Sacramento and San Francisco Break Rain-Free Records
Headlines earlier this year announced that Sacramento, California had its first rain-free February in history, and San Francisco had its first dry February in 156 years! Winter is supposed to be the rainy season in California, and yet January was a dry month for these cities, too. Sacramento and San Francisco only received 30% and […]
“Water, water, everywhere, Though not a drop to drink.”*
Hard to believe, but fresh drinking water is a rare commodity…and is becoming ever more scarce. You may ask, “How can this be, when about 71% of the Earth is covered by water?!” An impressive 96.5% of the Earth’s water is held by the oceans and seas, but seawater contains about 3.5% salinity (mostly sodium chloride). […]
Water Stress, Day Zero, and Why Should We Care?
Cape Town: The World’s First Developed City to “Run Out” of Water! Guidelines for water rationing, tweeted by the Western Cape Government, Cape Town, South Africa, February 2, 2018. In 2007, the writing was on the wall: Cape Town, South Africa’s beautiful southern city on the sea, was coming close to “Day Zero”, the day […]
US Cities that May Face “Day Zero”
Every Thursday, the US Drought Monitor releases a map to illustrate areas of drought throughout the country[1]. The problem of drought in the United States is serious enough that it must be monitored weekly. Drought is caused by a lack of precipitation, as well as by warmer temperatures that expedite evaporation. Both are likely worsened […]
Polluted water — how will Texas solve its water quality crisis?
Home to about 29 million people and steadily growing, Texas has some major drinking water quality issues that must be solved. In October 2019, the non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG), in cooperation with independent scientists, published the results of its study comprising about 50,000 local water utilities in all 50 states. For instance, the report […]
Your Body Needs Water to Survive
Did you know that a person is mostly made up of water? About 60% of the average adult’s total weight is pure water (1, 4). Most significantly, the heart is composed of 73% water, and the brain and lungs are more than 80% water (1). And water plays a fundamental role in keeping every part […]