Harnessing Solar Power to Harvest Water from the Air Researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University have developed a revolutionary solar-powered atmospheric water harvesting technology that holds immense potential for addressing water scarcity in arid regions. The key to their success lies in a super hygroscopic gel synthesized using plant derivatives and hygroscopic salts. This gel boasts an unparalleled water absorption capacity, with one kilogram of dry gel capable of adsorbing…
Rising Death Toll Sparks Humanitarian Crisis in the Wake of Unprecedented Flooding In the aftermath of relentless floods wreaking havoc in Kenya, the death toll has surged to a staggering 20, with the situation growing increasingly dire. Tragically, on Thursday (Nov. 23), eight individuals lost their lives attempting to traverse the swollen Muuoni River in Makueni County, highlighting the severity of the crisis. The impact of the floods extends beyond…
A surprising number of drifting sea creatures were found living in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Translucent, fragile marine creatures that drift through the sea are riding the motion of the ocean to a destination that’s infamous as a home for trash: the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Ocean surface currents have shaped the enormous garbage pile for decades, funnelling human-made debris into a region that extends for hundreds of thousands…
A tiny Hawaiian island is finally free of invasive rats. Now scientists are trying to coax back lost seabird colonies. Scientists are rebuilding a seabird paradise on Lehua Island, a small, crescent-shaped volcanic cone 35 kilometres west of Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i. Before the arrival of European explorers in the 1800s, the island’s steep headlands teemed with hundreds of thousands of raucous seabirds, including albatrosses, terns, and petrels, whose guano oozed down…
The Albanian government has declared the Vjosa River as the first wild river national park in Europe, following an almost decade-long campaign by environmental NGOs. The Vjosa River is one of the last free-flowing waterways in Europe and is home to over 1,000 animal and plant species, including the critically endangered Balkan lynx and the endangered Egyptian vulture. The river flows 168 miles from the Pindus mountains in Greece through…
The largest river and wetland restoration initiative in history was launched at UN Water Conference A coalition of six countries, namely Colombia, DR Congo, Ecuador, Gabon, Mexico, and Zambia, have launched the Freshwater Challenge, the largest ever initiative to restore degraded rivers, lakes, and wetlands to tackle the world’s worsening water, climate, and natural crises. The coalition aims to restore 300,000km of rivers and 350 million hectares of wetlands by…
