Soft matter
How new technologies are bringing water to the developing world
The introduction of better water management and water technology can change lives in places like Sub Saharan Africa. And it’s not just Sub Saharan Africa where water is a problem. The United Nations estimates that three-quarters of a billion people lack access to clean water and that almost two-point-five billion lack access to adequate sanitation. One solution to the problem may be through innovation and technology. Here’s a look at three that are trying to make a difference. The introduction of better water management and water technology can change lives in places like Sub Saharan Africa. And it’s not just Sub Saharan Africa where water is a problem. The United Nations estimates that three-quarters of a billion people lack access to clean water and that almost two-point-five billion lack access to adequate sanitation. One solution to the problem may be through innovation and technology. Here’s a look at three that are trying to make a difference.
Pipelines and oil trains provide different risks, rewards
The drive to build the Keystone XL pipeline and the deadly oil train wreck in Canada earlier this month have launched a lengthy discussion about how crude oil is moved around in this country. One critic says it should prompt a broad re-think of our use of fossil fuels.
France considers big tax hike on key ingredient in Nutella
France is wild about Nutella, the hazelnut-flavored chocolate sauce that’s perfect at any meal. But to make it requires palm oil, and French legislators have an eye on palm oil with a new tax. It’s just the latest in the fat tax movement by governments around the world.
Cost of getting energy to market rising as resources become more scarce
Getting a barrel of oil out of the ground takes energy. Years ago, you could get 100 barrels of oil out of the ground with just one barrel of oil spent. Now, it’s more like 20 to one, or even five to one. That compares favorably with renewable energy sources — but it all depends on how things are counted.
‘Energy sufficiency’ for the U.S. in reach as American oil companies consider exports
For the first time in years, U.S. energy companies are moving to ship a sizable amount of U.S. crude oil abroad, in this case to Canada. It’s just the latest step on the road to what economist Joe Stanislaw calls American “energy sufficiency.”
New research discovers high levels of caffeine in surprising areas of ocean, rivers
A group of scientists in the Pacific Northwest have been looking into where caffeine accumulates in our national water system. They found it not in areas of high population, but in areas with low population, where septic systems are the primary means of waste disposal.