Water White Papers

For Sigma Xi’s Critical Issues in Science series 2008 was the Year of Water. We solicited white papers of 1,000 words or less on related topics, written to persuade to a point of view, outlining a problem and prospective solutions. Suggested topics included water conservation, water and global poverty, water supply safety, the impact of global warming on coastlines and technological advances in water purification, among others. The following white papers were not subjected to peer review, and the views expressed in them are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sigma Xi.

• Give and Take: The Toll on Ecosystems
  Steven. J. Wright, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan; Oscar Parra, Director, EULA Environmental Sciences Center, University of Concepcion; Brian P. Bledsoe, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University

   

• On the Water Consumption for Transportation Fuels
  Carey W. King, PhD, University of Texas at Austin, Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy

   

• Effects of Climate Change on Public Water Suppliers
  Awwa Research Foundation (Changing our name to Water Research Foundation effective January 1, 2009), Kathy Ruckman

   

• Probiotics: Role in Reducing the Environmental Pollution
  Ramesh R. Putheti, PhD; Raphael N. Okigbo, Professor of Mycology/Plant Pathology, Botany Department, Nnamdi Azikiwe University

   

• Falling Water Tables and Groundwater Sustainability in India
  K. J. Tancig, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida; J.W. Jawitz, Soil and Water Science Department, University of Florida

   

• Automatic Meter Reading (AMR)/Advancing Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Opportunities in Water
  Lon W. House, PhD, Water and Energy Consulting

   

• On Water's Origins
  William H. Waller, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tufts University

   

• Global Warming Effects on Clean Water Supply in China
  Jingjie Zhang, Department of Marine Ecology, Danish National Environmental Research Institute/ Baltic NEST Institute, University of Aarhus; Weiping Hu, Nanjing Institute of Geography & Limnology, Chinese academy of Sciences

   

• Macroinvertebrate Bioasseys: How Little Creatures Provide Big Answers
  Katherine Potter, Environmental Scientist, OMI, Inc., Huntsville, Alabama

   

• Urban Stream Syndrome: The Future of Stream Ecosystems in Urban Watersheds
  Maceo C. Martinet, Ph.D., Biology Department, University of New Mexico

   

• Pharmaceuticals in Water
  Martha J.M. Wells, Ph.D., Professor/Environmental Chemistry and Councilor of the American Chemical Society Center for the Management, Utilization, and Protection of Water Resources and Department of Chemistry Tennessee Technological University

   

• Water with a Grain of Salt
  Ahmad M. Salah

   

• Enhancing Soil and Water Resources to Grow More Food in the Future
  Thomas J. Sauer, Research Soil Scientist, National Soil Tilth Laboratory

   

• Our Habits and Concern Over Tap and Bottled Water
  Paulyn Appah and Prabal K Ghosh, Food Development Centre, Manitoba, Canada

   

• Finding Emerging Contaminants in Water
  Cecilia Mazza, PhD, Waters Corporation

   

• Simple, Efficient and Eco-friendly Solutions for Water and Wastewater Treatment
  Rajani Srinivasan, Blackland Research Center, Texas AgriLife Research, Texas A&M University