The possible presence of liquid water is certain to revive speculation that Mars is teeming with microbial organisms. The recipe for life, at least as we know it, calls for liquid water, carbon-based molecules and a source for energy.

There is plenty of ice on Mars, but the chemical reactions for life come to a halt when water freezes.

High-resolution photographs taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which arrived at Mars in 2006, show fingerlike streaks up to five yards wide that appear on some steep slopes in the planet’s late spring. These streaks grow and shift through summer, reaching hundreds of yards in length before they fade in winter. One crater had about 1,000 streaks. Read more

Ocean Engineering is a multidisciplinary engineering field aimed at solving engineering problems associated with working in the ocean environment and wisely exploring and harnessing the ocean’s resources.

Ocean engineers design, build, operate and maintain ships, offshore structures and ocean technologies as diverse as aircraft carriers, submarines, sailboats, tankers, tugboats, yachts, oil rigs, underwater robots, and acoustic sonar. Read more

John Reid warns climate change may spark conflict between nations – and says British armed forces must be ready to tackle the violence

Israel, Jordan and Palestine

Five per cent of the world’s population survives on 1 per cent of its water in the Middle East and this contributed to the 1967 Arab -Israeli war. It could fuel further military crises as global warming continues.

Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Jordan rely on the River Jordan but Israel controls it and has cut supplies during times of scarcity. Palestinian consumption is severely restricted by Israel. Read more

The vast blue expanse of Lake Titicaca

At an elevation of 12,500 feet (3,811 m), Titicaca, in the Andes, is the highest navigable lake on Earth. This landlocked body of water is shared by two countries, with Peru claiming its western part, and Bolivia its eastern section.

Women congregate beside their wonderful reed constructions.

As if being the highest lake in the world that’s able to be navigated weren’t enough of a record, Lake Titicaca is also the largest lake in South America, at least by water volume. Though Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo has a larger surface area, it is also connected to the Caribbean Sea via the Gulf of Venezuela and is therefore technically a bay rather than a lake. Read more

Four dollars for a gallon of gas is ridiculous enough, but $4 for a gallon of water could someday became a reality, that is if oil tycoons like T. Boone Pickens and water bottling companies have their way. Privatization of water in which companies control the public’s water sources and free water is a thing of the past appears to be what Pickens and corporations such as Monsanto, Royal Dutch Shell, and Nestle are banking on to increase their vast fortunes.

Companies, brokers and billionaires are buying up groundwater rights and aquifers. Groundwater is necessary for agriculture and more water is needed to meet a growing demand for food. Many countries have already over-pumped their groundwater to feed increasing local populations. Combine this with climate changes and an ever-increasing strain on water resources due to a rapidly growing world population and you have got a future where water is called “blue gold” because of its scarcity and high cost. Read more