Infrastructure | Blue Living Ideas

A Future Business Created by Sea Level Rise

Posted on Mar 07, 2010 by Susan Kraemer.

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Here’s a business concept poised for takeoff in centuries to come, with our rising sea levels. The floating island business. The Dutch (wouldn’t you know it!) company Dutch Docklands has come up with the concept of The Floating Beach®.

Now 22nd century tourists needn’t ever worry about their favorite island getaway being underwater. Floating beaches will always stay above sea level. Island nations, already too close to sea levels, that depend on tourism for income, are likely to be the first customers.

Indeed; the Maldives have just signed an agreement with the innovative company to develop several floating islands to replace the islands that are soon to be underwater.

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California Water: Mavericks, Sacramento and Diane Feinstein

Posted on Feb 18, 2010 by Scott James.

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My housemates left before dawn on Saturday morning for the Mavericks Surf Contest, an annual big-wave surfing competition of the coast of Half Moon Bay, California. The waves can reach 50 feet, and because of the variability of weather and water, contest organizers and surfers alike must wait for the perfect storm to appear on the horizon, sometime between November and March, when they will all have less than 24 hours to rush to Half Moon Bay from around the world and catch the biggest waves of the year. It reminded me of the sentiment expressed in Blue Gold that in truth, we don’t manage water, water manages us- and just how little regard California as a state pays to that sentiment.
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Chicago Says Disinfecting City’s Sewage is Eco Un-Friendly

Posted on Feb 17, 2010 by Jerry James Stone.

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Chicago is the only major U.S. city that does not disinfect its sewage. Why? Because it’s bad for the environment.
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We Pay Too Little for Water in California

Posted on Feb 03, 2010 by Susan Kraemer.

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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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Research Recommends Diversified Water Portfolios for Urban Water Planning

Posted on Jan 27, 2010 by Scott James.

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Cities need water. And as they grow, so does their need for water. Unlike most other goods that can be manufactured or shipped in, you can’t make more water. Cities are facing the reality that they have to learn to efficiently use the water they have and prevent waste at all points of the process, and with the growing pressures of rising population and climate change, urban water planning is only becoming more critical. A new study from Penn State says that combining traditional permanent water rights with leases and options is the most effective way forward for cities to secure their water future.
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