Water

There are around 200,000 glaciers in the world and virtually all of them are melting with the rate accelerating. More than half of the world’s population makes use of meltwater from glaciers and snow for drinking, agriculture, and energy. Nearly 2 billion depend on seasonal glacier melt that supplies rivers and aquifers. This is especially true in Asia and in the Andes.

Marmara Lake once spread across 17 square miles in the Turkish province of Manisa. Tourists came from far and wide to boat on its waters, which were the home of nearly 20,000 birds. In 2011, the lake began to dry up. By 2021, the lake had lost 98% of its water, destroying the ecosystem that depended on it.

In November, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that the country “has no choice” but to relocate its capital. Severe ecological strain has made Tehran impossible to sustain. Even as that country’s regime spends billions of dollars on rebuilding its military and nuclear infrastructure as well as supporting terrorist groups in the Middle East, Iran is running out of water.

The air contains water. We call it humidity. Even in the desert, there is water in the air. Scientists have been working on ways to squeeze water out of the air to produce clean drinking water. They have developed a number of sorbent materials that harvest water from the air. The process is called atmospheric water harvesting, or AWH.

Wastewater treatment plants in the U.S. clean trillions of gallons of water each year. Whatever water gets drained down sinks or flushed down toilets goes through these plants to be rendered clean enough to return to the environment.

The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.Einstein theorized that at the center of a black hole, the laws of time and space break down. But quantum theory might allow researchers to further our understanding of the unknown.And an underground water source that feeds rivers in the Pacific Northwest could be much larger than previously thought.

Residents in the Saratoga County town of Malta have overwhelmingly voted for a proposed purchase of Saratoga Water Services.

Head of the Hudson River Park Trust Noreen Doyle offers a too-modest explanation for its popularity: “I think there’s a universal urge that people have to see and connect with water.” Tune in to hear about B&O Railroad Float Transfer Bridge and Pier 26 Tide Deck, amongst other topics.

Abraham Verghese is The New York Times-bestselling author of “Cutting for Stone.” His latest, “The Covenant of Water,” is a stunning epic of love, faith, and medicine, set in Kerala, South India, following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret known as “the condition.”

Sam Waterston, award-winning actor in theater, film and television, has also been Chair of the Board of Oceana since 2001. Oceana is the largest global advocacy organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the world's oceans. He will discuss the state of the world's oceans and various efforts to make them healthier and more abundant when he speaks at the Salisbury Forum in a talk entitled "A Plan of Action to Save Our Oceans and Climate" on Friday, June 2, at the Housatonic Valley Regional High School at 7:30 p.m.