water

Future contracts for water will appear on the markets for the first time in history. Future contracts are tied to the spot price of water and let investors bet on the price of water as the value of the precious resource goes up and down due to climate change. Water will join gold, oil, and other commodities being traded on Wall Street with contracts financially settled just like any other futures contract. Contracts will each represent 10 acre-feet of water, equal to about 3.26 million gallons. Tim McCourt, CME Group Global Head of Equity Index and Alternative Investment Products, explained why the water futures contracts were being issued: "With nearly two-thirds of the world's population expected to face water shortages by 2025, water scarcity presents a growing risk

When Spanish conquistadors returned from the Amazon following their quest for mythical gold, they spoke of nightmarish conditions – rampant disease, strange poisonous plants, huge man-eating snakes – and a river that boils from below “as if lit by a great fire”. Scientists have long said the story about a boiling river was nothing more than myth, a legend exaggerated to impress the leaders of the Spanish Empire. After all, no amount of geothermal heat could boil even a small section of a river and besides, there are no volcanoes within hundreds of miles from the Amazon basin. That didn’t stop geoscientist Andres Ruzo from searching and finding the impossible. Despite strong discouragement from his senior colleagues, Ruzo sought to explain the inexplicable. After years of searching,

June 10, 1934 Loch Ness Monster photo surfaces Relatively few people know that shortly after the July 22, 1993 George Spicer photograph, the infamous Loch Ness Monster photo that spawned modern-day interest in the legendary creature, another intriguing photo was taken of Nessie which generated quite a buzz when it appeared on the front page of the Glasgow newspaper. The original photo, and the identity of the photographer, has been lost to history. In fact, not even a full-scan of the newspaper’s picture was readily available.  That changed this week when a scan of the newspaper's front page photo appeared online. The photograph was taken on June 10, 1934 in an area of the Loch Ness near Fort Augustus. Its existence has been known about for many years.  A sketch of

Los Angeles authorities said yesterday that body parts have turned up in two separate water treatment plants in L.A. It is believed that the body parts are from the same woman. A woman’s head and upper body were found at a San Gabriel Valley sewage plant (in the 1900 block of Workman Mill Road, east of Los Angeles) while a foot, legs, and pelvis were found 30 miles away at a wastewater plant in the 24500 block of South Figueroa Street in Carson two days earlier. At both locations, the body parts were found in bins that hold debris separated from sewage wastewater. According to USA Today: “County Sheriff's Lt. Mike Rosson said investigators believe the woman's body may have slipped into the county's sewage system, perhaps

Police in southwestern Oklahoma were training with new sonar location equipment at Foss Lake on September 17, 2013 when they discovered two decades-old mud-covered vintage cars containing six skeletons at the bottom of the lake. Oklahoma Highway Patrol officers were training with the new equipment near the tiny town of Foss in Custer County, about 150 miles west of Oklahoma City. The cars were found side by side in about 12 feet of water. The first car found was a blue 1969 Chevrolet Camaro that contained the bodies of three teenagers. The second car found was a 1951 Chevrolet and also contained three bodies, believed to be all men. The 1969 Chevy Camaro, matches the description of a car driven by Jimmy Allen Williams of Sayre,

A crew shooting a fishing show caught what appears to be a strange water creature on video a few days ago.  Shooting in Loch Lough Foyle, Ireland, the crew was taping a segment for Fishing with David Lynch (Lynch can be seen in the video wearing a suit) when a huge creature swam between the fishing boat and the boat that was shooting the video.  According to Lynch: “Was shooting in Lough Foyle when this thing went past us. It was massive. Really don't know what it was. There have been whales in the Lough before so maybe that's what it was but Matthew was closer than we were and says it was no whale. Looks like we have our own Loch Ness Monster?!  We took

From above, Lake Hillier, located on the edge of Recherche Archipelago’s largest island in Australia, looks to be filled with Pepto Bismal.  It’s bubble-gum pink waters are so unusual, airlines report passengers getting up from their seats and crowding around windows to get a peek of the stunningly beautiful natural wonder.  Scientists are unsure why its waters retain their rose pink color but believe it may be from a dye created by the organisms living in the lake – Dunaliella salina and Halobacteria.  Another theory proposes that the pink color might be  attributed to the presence of red halophilic bacteria in the salt crusts.  What they do know is that the bright pink waters are no illusion.  The water retains its pink hue when taken

Early "Nessie" Sightings The earliest report of a monster associated with the vicinity of Loch Ness appears in the Life of St. Columba by Adomnán, written in the 7th century.  According to Adomnán, the Irish monk Saint Columba was staying in the land of the Picts with his companions when he came across the locals burying a man by the River Ness. They explained that the man had been swimming in the river when he was attacked by a "water beast" that had mauled him and dragged him under.  Hearing this, Columba sent his follower Luigne moccu Min to swim across the river.  As expected, the beast came after him, but Columba made the sign of the Cross and commanded: "Go no further. Do not touch