Fluoride in water reduced tooth decay only by about one-quarter of one tooth, they found, and even that conclusion was made with “low certainty.”

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