Image © Balmori Associates
An oasis of greenery is floating on the Gowanus Canal in New York City, purifying the water and brightening the murky waterway.

The Gowanus Canal in New York City is known to be one of the most polluted waterways in the United States. You can imagine everyone's surprise, then, when an oasis of greenery was spotted sprouting on the surface of the river three weeks ago.

Not only is the brackish water's appeal improved with the improbable garden, the stream is being cleansed at the same time.

Called GrowOnUs, the project is an experiment in "floating infrastructure" that utilizes a process called phytoremediation to purify the waterway. Over thirty different kinds of plants act as sponges to clean, desalinate, and mitigate the chemicals affecting the murky canal.

The flora is grown inside the very same metal culvert piping used to carry sewage waste into the waterway, reports GoodNewsNetwork. The "test tubes" are made buoyant by environmentally sustainable construction materials like coconut fibers and bamboo.

For the first time, NASA has confirmed the existence of liquid water on the surface of Mars, according to new research announced Monday. The finding stems from data and analysis by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has verified that dark, seasonal streaks that have appeared on Mars' surface come from briny water flows.

The moment a dry river bed fills with water in a drought stricken district of India has been filmed by an ecstatic local.

Crowds of people scream with delight as water surges downstream in the video posted to Facebook on September 8 by Bmd Fayaz.  Dusty ground is quickly replaced by swirling pools of water, the first time the Kalavapalli River in Anantapur has been full in 20 years according to Mr Fayaz.

The district of Anantapur is regularly drought affected and records on average less than 34 rainy days a year according to the India Meteorological Department.  The dry conditions at Anantapur were so dire in August of this year that villagers had taken to placing traditional drought stones called karavu rallu in a bid to bring rain, the Deccan Chronicle reports.

Mr Range Gowda, an 85-year-old farmer, said the drought stones were moved in a bullock cart to the outskirts of a nearby village to encourage rain to the region.   World News

How does it work?

Based on natural processes, electrons are harvested from the soil and electricity is produced while plants continue to grow! It might sound too good to be true, but it absolutely is not.

As Next Nature shares, the theory behind the Plant-e system is simple. When a plant creates food using photosynthesis, a large portion of the organic matter generated is actually excreted by the roots into the soil. That same organic matter then gets consumed by micro-organisms living in the soil, which release electrons as a byproduct of this consumption. By placing an electrode near the roots, it then becomes easy to harvest this waste energy and turn it into electricity.

In addition, the plants are left unharmed during the entire process. In fact, tests show that the plants will continue to grow normally in the presence of electrodes, providing a constant source of power day and night. Combined with lamps powered by salt water, off-grid locations may have access to sustainable energy sooner than predicted!

At present, a prototype green roof utilizing this technology is already being developed and tested in the Netherlands. If all goes well, the Plant-e team hopes to utilize this system to harvest a significant amount of energy - maybe even enough to power a house. At present, they have been able to use the technology to generate enough energy to power a cell phone - but time will no doubt allow the company to perfect its process.

The amount of renewable energy sources being developed is astonishing; perhaps very soon in the near future technologies like solar and wind power may be merged with a system like this, completely eliminating humanity's dependence on fossil fuels.
Source

Alisa Tang : Reuters : 02 Aug 2015

© www.memsys.eu
Solar driven desalination at Marina Barrage, Singapore

Fifty years ago Singapore had to ration water, and its smelly rivers were devoid of fish and choked with waste from shipbuilding, pig farms and toilets that emptied directly into streams.

But it's a very different story today. The world's most densely populated country now collects rainwater from two-thirds of its land, recycles wastewater and is even developing technology that mimics human kidneys to desalinate seawater.

"In about a lifetime, we have transformed Singapore," said George Madhavan, an engineer who has worked for the national PUB water agency for 30 years and is now communications director. "It's not rocket science - it is more political will ... The key success factor is really government - the leadership to pull different agencies together to come up with a plan ..."

As governments around the world wrestle with water crises from droughts to floods, many are looking to the tiny Asian city-state of Singapore for solutions. In many countries, a flood prevention agency focuses on quickly draining away storm water, while another manages drinking water. In Singapore, PUB "manages the entire water loop", Madhavan told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Its aim is to capture every drop of rain it can and recycle as much used water as possible. "That means that ideally, we don't sell you water. We rent you water. We take it back, we clean it. We're like a laundry service. Then you can multiply your supply of water many, many times," Madhavan said. "The water that you drink today is the same water that dinosaurs drank. We don't create or destroy water. It just goes around. So we are using engineering to shorten the loop."

Read more at: source

Scientists discover near-infrared light turbocharges chemical reactions providing cellular energy
Clare Wilson : New Scientist : 10 Jul 2015

It sounds too good to be true. Shining red light on skin or cells in a dish gives an instant energy boost that could help heal wounds, relieve pain and perhaps help male infertility and other medical conditions.  The curious healing effect has been known for decades - researchers have been investigating its use in eye injuries since 2002 - but why it works has been a mystery. It turns out the explanation could be simple and yet strange: the red light seems to alter the physical properties of water, which turbocharges the chemical reactions that provide a cell's energy.  The revelation has come from work led by Andrei Sommer of the University of Ulm in Germany.

The effect on cells of near-infrared light, which has a wavelength of 670 nanometres, was first reported 40 years ago. The light causes mitochondria, the cell's powerhouses, to produce more ATP, a compound that provides the cell's energy.  Until now, the best explanation was that an important respiration enzyme called cytochrome C is affected by the near-infrared energy, but we now know that it doesn't absorb light at quite the right frequency.

Thinner than water

The work from Sommer's team now points at the water within the cell. Normally the layer of water next to any solid object has high surface tension, making it viscous. "It's like molasses," says Sommer.  His team found that when surface layers of water are illuminated with the red light, it increases the distance between each water molecule, making the liquid become "runnier".

Mitochondria are powered by an enzyme bound into their membranes. It spins like a molecular turbine, and being surrounded by runnier water should make it turn more easily, generating more ATP. Because it is hard to measure water inside a living cell, the team measured the effect of near-infrared light on thin layers of water by examining the friction on a diamond probe as it pushed through water and into a metal block (see picture above).  Illuminating the water cut the force needed to push in the probe by 72 per cent.  

"It's highly significant," says Horst-Dieter Försterling of the Philipp University of Marburg in Germany. "This is the first explanation of how the light might work."

Healing with light

Other research groups are investigating this phenomenon as a way to speed up the healing of skin wounds and to repair burns to the eye. It may also be able to reduce pain and inflammation in tissues underneath the skin. Others are investigating whether red light shone into mice's heads using fibre optics can help with Parkinson's disease.

A better understanding of how red light affects cells should make it easier to expand its medical uses, says Sommer. "If we start from an incorrect model then everything is trial and error."  One of the next applications could be in helping couples undergoing IVF because of problems with male fertility. Some men's sperm do not have enough energy to fertilise an egg in a lab, even though they only have to swim 1 millimetre to reach it, says IVF doctor Friedrich Gagsteiger of the Fertility Centre in Ulm.

Gagsteiger has previously investigated other ways of giving sperm more oomph, such as using caffeine - which does make them swim faster but also seems to be toxic.  Gagsteiger is now starting tests of irradiating sperm with the near-infrared light before fertilisation. "We hope this will increase the chance of the sperm finding the eggs," he says.

Journal reference: Scientific Reports, DOI: 10.1038/srep12029

27th May 2015 : By Carolanne Wright :  Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

Positive footprints

“All we need to live a good life surrounds us. Sun, wind, people, buildings, stones, sea, birds, plants. Cooperation with all these things brings harmony. Opposition brings disaster and chaos.” ~ Bill Mollison, co-developer of permaculture.

Unfortunately, instead of cooperating with nature, we’ve been in conflict since the industrial revolution. Scientists and researchers have been sounding the alarm about our path of ecological disaster for years. While the word “sustainability” generally evokes images of deprivation and damage control, permaculture approaches ecological balance from a stance of leaving a positive footprint, instead of no footprint at all.

The idea is beautifully captured by Inhabit, where individuals and groups who are “walking the permaculture talk” are profiled throughout the documentary. Ben Falk is once such person. Founder of Whole System Design Permaculture Research Farm in Vermont, United States and author of The Resilient Farm and Homestead, Falk has created what many consider a small slice of paradise.

The design of the farm is a far cry from traditional agriculture, the former being a type of strip mining more than anything else. Trees, land, plants and animals work together in permaculture, supporting ultimate well-being for everything and everyone involved. Falk helped the process along by creating swales (marshy depressions between ridges) to collect water and revitalize areas of land that were essentially barren. Before long, plant life began to thrive, creating another habitat and food source for animals and humans alike. By working with the natural design and water flow of the property, along with grazing animals and native plants, Falk was able to build a living ecosystem that not only regenerated the land, but also provides exceptional crop yield compared to conventional farming — without the use of harmful pesticides or toxins.  Granted, many of us are not quite at the point where we can move out to the country and create our very own bucolic oasis. Even so, the advantage of permaculture is that it can be applied to any situation — rural, urban or suburban.

Examples like Eric Toensmeier, co-author of Edible Forest Gardens and manager of Paradise Lot, a 1/10th acre permaculture educational garden in the heart of Massachusetts, demonstrate that suburbia is an excellent place for permaculture. Growing over 70 perennial greens and 40 different kinds of fruit, Toensmeier observed the bare backyard lot for a year before planting the garden in order to gain an understanding of the patterns of sun, wind and shade. The house on the property also utilizes a composting toilet, which provides rich soil for the plants and creates a closed-loop cycle of regeneration.

The documentary highlights the fact that in New York City alone, there are one million buildings with 38,256 acres of rooftops, which are ripe for permaculture development. The possibilities are truly endless.

Another solution to the problem of storm water is to construct a rain garden. A teenager involved in the project describes how an old gas station was turned into a lush landscape, simply by diverting water from roadways during storms and structurally altering the land for the most efficient use of the water. The end result is a thriving garden of trees and plants which had previously been a wasteland.

Permaculture can also be taken out into the forest. Faced with an overabundance of cut wood, one man decided to use decomposition in his favor — by starting a shiitake mushroom farm with the logs. He then introduced ducks and geese into the mix to keep the slugs that eat mushrooms at bay. Again, all the elements work seamlessly in natural harmony to support one another.

Inhabit director Emmett Brennan leaves us with this final thought:  “Humanity is more than ever threatened by its own actions; we hear a lot about the need to minimize footprints and to reduce our impact. But what if our footprints were beneficial? What if we could meet human needs while increasing the health and well-being of our planet? This is the premise behind permaculture – a design process based on the replication of patterns found in nature.  Inhabit is on the growing edge of media and cinema, presenting solutions to issues of food, water, medicine, governance, and more, and providing an impressive introduction to the permaculture worldview. The film illuminates the interdependence of all life and it presents an array of projects and people within this growing movement. “

Inhabit: A Permaculture Perspective ~ Trailer ‘Inhabit provides an intimate look at permaculture peoples and practices ranging from rural, suburban, and urban landscapes.’

http://wakeup-world.com/2015/05/27/groundbreaking-new-documentary-offers-real-solutions-food-security-environmental-troubles/

Amazing Water & Sound Experiment #2 :  brusspup

Ever since I created the first version of this video a year ago I've been wanting to try it again with more water and better lighting / footage. This is a really fun project and when you first see the results, chances are your jaw will drop. The main thing to keep in mind for this project is that you need a camera that shoots 24 fps.

The effect that you are seeing can't be seen with the naked eye. The effect only works through the camera. However, there is a version of the project you can do where the effect would be visible with the naked eye. For that project, you'd have to use a strobe light.

For this project you'll need:

A powered speaker
Water source
Soft rubber hose
Tone generating software
24 fps camera
Tape.

Run the rubber hose down past the speaker so that the hose touches the speaker. Leave about 1 or 2 inches of the hose hanging past the bottom of the speaker. Secure the hose to the speaker with tape or whatever works best for you. The goal is to make sure the hose is touching the actual speaker so that when the speaker produces sound (vibrates) it will vibrate the hose.

Set up your camera and switch it to 24 fps. The higher the shutter speed the better the results. But also keep in the mind that the higher your shutter speed, the more light you need. Run an audio cable from your computer to the speaker. Set your tone generating software to 24hz and hit play.Turn on the water. Now look through the camera and watch the magic begin. If you want the water to look like it's moving backward set the frequency to 23hz. If you want to look like it's moving forward in slow motion set it to 25hz.

Have fun!

Mark Prigg : Daily Mail, UK : Thu, 12 Jun 2014

The presence of liquid water on the surface is what makes our 'blue planet' habitable, and scientists have long been trying to figure out just how much water may be cycling between Earth's surface and interior reservoirs through plate tectonics. They now believe reservoirs 400 miles under the surface hold the key.

* Ingredients for water are bound up in rock deep in the Earth's mantle
* Scientists claim the find may represent the planet's largest water reservoir
* It is believed to cover most of the U.S - 400 miles below the surface
* Researchers will now carry out further tests to discover if the water wraps around the entire planet

The Earth's largest expanse of water isn't on the surface of the planet, but instead is buried deep within its mantle, researchers have found.  They claim the ingredients for water are bound up in deep rocks, and scientists believe the discovery may represent the planet's largest water reservoir.  Deep pockets of magma were found using seismic waves beneath North America, and this magma is said to be a clear sign of water.  So far, researchers claim they only have evidence the water sits beneath the U.S., but they plan to carry out further tests to see if it wraps around the entire planet.

The presence of liquid water on the surface is what makes our 'blue planet' habitable, and scientists have long been trying to figure out just how much water may be cycling between Earth's surface and interior reservoirs through plate tectonics.

Northwestern geophysicist Steve Jacobsen and University of New Mexico seismologist Brandon Schmandt say the findings, to be published June 13 in the journal Science, will aid scientists in understanding how the Earth formed, what its current composition and inner workings are and how much water is trapped in mantle rock. 

'Geological processes on the Earth's surface, such as earthquakes or erupting volcanoes, are an expression of what is going on inside the Earth, out of our sight,' said Jacobsen, a co-author of the paper  'I think we are finally seeing evidence for a whole-Earth water cycle, which may help explain the vast amount of liquid water on the surface of our habitable planet.   'Scientists have been looking for this missing deep water for decades.'

Scientists have long speculated that water is trapped in a rocky layer of the Earth's mantle located between the lower mantle and upper mantle, at depths between 250 miles and 410 miles.  Jacobsen and Schmandt are the first to provide direct evidence that there may be water in this area of the mantle, known as the 'transition zone,' on a regional scale.  The region extends across most of the interior of the United States.

Schmandt and Jacobsen's findings build on a discovery reported in March in the journal Nature in which scientists discovered a piece of the mineral ringwoodite inside a diamond brought up from a depth of 400 miles by a volcano in Brazil.  That tiny piece of ringwoodite - the only sample in existence from within the Earth - contained a surprising amount of water bound in solid form in the mineral.
Source: Science

Read the whole story at : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2656635/Forget-Oceans-researchers-Earths-biggest-water-reservoir-BENEATH-United-States.html
or http://www.sott.net/article/280395-Earths-largest-water-reservoir-is-found-trapped-in-rock-400-miles-under-the-surface