The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express orbiter has uncovered signs that Mars once had a vast network of waterways, including a planet-spanning ocean in its northern hemisphere, and an extensive network of rivers that carved majestic canyons through the ancient Martian landscape. Using its Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurfaceread more
Researchers with the US Army Aberdeen Proving Ground Research Laboratory have stumbled upon an aluminum alloy that, when structured into a nanomaterial powder, efficiently reacts with ordinary water to produce hydrogen gas, that can in turn be burned to produce energy. "The hydrogen that is given off can be used as a fuel in a fuel cell," explains materials engineer and team leader, Scott Grendahl. "What we discovered is a mechanism for a rapid and spontaneous hydrolysis of water."
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A new report released by the Environmental Working Group reveals that over 218 million people across the United States are being exposed to potentially unsafe concentrations of hexavalent chromium in their drinking water, a chemical compound known to be toxic and carcinogenic in even extremely low concentrations. Nation-wide testing by local water utilities was ordered by the EPA between 2013 and 2016, resulting in over three-quarters of the 62,386 samples taken testing positive for the hexavalent chromium contaminant. An interactive map illustrating EWG’s findings can be found here.
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A recent investigation conducted by the Guardian newspaper in the U.K. has found that 33 U.S. cities across 17 states have engaged in water testing practices that have the potential to conceal high levels of lead in drinking water, using similar methods that obscured contamination levels in Flint, Michigan. These methods were employed despite warnings made by regulators and experts, presumably as cost-saving measures. Many of the cities affected are major urban centers, including Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Tampa, just to name a few examples.
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