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1. Produced water, money water, living water: Anthropological perspectives on water and fracking

   https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1272  

   de_Rijke, Kim (March 2018, WIREs Water)

   Advances in hydraulic fracturing (aka “fracking”) technologies and horizontal drilling have enabled the extraction of previously unviable unconventional oil and gas resources. However, as global environmental concerns have become more prominent and unconventional oil and gas developments have moved ever closer to residential centers, public scrutiny of the industry and its methods and impacts of extraction have increased. Water impacts feature prominently among the contemporary societal concerns about fracking. These concerns include the large water requirements of the process itself, as well as concerns about the potential pollution of groundwater and the (underground) environment more broadly. Anthropologists have undertaken qualitative field research on unconventional gas developments in a variety of settings, largely among local communities in regions of extraction. The perspectives employed by anthropologists are commonly drawn from the broader social science literature, including the anthropology of water and natural resources, science and technology studies, studies of social movements, and studies which examine the energy‐society nexus. Based on the shortcomings of the published anthropological accounts, interdisciplinary research collaboration with hydrologists, engineers and economists, as well as a more fulsome engagement with the variety of hopes, fears and dreams of fracking and unconventional gas, is recommended.WIREs Water2018, 5:e1272. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1272 This article is categorized under:Engineering Water > Sustainable Engineering of WaterScience of Water > Water QualityHuman Water > Methods 

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2. Artificial water channels enable fast and selective water permeation through water-wire networks

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-019-0586-8  

   Song, Woochul; Joshi, Himanshu; Chowdhury, Ratul; Najem, Joseph S.; Shen, Yue-xiao; Lang, Chao; Henderson, Codey B.; Tu, Yu-Ming; Farell, Megan; Pitz, Megan E.; et al (January 2020, Nature Nanotechnology)
3. Urban Water Revolution: Sustainable Water Futures for California Cities

   https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001715  

   Luthy, Richard G.; Wolfand, Jordyn M.; Bradshaw, Jonathan L. (July 2020, Journal of Environmental Engineering)
4. Water in, water out: root form influences leaf function.

   Long, R. W. (January 2020, New phytologist)

   null (Ed.)

   One of the tenets of introductory biology courses is learning how the form or structure of any unit determines its function, and that form and function has long been used to understand patterns throughout the natural world (Grew, 1682; Wainwright, 1988; D􏰀ıaz et al., 2016). Form predicts function at the cellular and organ level in plants; for instance, xylem cell diameter and pit pore size are great indicators of stem xylem hydraulic conductance and vulner- ability to embolism (Pittermann & Sperry, 2005). Additionally, both theoretical treatments and experimental evidence indicate that root hydraulic function is coupled to leaf function (Cruiziat et al., 2002; Domec et al., 2009) but few studies have investigated how the anatomy and morphology of the roots may influence leaf function. In this issue of New Phytologist, Zhou et al. (2021; pp. 1481–1491) present results from a long-term precipitation experiment, showing that root form predicted leaf physiology. This study highlights that the form of one organ can have effects on function across the entire organism, providing a unique perspective in the study of form–function relationships. 

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5. Can household water sharing advance water security? An integrative review of water entitlements and entitlement failures

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad9851  

   Beresford, Melissa; Adams, Ellis; Budds, Jessica; Harris, Leila_M; Jepson, Wendy; Marley, Tennille; Nguyen, Chloe; Pearson, Amber; Roque, Anaís_Delilah; Rosinger, Asher_Y; et al (December 2024, Environmental Research Letters)

   Abstract An increasing number of studies find that water sharing—the non-market transfer of privately held water between households—is a ubiquitous informal practice around the world and a primary way that households respond to water insecurity. Yet, a key question about household water sharing remains: is water sharing a viable path that can help advance household water security? Or should water sharing be understood as a symptom of waterinsecurity in wait for more formalized solutions? Here, we address this question by applying Sen’s entitlement framework in an integrative review of empirical scholarship on household water sharing. Our review shows that when interhousehold water sharing is governed by established and well-functioning norms it can serve as a reliable transfer entitlement that bolsters household water security. However, when water sharing occurs outside of established norms (triggered by broader entitlement failures) it is often associated with significant emotional distress that may exacerbate conditions of waterinsecurity. These findings suggest that stable, norm-based water sharing arrangements may offer a viable, adaptive solution to households facing water insecurity. Nevertheless, more scholarship is needed to better understand when and how norm-based water transfer entitlements fail, the capacity of water sharing practices to evolve into lasting normative entitlements, and the impact of interhousehold water sharing on intrahousehold water security. 

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