An early warning system.
First, I’ll describe it. Then, I’ll tell you why this adds fuel to my admonitions that many in power love to disregard.
Continue reading Waning? Waxing?
I am noticing more and more of our cities are considering (and some have moved beyond that- to implementing) the use of reused water for drinking purposes. Before you gag, let’s consider what the technical/scientific issues are- not the political ones.
We helped design the water treatment systems for many plants and manufacturers over the years. Not just across the US, but around the world. Producing water that was never to be discharged from the facility yet would still met the needs of the process.
Continue reading Sparrows Point Rebirth?
I’ll bet there isn’t one of you who doesn’t know that I’m a techie. I’ve been devoted to science and technology- and FACTS- since I was a tyke. I knew I’d be a ChemE by the time I was 8 and was just as certain I’d effect major changes to the field of dialysis. I’ve been lucky enough to dabble in water treatment, water reuse, air treatment, microbial conversion of hazardous materials, pharmaceutical development, medical instrumentation, genetic manipulation, food production…. OK. You get the idea.
Continue reading The “R” in R&D is falling short
This blog has been gestating for a long time. Mostly because it will end up being a series of blogs- but the connection between them took a bit of doing. So, I’ve been massaging them to make the connection clearer.
Continue reading Water. Agriculture. Aquaculture. Antibiotic Resistance (1)
Having worked with water resources and reuse for years, I recall with (feigned) affection some of the terms used. In particular, water resources in the US are measured in acre-feet. Oh, I know, that is the amount of water needed to flood an acre of land with a foot of water.
Continue reading Water, part IV
Water. Energy. Food. Lacking any one item makes existence pretty tough. The problem is compounded because all three are related. That’s why it’s called the water-energy-food nexus. A century or two ago, this was less obvious, since they were all locally sourced.
You know how I hate folks who tell me what they think is important and then do the opposite. (You know- Congress saying the issue is Jobs, Jobs, Jobs- and then vote on Obamacare more than 40 times; clients saying their bottom line is important- but don’t have any key performance indicators that can let them know if they are even making a profit…) Or, the World Economic Forum (Davos, Switzerland, 2013) declaring that water risk is one of the four most important issues affecting businesses for this century.
Continue reading Water, Water, NOWHERE!
Many of you know that I have been working with water reuse systems for some four decades now. One of the first projects was the development (and sale) of a home wastewater recycling system. During it’s development, we found that certain high use conditions led to a buildup of ammonia in the returning (clean) wastewater to the toilet. Trust me, there are only so many times you can tell the homeowner that the ammonia smell means their toilet bowl is clean. (If you must know, once was about the limit!)
Continue reading Biofarming- with some great new twists!
