A Japanese study finds a link between lower suicide rates and traces of lithium in the drinking water. While the study's findings are "intriguing", external relations director Sophie Corlett of Mind warns that lithium is toxic, and that further research is needed.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome on May 1, 2009 - 17 comments

An oldie, but apropros for Earth Day. Join Penn & Teller in banning the nefarious Dihydrogen Monoxide!
posted by grapefruitmoon on Apr 22, 2009 - 63 comments

Crestwood is the "best-run town in America" because it's "run like a business".

"Our budget is $2 million dollars a year while a town of similar size, with 12,000 people, might have a budget of $10 million["], said City Director Frank Gassmere. Added Mayor Stranczek: "Folks are happy here and I intend to keep them that way."

In the early 1980s, Roni Horn travelled to Iceland and lived alone for a few months in the (supposedly haunted) lighthouse at Dyrhólaey. While there, she made rocky, earthy drawings. They formed the first volume of a currently incomplete, abstract encyclopedia of the country [flash navigation] which has now progressed to include beautiful photographs of hot pools, glaciers, lava and rivers. A river's surface has appeared in different guises within a university. She has even made a library of water in a little Icelandic town. However, those currently in or near London can visit an exhibition in Tate Modern. [more inside]
posted by paperpete on Apr 4, 2009 - 7 comments

Where does your water come from? Global water supply chart. Global freshwater resources from the UN.
posted by baphomet on Mar 10, 2009 - 43 comments

Portuguese Water Dogs of the world, rejoice! The Obama clan has finally decided on the new breed of dog that will be roaming the halls of the White House soon. [more inside]
posted by Drainage! on Feb 25, 2009 - 58 comments

Where did Venus’s water go? Water may have once been as abundant on Venus as it is on Earth. New data from the Venus Express suggests that the planet's lack of a magnetic field has allowed water in the atmosphere to be stripped apart and carried into space by the solar wind.
posted by homunculus on Dec 29, 2008 - 30 comments

42 Works of Modern Earth and Land Art. 42 Works of Water, Snow and Ice Art. 30 Works of Air, Sky and Wind Art. 42 Works of Fire Art and Design.
posted by homunculus on Dec 28, 2008 - 5 comments

Play Trivia to Help Save Abandoned Animals. Free Rice set the standard for on-line charity games and Free Poverty soon followed by donating water. Now you can play for free kibble to be donated to either Rocket Dog Rescue or The Urban Cat Project.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy on Dec 17, 2008 - 9 comments

Source Of Geysers On Saturn's Moon Enceladus May Be Underground Water. Earlier this year the Cassini spacecraft detected organic material in the geysers of Enceladus. The question now is, how's the fishing?
posted by homunculus on Dec 10, 2008 - 53 comments

The map to "blue gold" may define or avert future wars.
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Nov 12, 2008 - 22 comments

Things look good underwater.
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Oct 20, 2008 - 29 comments

Free Poverty. Kinda like freerice.com but they're giving water to places that need it. [more inside]
posted by Nauip on Oct 17, 2008 - 32 comments

Laura Sanders paints realistic portraits of people swimming with their heads above the water. [more inside]
posted by wittgenstein on Sep 27, 2008 - 47 comments

"Like the dotcom bubble, the disaster bubble is inflating in an ad-hoc and chaotic fashion." Journalist Naomi Klein discusses how corporations and governments are working together more closely than ever, using the mandate of catastrophe — whether natural or man-made — to further concentrate power in fewer hands, with less oversight: from illegal sales of American police technology to China to avert hypothetical tragedies during the Beijing Olympics, to the privatization of water supplies in post-tsunami Sri Lanka.
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Aug 17, 2008 - 50 comments

水の落ちる絵 (Pictures in Falling Water) [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Aug 3, 2008 - 38 comments

"We have water," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, lead scientist for the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA. "We've seen evidence for this water ice before in observations by the Mars Odyssey orbiter and in disappearing chunks observed by Phoenix last month, but this is the first time Martian water has been touched and tasted."
posted by finite on Aug 1, 2008 - 52 comments

In Lester R. Brown's new book Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization (2008, full-text)) - an update to Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble (2006, full-text) - he calls for a war-time mobilization (ch.13) to save global civilization (already showing Early Signs of Decline (ch.6)) from Deteriorating Oil and Food Security (ch.2), Rising Temperatures and Rising Seas (ch.3), Emerging Water Shortages (ch.4), and Natural Systems Under Stress (ch.5)
posted by stbalbach on Jul 2, 2008 - 15 comments

The environmental cost of large-scale pot farming
posted by serazin on Jul 1, 2008 - 63 comments

Our wonderful nature is a hilarious 5-minute animation about the mating rituals of the water shrew. The action starts at around 1:30. Other gems found at the bitfilm 08 Digital Film Festival include "The post-it note prison".
posted by sour cream on Jun 27, 2008 - 12 comments

Beastie Boy Adam Yauch (that's MCA to you) says you got to fight for your right... to make movies? [more inside]
posted by Cochise on Jun 26, 2008 - 15 comments

Last week, Genepax Co demonstrated a car that it says runs on water. Video of the demonstration is here. [more inside]
posted by never used baby shoes on Jun 24, 2008 - 76 comments

If you were doing research in the 60s, You might've heard of Polywater, A form of water that exhibited wide variety of interesting characteristics and existed under identical conditions to that of normal water. Eventually debunked, none the less is a fascinating story. Naturally one draws parallels to Vonnegut's ice nine, but did you know there actually is an ice nine? In fact, there's twelve to sixteen types of ice, depending on your opinion. More recently, computer simulations have indicated water may structure itself into icosahedra, which, incredibly, is the platonic solid (described over 2000 years ago!) representing the element water! And if you don't know what an icosahedron is, I bet you've used one before. One of the most ubiquitous, and arguably most important, substances in our lives, our understanding of water is far from complete.
posted by Large Marge on Apr 29, 2008 - 38 comments

Six Masai warriors will face cultural challenges when they run in the Flora London Marathon to raise money for clean water for their village. Meet the runners (video clip) Think about making a small donation in their time of trouble because when we had problems here in the US, they were most generous to us. [more inside]
posted by madamjujujive on Apr 7, 2008 - 25 comments

Not content to rest on his laurels after creations like the portable kidney dialysis machine, the IBOT robotic wheelchair, the Segway, and the innovative cyborg replacement limbs, DEKA Research President Dean Kamen demonstrates his new vapor compression distiller on The Colbert Report. [more inside]
posted by mullingitover on Mar 21, 2008 - 71 comments

Nyanko The Movie 2. I've been thinking about ordering this, but I'm afraid it'd be my own personal Infinite Jest. It's a movie about cats. [more inside]
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me on Mar 16, 2008 - 18 comments

We're making another effort to find water on the moon. Beginning in 1964 with the Ranger spacecraft, we've been lobbing things at poor old Luna. Lately we've been trying to find water there so that future explorers don't have to haul the stuff up the gravity well from Earth. [more inside]
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit on Feb 27, 2008 - 25 comments

Tennesse and Georgia's war over water There are about five million residents in north Georgia affected by the drought. The phrase "if its brown flush it down, if its yellow let it mellow" has become part of the local jargon in an attempt to encourage water conservation. [more inside]
posted by meeshell on Feb 22, 2008 - 34 comments

Chicago adds a 5-cent-per-bottle tax on bottled water. Will this reduce bottled water consumption?
posted by grouse on Jan 9, 2008 - 90 comments

Thirsty Dragon at the Olympics Dai Qing on China's environmental crisis and the upcoming Beijing Olympics.
posted by Abiezer on Nov 29, 2007 - 6 comments

While God was fooling around with his celestial SimCity control panel, he accidentally built a river right through the middle of a road. [more inside]
posted by brain_drain on Nov 9, 2007 - 47 comments

So you've all heard about how global warming will lead to rising sea-levels, but what about falling freshwater levels? [more inside]
posted by Weebot on Oct 26, 2007 - 43 comments

The only recipe for boiling salted water you'll ever need. Well, the reviews are entertaining, anyway.
posted by dersins on Oct 26, 2007 - 57 comments

In what it calls "the final wake-up call to the international community," a UN report (press release, website, 21 MB PDF) warns that damage to the environment is reaching a "point of no return" and now threatens "humanity's very survival." Oh, c'mon, tell us what you really think.
posted by salvia on Oct 25, 2007 - 118 comments

Kids, get off my lawn!
posted by Soliloquy on Oct 13, 2007 - 60 comments

Record heat. Extreme drought. But the grass must stay green!
posted by neat-o on Oct 3, 2007 - 124 comments

Because water is a basic need for all life and good health, access to enough safe water, or water security, is defined as a human right by international law. [mostly pdfs]
posted by bigmusic on Sep 16, 2007 - 16 comments

"California has a decision to make. We either brace ourselves for long-term [water] cuts that threaten our economy and our very way of way of life, or we invest in a solution to fix the [San Francisco Bay] Delta and expand our water toolbox so we can meet future challenges head-on.” [more inside]
posted by salvia on Sep 16, 2007 - 41 comments

An unscientific, blind taste-test of US$55/btl bottled vs tap water
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Sep 10, 2007 - 62 comments

Here are some ways to shrink your unnatural water- and gas-guzzling lawn and plant something that is beautiful and requires no water usage, no mowing, and is more likely to attract more interesting wildlife. With this much lawn in the U.S., and incessant water shortages, and other water issues and wars in our present and looming in the future, why not go native? Naturally, there are objections, since local ordinances often don't allow for natural prairie lawns, and the neighborhood stick-up-butt committees are quick to remove things they consider eyesores. What is your lawn worth to you?
posted by taursir on Sep 9, 2007 - 64 comments

I was taking a shower and thinking about all of the music videos that include water/liquid in them. It is an overused theme according to this site, and I agree. I have included some painful ones to make my point. But wait, I stumbled upon this and was mildy turned-on in some strange way. God help me. Then my mind moved to a friend of mine who was obsessed with Johnny songs. There are quite a few of those too as you may well imagine... [more inside]
posted by haunted by Leonard Cohen on Sep 6, 2007 - 23 comments

Steve Mann's hydraulophone with sculpture gallery and performance video snippets: [1] [2] [3]
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Aug 27, 2007 - 9 comments

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) published their latest Infrastructure Report Card in 2005. America's infrastructure got a D. The ASCE estimate that it will cost $1.6 trillion over a five-year period to bring the nation's infrastructure to good condition. They also have a Critical Infrastructure blog. [Via Gristmill.]
posted by homunculus on Aug 3, 2007 - 49 comments

You folks out there in MeFi Town been keeping up with the water themed MeFi Music Challenge? There's been some mighty fine uploads for you to check out! But if there was ever a piece of music deserving the water tag, it's this drenching wet masterpiece by Brazil's brilliant, eccentric musical genius Hermeto Pascual, in which Hermeto and his band play bottles full of water, and flutes full of water, and, well, the lake. Música da Lagoa: water music at its very best. And its very wettest. [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Jul 6, 2007 - 8 comments

Fast Company covers the twisted economics and ironies of the bottled water industry. "In Fiji, a state-of-the-art factory spins out more than a million bottles a day of the hippest bottled water on the U.S. market today, while more than half the people in Fiji do not have safe, reliable drinking water."
posted by allterrainbrain on Jul 3, 2007 - 146 comments

"The business is definitely an art, the men are craftsmen..."(YT) NYC's rooftop water tanks are a unique and often overlooked part of the city. Watch as one goes up (its worth the 10 minutes for the money shot at the end): "New York, is water tanks, yes."(YT) "New York, which has thousands of cylindrical wooden rooftop water tanks with conical roofs, couldn't exist without them." Its the only city with its own section under Wiki's water tower page.
posted by allkindsoftime on Jun 22, 2007 - 44 comments

Many Japanese game shows involve water humiliation.
posted by Dave Faris on Jun 20, 2007 - 43 comments

Dachshund in Kiddie Pool. Also see Rusty.
posted by brownpau on Jun 12, 2007 - 72 comments

Conditions for Iraqi children affected by violence and displacement have reached a critical point, according to UNICEF (PDF). One of the worst problems is the lack of clean water: only an estimated 30 per cent have access to safe water that isn't contaminated.
posted by homunculus on May 23, 2007 - 11 comments

Scientists have discovered a planet composed of scorching hot ice. Originally thought to be a gas giant due to its mass, its actually only four times the size of Earth and most likely composed of exotic forms of ice, such as Ice VII and Ice X with s surface temperature of 300° C.
posted by Artw on May 16, 2007 - 30 comments