Archive for month: November, 2022

Research finds out whales eat an astounding 96 pounds of microplastics every day. Tesla needs more water to expand its German factory but the government is against it. An ‘accidental power trip’ leads scientists to find a new way of generating hydrogen. Eggs could be the hidden secret to solving the microplastic crisis. D.L. ‘West’ Marrin is this week’s member of the HydroDAO team we are highlighting. Learn about his background and why he has decided to devote his life work to water.

Your weekly Bonus – Glaciers in at least one-third of World Heritage sites to disappear by 2050, including Yosemite.

This week’s quote:

You are the daughter of the sea.
Swimmer, your body is pure as the water.
Everything you do is full of flowers, rich with the earth.

 Your eyes go out toward the water, and the waves rise;
your hands go out to the earth and the seeds swell;
you know the deep essence of water and the earth.

 See your body in infinite turquoise pieces,
they bloom resurrected in your inner water.
This is how you become everything that lives.

 And so at last, you sleep, in the circle of my arms
that push back the shadows so that you can rest-
vegetables, seaweed, herbs: the foam of your dreams.

What’s New with Water?

Blue Whales Eat an Astounding 96 Pounds of Microplastics Every Single Day 

Blue whales consume up to 10 million pieces of microplastic every day.

What is causing the megadroughts in North and South America? 

Periods of extreme drought can be a normal part of global climate, but rising temperatures may now be changing some regional climates for good.

South Africa’s water crisis likely to be worse than its energy crisis

Climate change and resilience advisory services are an increasingly important part of its strategy globally.

A Host of Bizarre Creatures Has Been Found At The Bottom of The Ocean

We are really excited about the prospect of discovering new species, perhaps even new branches of the tree of life, which until now have remained hidden.

What’s New in the Industry?

PFAS RETENTION NANO-MEMBRANES PASS THE FULL-SCALE TEST

KWR Water Research Institute has conducted a full-scale test of direct nanofiltration PFAS retention membranes from NX Filtration.

Tesla’s first European factory needs more water to expand. Drought stands in its way 

Tesla’s contract with the German government estimates that the expanded factory will use 1.4 million cubic meters of water every year.

Interview with Sami Khoreibi and Sebastien Wakim, founders of Wisewell 

Wisewell is an installation-free water purification technology that uses full-spectrum filtration to turn tap water into the highest quality of mineralised water.

Fresh-water scarcity prompts hunt for more from the air and sea

As supplies of fresh water shrink, efforts are under way to extract more from the air and sea. European research projects and companies are at the forefront of this technological challenge.

What’s New in the Science?

‘Accidental power trip’ leads scientists to discover new way of generating hydrogen 

Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) stumbled upon a discovery that could revolutionize how we acquire hydrogen from water.

Eggs found to remove salt and microplastics from seawater 

The scientists used the food substance to create an aerogel, a lightweight and porous material that can be used in many types of applications, including water filtration, energy storage, and sound and thermal insulation.

Yale launches Superfund Center to address drinking water contamination 

Yale launches new Superfund Research Center, to be the first in the country to study 1.4 dioxane — a contaminant linked to cancer and found in drinking water wells throughout Connecticut.

The HydroDAO Team: D.L. ‘West’ Marrin

West is an applied scientist and educator, who assists environmental, entrepreneurial and educational groups with water-related issues. He has authored three books about the science and uniqueness of water, as well as scientific journal articles addressing water pollution/remediation, aquatic chemistry/ecology, resource allocation, and the water-energy- food nexus.

He lectures on the topics of global water quality, local water footprints, sustainable water technologies, hydromimicry, and collaborations among scientists, artists, designers and engineers recognizing, communicating and addressing solutions to our water challenges. His recent work focuses on the application of systems theory, emergence and pattern recognition in perceiving and describing water resource properties and watershed functions.

He is a former Adjunct Professor at San Diego State University and holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in the biological and environmental sciences from the University of California, as well as a Ph.D. in water resources from the University of Arizona. His interest in water is also related to a lifetime of experiential endeavors surfing, SCUBA diving, paddling and exploring natural waters worldwide.

Why Water?

I was born in Southern California and spent much of my early life along the beaches of north San Diego County. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of the ocean and its various sounds, rhythms, flow forms and, eventually, the waves that propelled my surfboard. As my parents were both school teachers, there was never much doubt about my pursuing university degrees—the only question was what I would choose to study. In keeping with my childhood interests, I chose to study the oceans, water, and the natural world. I was especially interested in travel and field research, which led me to both freshwater and seawater in places as diverse as the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Channel Islands of California. While I enjoyed conducting research and interacting with other scientists, I was also drawn to communicating theories and revelations about water and nature through writing and lecturing. As a result, I taught classes in several university programs and co-founded a small firm that specialized in presenting scientific concepts to non-technical audiences.

Just prior to the millennium, I decided to take a break from my conventional work and moved to the remote north shore of the Hawaiian Island of Kauai, where I resided for the better part of a decade. Surfing, swimming and kayaking, as well as hiking along mountain streams and traveling throughout Oceania, were the backdrop for my writing three books and focusing on how our perceptions of water may underlie our largely self-created challenges with water. I believe that many of today’s environmental and water-related crises are a function of how we’ve been taught about the natural world and how the resulting perceptions have been translated into our actions and decisions. Much of my work during the last decade has been offering different views of water, including the ways that scientists interpret datasets, that managers/users evaluate conservation measures, and that innovators develop technologies.

In an effort to introduce the science and mystery of water to a wider cross section of people, I began collaborating with artists, graphic designers and storytellers who provided unique ways of incorporating and presenting water science, as well as providing their own perspectives on water that have influenced my research and understandings. My professional and personal relationships with water have taught me that a genuine appreciation of it cannot be confined to a single or even a few perspectives, experiences, or understandings. Instead, a combination of diverse viewpoints is essential to realizing the countless ways in which water influences health, climate, food, and all of our human institutions. My particular interests have been in water quality, hydromimicry, and the water-energy-food nexus. I rely on and support the research, visions, and inputs of countless others who have shared their diverse knowledge base—however it may have been acquired.

What’s in the Future?

Glaciers in Yosemite and Africa will disappear by 2050, U.N. warns

Glaciers in at least one-third of World Heritage sites possessing them, including Yosemite National Park, will disappear by mid-century even if emissions are curbed.

A wind-powered cargo ship set sail for the first time. RanMarine’s aquatic robot eats 1100lbs of plastic each day. Wave-powered desalination startup Oneka gets ready for Series A financing round. Scientists want to electrically charge clouds to make them rain. Google partners with South Florida Water Management to tackle water programs. Peter Ullrich is this week’s member of the HydroDAO team we are highlighting. Learn about his background and why he has decided to devote his life work to water.

Your weekly Bonus – Alpine’s Alpenglow is the coolest hydrogen-powered concept race car yet!

This week’s quote:

Love is but a song we sing
Fear’s the way we die
You can make the mountains ring
Or make the angels cry
Though the bird is on the wing
And you may not know why

Come on, people now
Smile on your water
Everybody get together
Try to love our water right now

Some may come and some may go
He will surely pass
When the one that left us here
Returns for us at last
We are but a moment’s sunlight
Fading in the grass

If you hear the song I sing
You will understand,
You hold the key to love and fear
All in your trembling hand
Just one key unlocks them both
It’s there at your command

Come on, people now
Smile on your water
Everybody get together
Try to love our water right now

What’s New with Water?

‘Wind Challenger’: World’s first partially wind-powered cargo ship successfully sailed

It is the first coal carrier to be powered by hard sail wind power propulsion technology.

A floating wind platform has been installed in Spain 50 meters into the water

According to a press release acquired by IE on Friday, a floating wind platform has been successfully installed at the PLOCAN test site in the Canary Islands of Spain.

Award-winning — plastic-eating robo-fish is finally here to rid our waters of waste 

“Water pollution, especially plastic pollution, is a huge problem. It’s not just the ocean which suffers but rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds. This makes it a problem without a one-size-fits-all solution,” Eleanor Mackintosh, the contest winner, told New Atlas.

What’s New in the Industry?

This Aquatic Robot Is Making a Meal Out of Marine Waste

RanMarine can collect up to 500 kg of plastic waste and destructive biomass each day, harmoniously clearing up and monitoring our waters.

Oneka staffs up ahead of Series A funding round

Wave-powered desalination specialist Oneka Technologies has appointed sector veteran Shawn Meyer-Steele as its first chief commercial officer, ahead of a Can$35 million (US$25 million) funding round which is set to close early next year.

Google, South Florida Water Management partner to tackle critical water programs 

South Florida Water Management is the largest and oldest water district in Florida, overseeing water resources for more than nine million residents from Orlando to the Florida Keys.

What’s New in the Science?

Scientists electrically charge ‘constipated’ clouds to make them rain 

A new scientific experiment has proven that electrically charging clouds can change the size of the droplets in fog.

Research team develops aqueous rechargeable batteries based on zinc anodes 

Can we survive three minutes without air or three days without water? How about without batteries? Imagine not having a battery for three hours.

Novel waste treatment efficiently converts sewage to biogas 

A new method to treat sewage can efficiently convert leftover sludge to biogas, an advance that could help communities lower their waste treatment costs while helping the environment.

The HydroDAO Team: Peter Ullrich

Peter received his Master of Science in Global Health from Northwestern University in June 2022. The focus of his master’s was Water Sanitation Hygiene (WASH), and much of his research studied the interaction between climate change and the growing numbers of waterborne diseases.

Peter previously worked in research as a clinical research coordinator at Northwestern University where he led teams of doctors, residents, and medical students in dozens of research projects covering topics such as wound healing, medical device effectiveness, and access to surgical care. Peter also recently completed his work at Bridge to Health USA where he supported a project that teaches healthcare workers in Yemen to utilize point of care ultrasound for critical diagnoses.

For many years, Peter was determined to be a medical doctor, but the water and climate crisis has become too important to ignore. Therefore, he is devoting his career to connecting the water industry to accelerate innovative solutions.

Why Water?

“Water has always played a key part of my life. As a native Wisconsinite, I was always near freshwater: I grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan, spent summers on the northern lakes in the state, and went to college nuzzled between Lakes Mendota and Monona at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Life surrounded the water. Very few weeks went by without swimming, rowing, paddle boarding, fishing, skiing, or simply spending time around the water. And from an early age, my parents emphasized the value of water—they informed my siblings and me about the future wars that would be fought over the very water we used on a daily basis.

Water grew even more influential in my life as I spread roots outside of my watery home state. I spent considerable time in the Nordic countries, particularly Finland, where the sauna reigns supreme. My family adopted the healing rituals that accompanied sauna culture—from the steamy heat to the damp birch branch whippings (Look it up, if unfamiliar. It’s an interesting practice). We even started cutting a hole in frozen lakes during the deep, cold winters to plunge following a sauna session—the bravest would submerge in the frozen waters without first sitting in the sauna. Cold winters not only provided the frigid portal into those natural ice baths, they also brought the snow. This icy form of water always gripped my heart. It could fall softly in light flakes or consume the sky in heavy, wet storms. It was the medium for exploring new places on cross country skis or ripping down mountains on thick alpine skis. Over the years, we have seen less snow in hills of my home state and in the mountains of my current state, Colorado. This is one of the most distinct ways I have witnessed a drastic shift in the hydrological cycle our world is experiencing.

Water gradually spilled into my professional life. While pursuing my Master of Science in Global Health at Northwestern University, I developed an attention to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH). An incredible non profit organization name One Shared World provided an avenue to collaborate with passionate young people to advocate for universal access to WASH while promoting its relationship to human health with the pandemic as a distinct example. Through our Water, Santiation, Hygeine, and Pandemic Protection (WASHPAP) campaign, we gathered 250+ youth voices from 40+ countries to create a mock United Nations resolution which we presented to at a summit attended by nearly 1.4 million people. Eventually, part of our resolution was adopted into a legitimate UN resolution, adopted unanimously in December 2021. Ever since, I have committed to being on the forefront of innovative water practices, and I am honored to help direct operations at HydroDAO.

We can all feel water’s revitalizing powers. Whether in the light snowflakes that fall in a winter evening or the comfortable rocking of a rolling ocean wave or the cool sip of water on a searing summer’s afternoon. These pleasant interactions highlight the beauty in water. However, we are often reminded of water’s ultimate power over us. A parched tongue in the blinding sun, a destructive flooding event that contaminates drinking water, or a drought that sparks wildfires across massive stretches of territory. The latter examples are occurring more frequently, and, after experiencing many treasured moments with water throughout my life, I plan to dedicate my efforts to help mitigate disastrous hydrological events. It will take relentless work, but I am optimistic that we can live in a joyful equilibrium.”

What’s in the Future?

These images show the coolest hydrogen-powered concept race car yet 

Alpine’s hydrogen-powered concept vehicle Alpenglow boasts an emission-free ride.

NASA’s Lunar Flashlight will use lasers to search for water ice at the Moon’s poles

NASA’s Lunar Flashlight, the size of a small briefcase, is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida between November 9 and 15 with the Japanese Hakuto-R lander and a UAE’s rover.