David Zetland calls the cost of desalination the “backstop price” for water. Once the cost of other sources rises sufficiently, coastal residents will just build desal plants because it’s cheaper. While the fungibility is not complete (i.e. we don’t all live on coasts), water trades could allow people who live inland to play too. This …
Continue reading ‘River Beat: Huntington Beach, CA, Poseidon Desal’ »
It’s hard to know how we’re doing to be able to address large scale global energy decarbonization needs when we’re still dealing with problems like this: Rising electricity prices are increasing the use of wood for heating in South Eastern Europe to alarming levels, posing a serious threat to health and the environment, experts warned. …
Given the remarkable role of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in western U.S. water history, it’s at least of symbolic importance that the church is among those who have filed protests against Las Vegas, Nevada’s proposal to build a pipeline to pump water from the Snake Valley to the growing gambling …
The June 1 Colorado Basin forecasts are out, and, as expected, there’s been no miracle. The inflow into Lake Powell looks pretty much exactly like it did a month ago, minus the chance of a miraculous late snow rescue or the flip side chance of some sort of terrible collapse: The blue bar is average, …
Continue reading ‘River Beat: 2010 snow season all over save the melting’ »
I had a hugely lucky moment this morning while I was riding my bike down by the river. The bike trail parallels one of the riverside drains, small canals that flank the Rio Grande through the Albuquerque reach. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted an enormous bird, lunging at something in the …
Continue reading ‘Endangered Species, Endangered Ecosystems’ »
Because of my interest in energy, I follow news about Sasol, the South African company that makes liquid fuels out of coal. Sasol news is a good tracer of what’s going on in the coal-to-liquids field, which is important because of CTL’s role as an economic backstop to petroleum as vehicle fuel. Lots of important …
I like the Climate Prediction Center’s language in formally announcing the end of El Niño in this month’s forecast discussion: El Niño dissipated during May 2010…
From this morning’s newspaper, a visit with John Horning to the railroad bridge at San Marcial (sub/ad req.), one of the choke points that prevents high flows on the Middle Rio Grande through central New Mexico: The railroad bridge, and similar spots where too much water could damage property, prevent the high spring flows that …
Continue reading ‘Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere: the bridge at San Marcial’ »
The surface of Lake Mead is at 1094.30 feet above sea level, the lowest June 1 reading since 1937, when it was first being filled. All I can say is it could be worse. That’s six inches higher than the forecast in the most recent 24-Month Study, the planning document used by the U.S. Bureau …