It’s the peak of gray whale southern migration off the central and southern coast of California. Between 20 to 30 whales an hour are being spotted in Monterey, but gray whales are also being spotted up north in Washington state months ahead of their typical migration schedule. According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, these Washington gray whales may not actually be migrators but “residents”.
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Even in water starved California, water is probably our cheapest monthly bill.
Because public water utilities are regulated, they have to keep prices low. Yet water utilities have costs for water that are rising fast for infrastructure replacement, energy to move it around, regulatory compliance treatment, and population growth. Water is priced artificially low, in comparison with its real value. But should it be?
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Himalayan Glacial Error Leaves Himalayan Water Truth in Doubt
Posted on Feb 02, 2010 by Scott James.
The backlash over the recent revelation that the 2007 IPCC report included an erroneous alarm that the Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2035 has been well-documented. Much of the concern flowed from the fact that the glaciers feed several major rivers in South Asia and Southeast Asia where millions of people live. General opinion now holds that while some glaciers are indeed receding, there is little chance that they will disappear anytime soon- and others are actually advancing. So where does that leave the water situation for the rivers and the people who depend on them? [...continues...]
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Maldives Pledges 100% Emissions Cut by 2020
Posted on Feb 01, 2010 by Scott James.
Before Copenhagen, the Maldives went scuba-diving to hold an underwater cabinet meeting, emphasizing the threat of rising sea levels to their nation. Years ago they pledged to become a carbon-neutral country, utilizing clean energy and offsetting all airline flights to their tourist resorts. And now, as countries around the world send their emissions cuts to the U.N. before the January 31 deadline, the Maldives again underlines the severity of the situation with a dramatic and inspirational move: The Maldives has voluntarily pledged to cut their carbon emissions 100% by 2020. It’s the deepest cut anyone has submitted so far, underlining the threat, the commitment and the strategy of shock, all very real parts of life in the Maldives. [...continues...]
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CalWater Project to Study the Impact of Climate Change on California Water
Posted on Jan 28, 2010 by Scott James.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has called California’s water troubles a “holy water war… north versus south, California versus the feds, rural versus urban….” As divisive as the state’s water issues are, they are just as poorly understood. Population growth, inconsistent weather and the threat of drought are well known factors that make water planning difficult, but California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger told the water committee in late 2009 that all of these could be intensified by climate change. The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) have created CalWater, a project that brings together researchers from University of California, the California Department of Natural Resources, the California Air Resource Board, and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography among others to examine how climate change could affect water resources in California. [...continues...]
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