fresh water Archives - State of the Planet

Five Things the Energy Transition Can’t Do Without

Achieving the energy transition will take money, minerals, land, water, and skilled labor. Will we have enough of each?

by |December 7, 2022

A 1,000 Year Drought is Hitting the West. Could Desalination Be a Solution?

Filtering salt out of water is used in many parts of the world that deal with severe drought, but it can come with its own set of problems.

by |August 26, 2021

As Climate Warms, Plants May Demand More Water, Cutting Supplies for People

New study challenges many climate scientists’ expectations that plants will make much of the world wetter in the future.

by |November 4, 2019

Scientists Map Huge Undersea Fresh-Water Aquifer Off U.S. Northeast

In a new survey of the sub-seafloor off the U.S. Northeast coast, scientists have made a surprising discovery: a gigantic aquifer of relatively fresh water trapped in porous sediments lying below the salty ocean.

by |June 20, 2019

Drought: A Wide-Angle Picture

A new book, the second in a series of primers with the Earth Institute imprint, provides an interdisciplinary overview drought, bringing together many fields including climate science, hydrology and ecology.

by |April 30, 2019
Road Salt Runoff Stains

How Road Salt Harms the Environment

Recent research indicates that salt is accumulating in the environment and poses an emerging threat both to ecosystems and human health.

by |December 11, 2018

Researchers Map High Levels of Drugs in the Hudson River

In a new study, researchers have mapped out a large variety of discarded pharmaceuticals dissolved throughout the Hudson River. They say that in some places, levels may be high enough to potentially affect aquatic life.

by |February 19, 2018

Keeping our Freshwater Fresh: Ecosystem Management Tools

We have been harming our hard-earned water resources; is it too late to clean up our act? With the help of the nine principles of ecology we can work towards effectively and sustainably managing these ecosystems, which will help us preserve the quality of New York’s freshwater resources and maintain our high quality drinking water.

by |February 14, 2014

Have We Crossed the 9 Planetary Boundaries?

“The world needs to awaken itself to the looming catastrophe of global warming,” said Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute, at a recent meeting in Muscat. “We must provide a safe operating space where vested interest and lobby-driven policies will not see the world marching into disaster.”

by |August 5, 2011

Peak Ecological Water

‘Peak ecological water’ is the point at which so much water is being diverted from the environment for human use, that the ecosystem can no longer function normally. It can even get to the point that an ecosystem is irreversibly damaged, and there are estimates that humans already divert almost 50% of all accessible freshwater globally. According to their article, “Since 1900, half of the world’s wetlands have disappeared. The number of freshwater species has decreased by 50% since 1970, faster than the decline of species on land or in the sea. River deltas are increasingly deprived of flows due to upstream diversions, or receive water heavily contaminated with human and industrial wastes.”

by |June 24, 2010