#water access

[reasonsforhope]

"When a severe water shortage hit the Indian city of Kozhikode in the state of Kerala, a group of engineers turned to science fiction to keep the taps running.

Like everyone else in the city, engineering student Swapnil Shrivastav received a ration of two buckets of water a day collected from India’s arsenal of small water towers.

It was a ‘watershed’ moment for Shrivastav, who according to the BBC had won a student competition four years earlier on the subject of tackling water scarcity, and armed with a hypothetical template from the original Star Wars films, Shrivastav and two partners set to work harvesting water from the humid air.

“One element of inspiration was from Star Wars where there’s an air-to-water device. I thought why don’t we give it a try? It was more of a curiosity project,” he told the BBC.

According to ‘Wookiepedia’ a ‘moisture vaporator’ is a device used on moisture farms to capture water from a dry planet’s atmosphere, like Tatooine, where protagonist Luke Skywalker grew up.

This fictional device functions according to Star Wars lore by coaxing moisture from the air by means of refrigerated condensers, which generate low-energy ionization fields. Captured water is then pumped or gravity-directed into a storage cistern that adjusts its pH levels. Vaporators are capable of collecting 1.5 liters of water per day.

Pictured: Moisture vaporators on the largely abandoned Star Wars film set of Mos Espa, in Tunisia

If science fiction authors could come up with the particulars of such a device, Shrivastav must have felt his had a good chance of succeeding. He and colleagues Govinda Balaji and Venkatesh Raja founded Uravu Labs, a Bangalore-based startup in 2019.

Their initial offering is a machine that converts air to water using a liquid desiccant. Absorbing moisture from the air, sunlight or renewable energy heats the desiccant to around 100°F which releases the captured moisture into a chamber where it’s condensed into drinking water.

The whole process takes 12 hours but can produce a staggering 2,000 liters, or about 500 gallons of drinking-quality water per day. [Note: that IS staggering! That's huge!!] Uravu has since had to adjust course due to the cost of manufacturing and running the machines—it’s just too high for civic use with current materials technology.

“We had to shift to commercial consumption applications as they were ready to pay us and it’s a sustainability driver for them,” Shrivastav explained. This pivot has so far been enough to keep the start-up afloat, and they produce water for 40 different hospitality clients.

Looking ahead, Shrivastav, Raja, and Balaji are planning to investigate whether the desiccant can be made more efficient; can it work at a lower temperature to reduce running costs, or is there another material altogether that might prove more cost-effective?

They’re also looking at running their device attached to data centers in a pilot project that would see them utilize the waste heat coming off the centers to heat the desiccant."

-via Good News Network, May 30, 2024

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Two decades of boil water advisories are over for Hiawatha First Nation after the completion of the first phase of the community’s new water treatment plant and distribution system.

A grand opening was held earlier this week for the new plant and system situation in the First Nation located 30 kilometres south of Peterborough. Chief Laurie Carr says the system is a symbol of change for the community which has long advocated for better long-term solutions for boil-water advisories across Canada.

“We are thrilled to have finally reached the final stages of this first phase of the Hiawatha First Nation Water Systems project,” said Carr.

“The new facility provides one-third of our community with safe and clean drinking water, ending years of boil water advisories for these citizens. This achievement brings us great joy and marks a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to the well-being of our residents.”

The water treatment plant on Hiawatha Line features a centralized treatment unit, officer and garage buildings and a distribution system serving along 42 homes Hiawatha Line, Lakeshore Road and parts of Paudash Street. Approximately 130 homes still need to be hooked up to the new system. [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[caffeinesam]

FFS I THOUGHT IT WAS OVERWHELMING THE MUNICIPAL WATER PUMPS BUT NO THEY'RE DROPPING THE MOTHERFUCKING WATER TABLE AND CAUSING THE MOTHERFUCKING GROUND TO COLLAPSE

[pale-blue-home]

UNICEF, in a partnership with the Government of Japan and the UNDP, is constructing 165 schools for over 33,000 children, half of them girls, across Afghanistan! The schools are complete with adequate and indoor classroom space, safe and hygienic water access, and solar power for light. The inclusion of boundary walls provides a safe haven for education, an especially important factor for girls' attendance in particular.

https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/tents-classrooms-afghanistan

[commiepinkofag]

📷 unicornriot

[fanciedfacts]

DRINKABLE WATER IS A PRECIOUS RESOURCE

According to (UNICEF) estimated that 2 billion people around the world don't have access to drinkable water. But how drinkable is hard to find when earth is 71% of earth is water.

[thepoliticalvulcan]

Did not expect to open the news today and see that Greg Abbot of Texas is now to the right of Immortan Joe from Mad Max Fury Road. Don’t let yourself become addicted to water, Texas.

[euphoric-rambles]

Lead poisoning is real, actually, shouldn't be a hot take in 2024. But I want to hit on this dweeb's other point--this will cost billions and 'infringe on the rights of States and their residents'.

Will it cost a lot of money to replace lead pipes?

Yes, lead replacement is predicted to cost a lot, most likely in the billions. That number sounds huge--and it is, but we spend billions every year on the military. In 2023 alone the US spent $820 billion in support of military spending. Second that $820 billion was in one year, this lead replacement project is projected to be spent over the next 10 years. The estimates are between $15-32 billion from the EPA, again over the next decade to help get water utilities and water infrastructure compliant.

You said compliant! I don't want the government in my drinking water.

Yes, you fucking do. The point of government regulation is to support clean and safe drinking water, as well as reclamation or elimination of your waste water across the country. Without regulation we wouldn't know there's PFAS, lead and copper, or anything else in your water that could make you sick.

That's a lot of water terms so I'm going to go through them below:

Clean water and safe water are not the same. Your water can be clean--aka no visible contaminates, mud, etc., but it may not be safe--as in, have harmful bacteria, particulates (like lead and copper) that can make you very very sick. Lifewater does a great job talking through safe and clean water.

Some very important regulations are the Clean Water Act (CWA), signed 1972, revised a few times, and the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), signed 1974, celebrating its birthday this year.

The CWA regulates what can go into our waste water--meaning when we poop and that goes to a treatment facility, the facility has to make safe for the environment (note safe here doesn't always mean it's drinkable by humans, but the water must have a certain level of pollutants in it).

The SDWA regulates what can be in our drinking water to make it safe and clean. The EPA estimates that about 92% of drinking water is currently compliant. With new regulations with respect to PFAS, lead and copper rules, etc., many facilities will not be compliant and need that 15-30ish billion to help support updating their infrastructure. This infrastructure can include anything--including the pipes or fixtures that lead into your home.

I get it, but that's still a lot of money...I don't want the government to get money.

The government doesn't get a lot of this money, it will be redistributed to the water utilities, engineers, and construction needed at the state level. Obviously some stays with the government to administer grants, facilitate partnerships, stuff like that. For instance, CO was given $32 million in May 2024 to work on lead and copper pipes. The government will keep some money but the rest is going to the sate of CO.

There are water utilities that have infrastructure that are surpassing 100 years of age. According to the Bipartisan Policy Center (this link takes you to a PDF) 9.2 million miles of lead pipes carry water into homes across the US. Engineers will conduct assessments of towns/cities; see EWB's page, to determine what kind of work needs to be done and by whom. Those costs are then directed back to the government so money and labor can be distributed. Again, the US government won't see a lot of this money--it goes to the water utilities.

Aging Infrastructure is the number one problem water's facing right now. See the survey from American Water Works Association (AWWA), a water nonprofit who have been collecting these data for years.

Fine, we have to replace the pipes but who's going to do it?

I think one of the biggest things conservatives seem to miss is--this is a fantastic opportunities for jobs. The US will need an estimated 250k more people to complete this work in the coming decade. That includes people at water utilities, electricians, GIS specialists, engineers, construction firms, and more. We have jobs that aren't even defined yet because the regulations haven't been finalized. But ok, look at that graphic above again, aging workforce is a major concern. As the EPA states: The median age of water employees is 48 years and 30 to 50 percent of these workers will be eligible to retire within the next 5 to 10 years (Dickerson and Butler, 2018). The article cites this massive Brooking's Report as well.

IN SUMMARY:

Replacing pipes and water infrastructure is critical in continuing to provide safe and clean drinking water to everyone in the United States. We know US water has lead, copper, PFAS, manganese, and other particulates that make people sick. It is not a question of should we do it but how it can be accomplished in a safe and timely manner. The aging infrastructure concerns are matched only by concerns about an aging workforce that must be replaced before a large swath of the workforce retires, taking with them critical information on how to run plants, answer constituent questions, etc.

Without new workers building and maintaining our pipes none of us will have clean and safe drinking water. Buttigieg is right; replacing our pipes is a HUGE return on investment.

So to Kobach all I can say is fuck you. Clean and safe water for everyone.

[fandfnews]

Hungarian State Secretary Tristan Azbej outlines Hungary's collaborative approach to African development

[jeyumi]

Starscream’s job interview is going great! Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll get the position.

Starstay AU: 1 2 3 4

[thegreatseason]

Search Trend for the query: Water

Source: Google Trends

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The British Columbia government has filed a class-action lawsuit against manufacturers of so-called “forever chemicals,” involved in what it calls widespread contamination of drinking-water systems.

Attorney General Niki Sharma says the province is the first Canadian jurisdiction to sue makers of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS chemicals.

B.C. has filed similar class-action lawsuits in the past, targeting tobacco manufacturers in 1998 and opioid makers in 2018 to recover health-care costs associated with those substances.

Sharma says in a statement that the province is filing the lawsuit to “ensure that companies that created the problem, and profited from these chemicals, pay their fair share.” [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland, @vague-humanoid

[greentechspot]

Water is a precious resource! Unfortunately, over 2 billion people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water. Let's work together to conserve water, support sustainable water management, and ensure everyone has access to this essential need.

[xxplastic-cubexx]

this comic was brought to you by Summer Sux Dot Org

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #20

May 24-31 2024

The EPA awards $900 million to school districts across the country to replace diesel fueled school buses with cleaner alternatives. The money will go to 530 school districts across nearly every state, DC, tribal community, and US territory. The funds will help replace 3,400 buses with cleaner alternatives, 92% of the new buses will be 100% green electric. This adds to the $3 billion the Biden administration has already spent to replace 8,500 school buses across 1,000 school districts in the last 2 years.

For the first time the federal government released guidelines for Voluntary Carbon Markets. Voluntary Carbon Markets are a system by which companies off set their carbon emissions by funding project to fight climate change like investing in wind or solar power. Critics have changed that companies are using them just for PR and their funding often goes to projects that would happen any ways thus not offsetting emissions. The new guidelines seek to insure integrity in the Carbon Markets and make sure they make a meaningful impact. It also pushes companies to address emissions first and use offsets only as a last resort.

The IRS announced it'll take its direct file program nationwide in 2025. In 2024 140,000 tax payers in 12 states used the direct file pilot program and the IRS now plans to bring it to all Americans next tax season. Right now the program is only for simple W-2 returns with no side income but the IRS has plans to expand it to more complex filings in the future. This is one of the many projects at the IRS being funded through President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act.

The White House announced steps to boost nuclear energy in America. Nuclear power in the single largest green energy source in the country accounting for 19% of America's total energy. Boosting Nuclear energy is a key part of the Biden administration's strategy to reach a carbon free electricity sector by 2035. The administration has invested in bring the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan back on-line, and extending the life of Diablo Canyon in California. In addition the Military will be deploying new small modular nuclear reactors and microreactors to power its installations. The Administration is setting up a task force to help combat the delays and cost overruns that have often derailed new nuclear projects and the Administration is supporting two Gen III+ SMR demonstration projects to highlight the safety and efficiency of the next generation of nuclear power.

The Department of Agriculture announced $824 million in new funding to protect livestock health and combat H5N1. The funding will go toward early detection, vaccine research, and supporting farmers impacted. The USDA is also launching a nation wide Dairy Herd Status Pilot Program, hopefully this program will give us a live look at the health of America's dairy herd and help with early detection. The Biden Administration has reacted quickly and proactively to the early cases of H5N1 to make sure it doesn't spread to the human population and become another pandemic situation.

The White House announced a partnership with 21 states to help supercharge America's aging energy grid. Years of little to no investment in America's Infrastructure has left our energy grid lagging behind the 21st century tech. This partnership aims to squeeze all the energy we can out of our current system while we rush to update and modernize. Last month the administration announced a plan to lay 100,000 miles of new transmission lines over the next five years. The 21 states all with Democratic governors are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The Department of Transportation announced $343 million to update 8 of America's oldest and busiest transportation stations for disability accessibility. These include the MBTA's the Green Line's light-rail B and C branches in Boston,  Cleveland's Blue Line, New Orleans'  St. Charles Streetcar route, and projects in San Francisco and New York City and other locations

The Department of interior announced two projects for water in Western states. $179 million for drought resilience projects in California and Utah and $242 million for expanding water access in California, Colorado and Washington. The projects should help support drinking water for 6.4 million people every year.

HUD announced $150 million for affordable housing for tribal communities. This adds to the over $1 billion dollars for tribal housing announced earlier in the month. Neil Whitegull of the Ho-Chunk Nation said at the announcement "I know a lot of times as Native Americans we've been here and we've seen people that have said, ‘Oh yeah, we'd like to help Indians.’ And they take a picture and they go away. We never see it, But there's been a commitment here, with the increase in funding, grants, and this administration that is bringing their folks out. And there's a real commitment, I think, to Native American tribes that we've never seen before."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged $135 million to help Moldavia. Since the outbreak of Russia's war against neighboring Ukraine the US has given $774 million in aid to tiny Moldavia. Moldavia has long been dependent on Russian energy but thanks to US investment in the countries energy security Moldavia is breaking away from Russia and moving forward with EU membership.

The US and Guatemala launched the "Youth With Purpose” initiative. The initiative will be run through the Central America Service Corps, launched in 2022 by Vice President Harris the CASC is part of the Biden Administration's efforts to improve life in Central America. The Youth With Purpose program will train 25,000 young Guatemalans and connect with with service projects throughout the country.

Bonus: Today, May 31st 2024, is the last day of the Affordable Connectivity Program. The program helped 23 million Americans connect to the internet while saving them $30 to $75 dollars every month. Despite repeated calls from President Biden Republicans in Congress have refused to act to renew the program. The White House has worked with private companies to get them to agree to extend the savings to the end of 2024. The Biden Administration has invested $90 Billion high-speed internet investments. Such as $42.45 billion for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment, $1 billion for the The Middle Mile program laying 12,000 miles of regional fiber networks, and distributed nearly 30,000 connected devices to students and communities, including more than 3,600 through the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program

[fanciedfacts]

Drinkable water is a scarce resource that needs saving