One of the disconnects between science as it’s practiced and science as it’s understood by the public is “the results of the latest study”. When we report on “the results of the latest study,” the public is likely to be left shouting: “But last week I though they told me coffee was good for me!” …
Continue reading ‘The Colorado River: Dwindling Under Climate Change’ »
Funny is hard, especially when it’s about the fact that we’re all screwed because we’re running out of water. So I’m happy to discover a water blog that is both informative and funny: As we glumly consider our half-empty glass of tap water, which may or may not be contaminated, we decide that we have …
Japanese Garden, Albuquerque botanical gardens Originally uploaded by heinemanfleck. No doubt there’s a rich literature out there about the idea of the “park,” a human-created faux natural setting, so I won’t try to reinvent it here. This is the new Japanese Garden at the city of Albuquerque’s beautiful botanical gardens. It just opened, it’s lovely, …
Continue reading ‘Water in the Desert: Japanese Garden Edition’ »
Drought conditions have been good for Georgia’s pecan crop: The record drought gripping the Southeast isn’t all bad news: It’s meant nearly perfect weather for growing pecans in Georgia. The state is on pace to be the nation’s top pecan producer this year, with shellers predicting more than 125 million pounds harvested, said pecan horticulturist …
On the value of seasonal forecasts: Gensler knows full well about the seasonal forecast. Odds are, the snowpack that provides the district’s water supply will be on the light side this winter. But he also knows there’s no point in worrying about that now. His job in planning for next year’s irrigation season is made …
The folks working on the National Integrated Drought Information System have opened up a nice new web portal in an attempt to start integrating some of the disparate information collected on drought throughout the U.S. government.
The Imperial Valley of southeastern California is a remarkable creation of a modern industrial-hydraulic society. One might argue that the story of the modern western United States begins there. It was ambitious Imperial Valley land speculators shortly after the last turn of the century who, as much as anyone else, drove the development of what …
North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley has asked my friend Dave to take shorter showers: The Governor of North Carolina, Mike Easley, announced on Tuesday he is calling on citizens across North Carolina to cut water consumption by 50 percent between now and Halloween. I guess you could think of this as a big science fair …
Atlanta drought in a New Mexico newspaper: The problems New Mexicans face are different than those of Atlanta. We use groundwater for most of our cities’ drinking water, an option Atlanta does not have. In addition, the arid climate of the West is much more variable than in the South. In response, we have built …
On climate change’s impact on New Mexico: Diminishing water supplies as a result of global warming could cost New Mexico’s economy hundreds of millions of dollars a year over the next century, according to a new study. The study, to be unveiled at a news conference this morning in Albuquerque, found that an already arid …