The real global water cycle

A new animated film from the Surfrider Foundation highlights the real version of the global water cycle — a little different from the one we all learned in middle school. The film is accessible and very well done, and would make a great teaching aid. It’s about 20 minutes and covers many hydrology basics.  Topics include: Aquifers Salt water intrusion Water policy Desalination Pollution Solutions and...

New USGS model on U.S. contamination by toxic pesticide atrazine

A new numerical model by the US Geological Survey gives near real-time distributions of the hormone disrupting crop pesticide, atrazine, in drinking water throughout the United States. Atrazine has been banned in the European Union and several other countries as a result of research showing it disrupts endocrine and hormone levels in animals and potentially humans, affecting reproductive health and sperm...

A whole latte water

As a surgeon must see the human body in a totally different light than the rest of us, so earth scientists tend to see the planet.  It’s difficult to convey to people the profound interconnectedness of our earth system and the magnitude of its complexity.  Yet, we typically feel a need to do so, much more I imagine than a chemist or physicist feels the need to convey his understanding to those around...