They've Got a Plan to Fight Global Warming. It Could Alter the Oceans.

As institutions look for ways to fight climate change, the College of the Atlantic has made the search for solutions a central part of its curriculum.

Geography and climate change challenge the viability of sea-level cities in Vietnam, but architects, researchers, and urban planners work together to find creative solutions. One architect in Ho Chi Minh City designed green roofs to absorb the rainwater that causes floods.

For the past three years, water levels in the San Antonio Edwards Aquifer have decreased to uncomfortable levels and drought periods may continue as the population booms. The San Antonio Water System organization has set up rules to limit water use and has recycled water for conservation frugal innovation.

New water management technology implemented along the Columbia has significantly helped the fish population - specifically salmon - return to healthy numbers and has restored much of the community and industry that revolves around the river, including for native peoples.

Salt has become a costly and environmental problem in the twenty first century, with consumers overusing it in cooking and melting city roads during the winter. Salt has risen in price and has infiltrated the waterways, affecting the life in the water and contaminating drinking water. As a greener alternative to salt, Washington State University scientists have learned that the biproducts of vodka can help melt ice and snow.

Population growth, climate change, and droughts are factors that have depleted the world’s freshwater resources. Scientists around the world have experimented with desalination of salt water to increase the supply the drinking water and have achieved positive results. In 2015, more countries and cities in the world look to provide desalination, including California’s $1 billion effort to build a plant for San Diego.

Israel experienced extreme drought a few years ago and its water supply was very low. National campaigns to install desalination plants have helped Israel turnaround its inadequate water supply into a surplus. The water scientists who have helped make this surplus see an opportunity for water diplomacy and the de-politicization of water in the Middle East so that more of it can be shared with other geographies.

Women4Climate is a new alliance of women mayors from major cities who are determined to act against climate change with or without federal support. Instead, they mentor each other in innovative solutions, cross-promote important causes, and share best practices to help stem the negative effects of greenhouse gas emissions, empowering women everywhere to participate.

Nearly a billion people living in the arid regions of the Himalayas depend on glaciers for their water supply. But with climate change, glaciers have been retreating drastically every year, threatening the life source of villagers like those in the Ladakh region of Kashmir. One engineer, Sonam Wangchuck, has come up with an ingenious feat of engineering to help the villages store glacier water by constructing stupas - or towers - using thorn branches that retain ice in tall structures, which melts and provides clean water for drinking and agriculture during the dry season.

The amount of plastic debris in our oceans and water sources - especially nanoplastics that are increasingly prevalent in our food chain - is so enormous it's often beyond comprehension, and immensely difficult to address. As countries continue to industrialize and single-use products become more commonplace, the flow of harmful plastics into the environment seems insurmountable. But a number of clever inventions and dedicated individuals are working to help get plastics out of our water - and more importantly - encourage practices to reduce, reuse, and recycle.