Spouting off
If you ever wondered why your mother poured Sunday morning’s bacon grease into an empty can, it’s because mother really knew best: She was trying to prevent a human-made disaster in the sewers. Each year, millions of gallons of grease clog sewers, causing them to overflow and setting off a costly environmental and public health fiasco. But, to Susan Leal and Peter Rogers, grease is just one of many urgent issues facing water resources in the world today. “There is no life without water — biological systems do not function without it,” said Rogers, Gordon McKay Professor of Environmental Engineering in Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. “Currently, there is much more attention given to energy and oil as important resources. But, while there are substitutes for oil and energy — with wind, solar, and biofuels — there is no substitute for water. It is essential for everything from the food we...