Image via Stanford University

Fresh, clean, drinkable water is an increasingly rare thing on this planet, especially in places that are suffering through catastrophes like floods or must deal with high levels of pollution without the resources to set up water treatment facilities.

Image via National Geographic

What Hurricane Katrina and many other hurricanes have told us is that wetlands are on the coastlines for a reason -- they act as a vital buffer protecting land from storms coming in from offshore.

Image: eutrophication&hypoxia's photostream, Flickr

Natural human optimism leads one to hope that hazardous chemicals wastes discarded by humans are broken down in the natural environment, until they are once again harmless.

Claudia Saunders tests water bubbler. Photo: Marina Neil. Sydney Morning Herald

While no longer breaking news, the endeavours of students and staff at two different Australian schools still merits attention.

Images via Dreamfarm

The return of water fountains across cities has been the buzz lately, with places like London restoring old fountains and New York setting up new ones, though thos

Photos courtesy of Arad Technologies LTD

They say that wars will some day be fought over water. In the meantime, a military-inspired flying "3G Drone" is helping pinpoint water loss in Israel. The "advanced meter intel collection" system was developed by Master Meter, an arm of Arad Technologies LTD, located in Israel.

Image by ILoveMountains.org

We usually give coal the stink eye for the ways it harms the earth's surface when it is extracted, and the way it harms the earth's systems when it is burned. But we also need to hone in on the way coal harms our fresh water supplies.

When I'm a grown up I'm going to donate my fleeces to Finisterre. All photos: Finisterre

As we've noted before, Finisterre is a fiercely independent crew of surfers, out of Cornwall, making highly functional, and award winning, outdoor clothing with a deep ethical and ecological bent.

Of recent note is a). their new Anabatic II rain shell, made of recycled and recyclable polyester, b).

Image via The Official CTBTO Photostream

John Yuzhu You, a scientists at Sydney University, has called upon telecommunications companies to do something extraordinarily helpful -- let scientists use their undersea cables for oceanic climate change research.

Could a simple "tea bag" of carbon and antimacrobial fibers that costs just pennies be the solution for quickly filtered drinking water on the go? Scientists from Stellenbosch University in South Africa hope they've found the solution to drinking water problems in rural African communities.