Sept. 17, 2009

'Feast or famine' mentality must go
San Diego residents are conserving so much water that city water utilities may have to raise rates or relax irrigation restrictions in order to make ends meet, according a recent story in the San Diego Union-Tribune. What gives? Some have decided to ease their conservation outreach efforts and relax irrigation rules — an awkward position because the region is still in the grips of a three-year drought.

Let’s hope more communities do the same.

Sept. 11, 2009

Is water a right or a need?
Maude Barlow, author of "Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water," told CNN, “The World Bank says (water) is not a human right, it's a human need — and therefore the private sector can provide this just as well as the public sector. However, we say that ... you can't deny somebody water because they can't pay for it. And we're working right now towards a covenant at the United Nations that would declare water a human right. My country, Canada, and your country, the United States, are both in opposition to this.”

As climates change and water supplies shrink or shift, many will find themselves in need of new sources. Will we be looking for water in a world where water is water a “need,” commoditized like oil and pork bellies, or a right, fairly allocated to all?

Aug. 28, 2009

Water tops climate change as global priority
As the world turns its eyes toward Copenhagen for the United Nations Climate Conference in December and how to engage the public on these massively complex issues of planetary survival, water may be the right hook to use.

According to a new Circle of Blue GlobeScan public opinion survey, WaterViews, we now know that people globally care most about water. Why would water supply surpass climate change as the public’s No.1 concern? Because water users everywhere are seeing less water, rate increases, and more water wars.

It's the perfect storm.

Aug. 13, 2009

Report calls for junking old washing machines
In his SFGate.com blog, Dr. Peter Gleick, president of The Pacific Institute,  reports that his organization has found that replacing old, inefficient washing machines would save more than 100,000 acre-feet per year in California, and at a far lower cost than any new supply option proposed. A 100,000 acre-feet water supply would be a major boost to the state's capacity.

Why, he asks, aren't people replacing older machines faster? Why are people focused on increasing water supplies when there is much more to be done in curbing demand? Is it ignorance? Apathy? Cheap water?

Aug. 4, 2009

Gray water decision is step in right direction
In the good ol' days many people recall their moms and dads hooking up their own gray water systems to water their lawns and shrubs with water from washing machines, sinks and showers. The health department prohibited that practice, but homeowners continued to do it quietly. Now there is a trend in response to today’s need to expand water supplies and adapt to changing climate impacts.

July 13, 2009

Damaging storms in California's future?
A recent study completed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting the return of El Niño, which would decrease hurricane events in the Atlantic and bring potentially damaging floods to California. An NOAA administrator suggests this is a predictive tool that can help resource managers and emergency services providers to better prepare and respond to changing weather conditions.

July 1, 2009

State of the climate — and of climate science
DISCOVER magazine brought together four experts and asked them to discuss the meaning of climate change:

In the list of world challenges, global warming might be at once the most alarming and the most controversial. According to some predictions, climate change caused by human activity could cause mass extinction in the oceans, redraw the planet’s coastlines, and ravage world food supplies. At the same time, a significant portion of the American public questions whether global warming will really cause any major harm; many still doubt that human-driven warming is happening at all. How can we settle the debate? And can we intervene in the process or find ways to adapt to the new conditions? In conjunction with the National Science Foundation and the San Francisco Exploratorium, DISCOVER brought together four experts to discuss the reality and meaning of climate change. In a highly nuanced exchange of ideas, these researchers weighed the various scenarios and laid out a road map for navigating the warmer world to come.