The
Emerald Isle, with its damp climate, extensive greenery and abundant water
supply has truly never experienced a true water shortage, and has many local
thriving fish and wildlife habitats. But
currently, people of the town of Boyle, in County Roscommon in the western part
of Ireland are having to boil their tap water due to the fact that it is
practically toxic to drink. The water
supply has been contaminated by a new bacteria that the town’s out-of-date water
treatment plants cannot purify. The
consequence to drinking the water, “You’re going to be violently sick for 24
hours-it’s as simple as that. It
happened to me twice. But not a third
time” Sean O’Dowd was quoted saying as he and many others were photographed
stalking up on bottled water supplies.
The contamination is caused by a severe downfall in the quality of local
water infrastructures, due mostly to the lack of investment on part of the local
government following the 2010 economic collapse of Ireland. Irish Water, the company chosen to take over
the once locally operated water system plans on spending over 2 billion Euros
or 2.5 billion US dollars to bring the waterworks up to safe standards. This project is going to be supported by
issuing a never before seen water fee for all water usage. Up until now water infrastructure and
management was funded from central and local government taxes, now households
will be responsible for paying for the water that they use in their homes and
businesses, a procedure we have long become accustomed to in the U.S. “We have a big problem in terms of our
infrastructure-it’s not at a state that’s fit to meet the needs of a modern
economy,” says Irish Water’s Elizabeth Arnett.
Wisdom in Water, please...
Trying to articulate water issues, provide discussion fodder, seek other ideas, broaden and educate a bit, and, and... well, solve the world's water problems.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Colorado Basin Disappearing From Below
The Colorado River Basin is one of the most important sources of water for most of the Western United states. It provides water to 40 million Americans and over 4 million acres of farmland in seven western states. Quite alarmingly in the last few years, research has shown that groundwater is vanishing from the basin much quicker than ever expected. In the last 9 years the basin has lost approximately 65 cubic kilometers of fresh water. This quantity is nearly double the size of the nations largest reservoir, Lake Mead. Many were stunned when NASA weather satellites showed such a drastic decline in such a seemingly short period of time. More incredibly almost two thirds of the water lost, was groundwater. The information gap arises because of the fact that surface water residing in the Colorado River Basin is closely regulated and monitored by the US Bureau of Reclamation, while there are no interstate regulations on how the states monitor and measure groundwater levels. With consistent water table information from monitoring wells being readily unavailable, researchers are having a very hard time tracking the declines and identifying what in fact caused the sudden drop. Clearly this supply issue has a potential of impacting most of the western united states, and could be developmentally crippling to their rapidly growing cities.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
California's Desperation
Extreme
drought is an on-going problem throughout different areas of the United States,
including many parts of the Midwest all the way to California. Over the last decade, California has seen a
huge shift from annual crops to nut trees,
such as almonds, pistachios etc. The delicious perennials are extremely
lucrative but vast orchards that have been planted throughout the Central
Valley require decades-long investments, year-round watering and a commitment
from Mother Nature. One farmer explained
his situation, "It's a huge economic loss," said Baker, who looked on
forlornly this past week as workers felled his beloved trees. "That's
probably $10 million in revenue I lost right there, but with the price of water
today, up to $2,500 per acre-foot, there is no way I could have found the water
this year. A lot of guys are going to have to make that decision in the next
couple of weeks." California’s
switch from annual crops to nuts has been highly profitable in the past
bringing the State’s economy $7 billion in sales each year with almonds
producing the highest amount at $4.35 billion.
Today there are more than 800,000 acres of almonds in California
compared with the 418,000 acres in 1995.
Total production also doubled from 912 million pounds in 2006 to 1.88
billion pounds in 2013. California alone
produces 82% of the world’s almonds.
The Drought has also put an enormous
strain on local farmers and ranchers. Pete
Craig who owns a large cattle ranch near Lake Berryessa said that the planting
of almond orchards took thousands of acres of grazing ground and has put stress
on the natural environment. For decades,
ranchers from surrounding states have brought their livestock to California,
taking advantage of the mild winters and lush natural pastures which are prime
conditions for fattening beef cattle.
With such extreme drought and vast water shortages, ranchers in the
Golden State are actually moving their cattle out of the area, loading tens of
thousands of heifers and steers onto trucks and hauling them eastward to
Nevada, Texas, Nebraska and beyond. “If
there’s no water and no feed, you move the cows,” Gaylord Wright, 65, owner of
California Fats and Feeders Inc. “You
move them or they die.”
Friday, February 28, 2014
Water And Energy Progress
The folks of the Sheridan 6 LEMA, were honored this week at the first annual Water and Energy Progress luncheon award ceremony that took place in Topeka on February 28th, 2014. Governor Sam Brownback presented the awards to the recipients and spoke highly of the conservation efforts that had been displayed by these individuals and families. Many thanks to the incredible staff of the Climate and Energy Project as well as all those involved in the Water and Energy Progress Steering Committee. The picture below shows Roch Meir from Hoxie Kansas, receiving an award on behalf of the entire Sheridan 6 LEMA of Sheridan County Kansas. His lovely wife Marilyn was also in attendance for this exciting event. Congratulations to all award recipients and lets keep up the good work, what a privilege it is to work with you!
Thursday, February 6, 2014
They're Setting Up Hubs!
This week the Obama Administration announced that they would be engaging in the creation of "Climate hubs" which will provide information to rural communities that are currently facing extreme weather conditions such as drought and flooding. The hubs will be sponsored through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and will provide scientific information for farmers, ranchers etc to tap into when facing the risks associated with climate change...
"For generations, America's farmers, ranchers and forest landowners have innovated and adapted to challenges," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilasack said. However, he said, rural communities face more complex challenges today because of climate change. "USDA's Climate hubs are part of our board commitment to developing the next generation of climate solutions so that our agricultural leaders have the modern technologies and tools they need to adapt and succeed in the face of changing climate," Vilsack said.
The Hubs will be in Iowa, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon and New Mexico. Additional "sub-hubs" will be set up in various other states, including Michigan and California. I am curious as to the roles that these hubs will play, reports have indicated that they will be working with state and local governments before making their "suggested adaptions." Not sure about this one folks.
"For generations, America's farmers, ranchers and forest landowners have innovated and adapted to challenges," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilasack said. However, he said, rural communities face more complex challenges today because of climate change. "USDA's Climate hubs are part of our board commitment to developing the next generation of climate solutions so that our agricultural leaders have the modern technologies and tools they need to adapt and succeed in the face of changing climate," Vilsack said.
The Hubs will be in Iowa, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon and New Mexico. Additional "sub-hubs" will be set up in various other states, including Michigan and California. I am curious as to the roles that these hubs will play, reports have indicated that they will be working with state and local governments before making their "suggested adaptions." Not sure about this one folks.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
It's Freezing...Even in South Georgia
Polar Vortex: "Is a persistent, large-scale cyclone located near either of a planet's geographical poles. On Earth, the polar vortices are located in the middle and upper troposphere and the stratosphere. They surround the polar highs and lie in the wake of the polar front. These cold-core low-pressure areas strengthen in the winter and weaken in the summer due to their reliance upon the temperature differential between the equator and the poles. They usually span less than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) in which the air is circulating in a counter-clockwise fashion (in the northern hemisphere)."
Much of the United States has been experiencing extremely cold temperatures this past week and it has caused quite an alarming media response. For a nation founded with covered wagons and pioneering survival tactics, we sure have lost our touch through the years when it comes to withstanding the cold. This is an argument I have heard several times over the last few weeks but to be fair, these temperatures have also not been seen in decades if ever in history. In the city of Chicago, a record low temperature of -11 Degrees F had existed until the bone chilling -16 Degrees F hit the metropolis with an added wind chill that took Chicago down to -34 Degrees F. This Polar Vortex has forced even residents in south Georgia to learn what its like to have frozen pipes in their homes and businesses. There also have been several instances where fire emergency systems have frozen over or have been broken due to pipes bursting, causing a security hazard for many large functioning agricultural and industrial facilities. Between the current freeze, and the South Dakota blizzard in 2013, mother nature is sure reminding us how powerful frozen moisture can be.
Much of the United States has been experiencing extremely cold temperatures this past week and it has caused quite an alarming media response. For a nation founded with covered wagons and pioneering survival tactics, we sure have lost our touch through the years when it comes to withstanding the cold. This is an argument I have heard several times over the last few weeks but to be fair, these temperatures have also not been seen in decades if ever in history. In the city of Chicago, a record low temperature of -11 Degrees F had existed until the bone chilling -16 Degrees F hit the metropolis with an added wind chill that took Chicago down to -34 Degrees F. This Polar Vortex has forced even residents in south Georgia to learn what its like to have frozen pipes in their homes and businesses. There also have been several instances where fire emergency systems have frozen over or have been broken due to pipes bursting, causing a security hazard for many large functioning agricultural and industrial facilities. Between the current freeze, and the South Dakota blizzard in 2013, mother nature is sure reminding us how powerful frozen moisture can be.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Water Water Everywhere
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