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Water resources
Water resources are sources of water that are useful or potentially useful to humans. It is important because it is needed for life to exist. Many uses of water include agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and environmental activities. Virtually all of these human uses require fresh water. Only 2.5% of water on the Earth is fresh water, and over two thirds of this is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps. Water demand already exceeds supply in many parts of the world, and many more areas are expected to experience this imbalance in the near future. It is estimated that 70% of world-wide water use is for irrigation in agriculture. Climate change will have significant impacts on water resources around the world because of the close connections between the climate and hydrologic cycle. Due to the expanding human population competition for water is growing such that many of the worlds major aquifers are becoming depleted. Many pollutants threaten water supplies, but the most widespread, especially in underdeveloped countries, is the discharge of raw sewage into natural waters.
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Earth & Climate News
June 14, 2026
June 14, 2026 A new catalyst design could significantly improve the conversion of CO2 into methanol, an important fuel and chemical feedstock. Researchers separated key reaction steps across different catalyst sites, avoiding a long-standing trade-off between ...
June 14, 2026 One of the most celebrated claims about Yellowstone’s wolves is facing a major challenge. Scientists say the study behind the famous trophic cascade story relied on flawed methods that overstated the ecological impact of wolf recovery. Their ...
June 12, 2026 Alaska’s glaciers are proving to be highly sensitive to warming temperatures. Using radar satellites to monitor more than 3,000 glaciers, researchers found that every 1°C (1.8°F) increase in average summer temperature extends glacier melting by ...
June 11, 2026 For nearly 700 years, Indigenous hunters repeatedly used a bison kill site in central Montana—then suddenly stopped, even though bison were still abundant. Researchers uncovered evidence that ...
June 11, 2026 Scientists have developed biodegradable protein beads made from dairy and tofu waste that can capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere more efficiently than many current technologies. Unlike conventional systems that require large amounts of ...
June 10, 2026 Researchers propose that tiny mineral nanoparticles may have been the hidden engines that transformed Earth’s early chemistry into the first building blocks of life. By acting as natural catalysts and energy processors, these “nanozymes” could ...
June 9, 2026 A surprising study suggests that chemicals introduced to protect the ozone layer may have unintentionally created a growing global pollution problem. Researchers found that refrigerants and certain anesthetic gases have generated more than 335,000 ...
June 8, 2026 South Australia’s koala population has grown so large that it may be heading toward a self-made disaster, with forests struggling to support the animals. Researchers say targeted fertility control could prevent widespread starvation and habitat ...
June 6, 2026 Scientists warn that free-living amoebae may be an underappreciated public health threat, capable of causing deadly infections and shielding other dangerous microbes from water treatment. Climate change and aging infrastructure could help these ...
June 5, 2026 Researchers have shown that controlled fire whirls can clean up oil spills faster and more cleanly than traditional burning methods. The spinning flames consumed up to 95% of the oil, cut soot emissions by 40%, and could help prevent spills from ...
June 5, 2026 Mangroves are famous for trapping vast amounts of carbon, helping slow climate change. However, a new study suggests rising sea levels could eventually reduce that benefit across entire forests. As flooding becomes too extreme, mangroves may die off ...
June 4, 2026 A giant fan-shaped network of hidden basins has been discovered beneath East Antarctica, revealing that several well-known subglacial features are actually part of one massive geological structure. The finding sheds new light on Antarctica’s ...
Latest Headlines
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June 3, 2026 Researchers discovered a way to reverse the direction of energy flow in turbulence, challenging a theory that has stood for more than 80 years. The finding could open new possibilities for ...
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June 3, 2026 Scientists have confirmed that a mysterious Utah earthquake first detected in 1979 really did occur nearly 90 kilometers underground—far deeper than anyone thought earthquakes could happen beneath ...
June 2, 2026 A massive global analysis found that nitrogen pollution can either speed up or dramatically slow the natural "breathing" of forest soils, depending on the ecosystem's condition. The results reveal ...
June 2, 2026 Scientists are venturing into the Grand Canyon’s hidden cave networks to solve a mystery: how snowmelt travels underground to supply the park’s vital springs. Their discoveries could help protect ...
June 2, 2026 A breakthrough hydrogen-production method could make clean fuel far cheaper and easier to generate. Researchers at the University of Birmingham developed a perovskite-based catalyst that splits water ...
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June 1, 2026 A world-famous conservation program that helped save Sweden’s endangered wolverines is now struggling as funding stagnates and local trust erodes. Researchers say the decline offers a cautionary ...
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