Orange County, California’s Sewage to Drinking Water Treatment Plant Finished

Here in America, we have a water problem – and I’m not just talking about shortages. We waste incredible, mind-boggling amounts of it. There are so many things we can do to use water more wisely, and in parched Santa Ana, California, officials are getting creative in a way that has some residents angry and disgusted. They’re recycling toilet water. Like it or not, people might as well get used to ideas like these – it’s wasting so much water that’s really disgusting.

From The New York Times:

When you flush in Santa Ana, the waste makes its way to the sewage-treatment plant nearby in Fountain Valley, then sluices not to the ocean but to a plant that superfilters the liquid until it is cleaner than rainwater. The “new” water is then pumped 13 miles north and discharged into a small lake, where it percolates into the earth. Local utilities pump water from this aquifer and deliver it to the sinks and showers of 2.3 million customers. It is now drinking water. If you like the idea, you call it indirect potable reuse. If the idea revolts you, you call it toilet to tap.

Recycling sewage into potable water was a no-brainer for Orange County; an ever-rising population meant that a new $200M sewage pipeline would have needed to be built, and they over-pumped their groundwater basin to the point of drawing seawater into their water supply. So, the sewage to water plan works out for a lot of reasons. It sounds gross at first, but the process used to clean the water really is incredibly thorough.

If you think about it, though, why are we flushing so much fresh, clean, potable water in the first place? Greywater systems that at least divert used water from the bathroom sink and/or shower could be used to flush toilets instead. It seems absurd to foul perfectly good drinking water in such a way. The way we use water is so messed up and backwards. Hopefully we’ll do a lot of catching up in the coming decades as people realize how precious a resource it really is.

To read about the full treatment process that transforms the sewage into drinkable water, read the full piece in The New York Times.

Link [The New York Times]
Photo credit: Flickr user Oracio Alvarado

Nearly Waterless Washing Machine Coming in ’09

A ‘nearly waterless’ washing machine developed by Leeds University researchers is set to debut in 2009. And when they say nearly waterless, they mean nearly waterless – as in only 1 cup. On top of that, it needs only a ‘pinch’ of detergent, and the clothes come out almost completely dry, so there’s no need to throw them in the dryer or even mess with clotheslines. It also uses just 2% of the energy of a conventional washing machine.

From Physorg.com:

“We have shown that it can remove all sorts of everyday stains, including coffee and lipstick, while using a tiny fraction of the water used by conventional washing machines,” Burkinshaw said.

When doing a load of wash, users throw their clothes in like a normal washing machine. Then a cartridge in the back of the machine adds plastic chips - about 45 pounds (20 kg) of them - to the load. Next, a cup of water containing the detergent is added. After the water dissolves the dirt, the chips absorb the water, without the need for a rinse or spin cycle. When finished, a grill at the bottom of the machine opens to collect the chips.

We’re just beginning to see what can be achieved when people actually put a lot of effort into sustainable, earth-friendly products and designs. Since washing machines account for a huge chunk of household water use, this could really help us all save lots of water. Green tech FTW!

Link [Physorg.com] + [Xeros]

Taking a Second Job Going #2: Indian Villagers Getting Paid to Not Crap in Local River

Talk about a cush job- the residents of Musiri, India are being paid not to crap in the local river. If they use one of the special designated areas (also know as toilets), they can make up $.14 a month!

That might not sound like a lot, but in Musiri broadband internet only costs a penny a month and a cup of coffee at the local Starbucks goes for ten for a penny.

CNN has it:

The government-backed program serves two purposes: It encourages people to discard age-old practices of urinating and defecating in the open, leading to diseases. And the waste products go into research to test their effectiveness as fertilizers.

“We’re motivating people to know the value of their urine,” said Marathi Subburaman, who came up with the novel idea. “The urine that is collected goes into fields for paddy crops, and of course the feces becomes good compost in a matter of months.”

Aid groups estimate that more than 330 million people in India do not have access to proper sanitation facilities. And in the case of Musiri, many residents relieve themselves on river banks, leading to infectious diseases such as diarrhea.

And while both governmental and non-governmental agencies have taken on projects to build toilets in rural areas, they also have had to undertake campaigns to encourage people to use them.

On top of the extra cash, villagers get a bit of a free health check- if they visit the WC more than three or four times a day they are told to go visit the doctor.

Check out the photo, that toilet empties directly into the water below. It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “dropping the kids off at the pool”.

Eww….

Link [CNN] via [Adventures in Capitalism]

Lake Chad 1/20th its Former Size

Lake Chad is virtually vanishing at an alarming rate – a consequence of mismanagement of freshwater that experts warn could lead to a major worldwide water crisis. Lake Chad was once the third-largest body of fresh water in Africa, and 40 years ago had a surface area equivalent to Lake Eerie. An intense long-standing drought in combination with tremendous demand from nearby villages has reduced it drastically.

From Circle of Blue:

The shrinking lake has had a substantial impact on the local populations, as entire communities have switched from a fishing-lifestyle to one of farming and agriculture. Local communities that once ringed the shores of the lake are now isolated villages — miles from water — and these populations have literally begun farming the now-dry lake bottom. Much like the drying of Uzbekistan’s Aral Sea, the impacts are far-reaching and complex.

Jonathon Foley and Michael Coe of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, found that while the drought has caused significant declines in water levels, human factors are mostly to blame for the present levels.

“There are enough people in the world now that we need to start planning and looking at fresh water as a finite resource or we’re going to be in trouble. We don’t get any more.”

Expecting to still have plenty of fresh water available despite the double-whammy of population increase and climate change is dangerous and potentially catastrophic. With examples like Lake Chad showing us the reality of a potential water crisis, it’s time to start approaching our water resources in a different way.

Link [Circle of Blue]

Young British Adventurer to Sail the Mississippi on Juice Carton Boat

Is it just me, or are there a lot of people deemed ‘British adventurers’ in the press? I rarely hear the term ‘American adventurer’, ‘Italian adventurer’ or, you know, ‘Kazakhstani adventurer’. Rhys Jones, a 22-year-old ‘British adventurer’ is set to sail the Mississippi River on a boat made of juice cartons. Jones is already known as being the youngest person ever to climb the world’s highest seven summits.

From Gizmodo:

Actually, the idea was conceived by his father after he received a book about origami. Naturally, his first thought was to build a 12-foot raft with a wooden cabin and a paper hull lined with juice cartons and sail 3,700 miles down one of the most treacherous rivers in the world.

As mentioned, the father and son team plan to set sail this weekend on what will undoubtedly be a 3-4 month trip down the river. In the end, Rhys and his father hope to recycle the boat and raise awareness about conserving the Earth’s natural resources. So remember kids, not recycling is bad, but risking your life for no apparent reason is still a-ok.

I want to go on an adventure with a British adventurer. Preferably, this one. So, David, if you need a crewmate, you know how to reach me.

Link [Gizmodo]
Photo credit: Metro.co.uk

Climatologist Renews Call to Act on Global Warming

20 years ago, climatologist James E. Hansen addressed the Senate with a dire warning about global warming: it was time to act. The climate was already changing, and the heat-trapping blanket of carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere was accumulating fast.

Since then, little real action has been taken; if anything, things have gotten much worse. We’ve continued to release huge amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere as we stubbornly cling to an era of fossil fuels and free-flowing pollution. Now, Hansen says, it’s almost getting to be too late: we’re approaching the red line, and soon there will be no going back.

From The New York Times:

“If we don’t begin to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the next several years, and really on a very different course, then we are in trouble,” Dr. Hansen said Friday at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, which he has directed since 1981. “Then the ice sheets are in trouble. Many species on the planet are in trouble.”

Dr. Hansen said the natural skepticism and debates embedded in the scientific process had distracted the public from the confidence experts have in a future with centuries of changing climate patterns and higher sea levels under rising carbon dioxide concentrations. The confusion has been amplified by industries that extract or rely on fossil fuels, he said, and this has given cover to politicians who rely on contributions from such industries.

Dr. Hansen said the United States must begin a sustained effort to exploit new energy sources and phase out unfettered burning of finite fossil fuels, starting with a moratorium on the construction of coal-burning power plants if they lack systems for capturing and burying carbon dioxide. Such systems exist but have not been tested at anywhere near the scale required to blunt emissions. Ultimately he is seeking a worldwide end to emissions from coal burning by 2030.

Since the time to act was decades ago, it makes it all the more urgent to make swift, far-reaching, dramatic changes to the way we live in order to preserve the planet – and the species that live upon it.

This makes me want to shake global warming skeptics. We’ve seen enough of them drop by EarthFirst and leave comments to the effect of, ‘it’s too expensive to change’, ‘I don’t want to give up my lifestyle’ or ‘I just don’t believe that global warming is caused by humans’. Are you really that selfish and naïve? Do you really believe that you’re so entitled to your current lifestyle of driving an SUV, living in a needlessly large house, profiting off of oil industry stock and whatever else it is that’s so precious to you, you refuse to give it up? What about your grandchildren – what kind of a world are they going to live in? You’re leaving behind a legacy of death and destruction because you’re set in your selfish ways.

Here’s the thing: deny that global warming is caused by humans all you want, or even that global warming isn’t real, as unbelievably stupid as that is. What it comes down to is our way of life is putting a huge strain on our planet. We’re using up precious resources at an alarming pace, removing mountaintops to get to coal, spewing pollution into the atmosphere, killing millions of species, dumping trash in the oceans, creating mountains upon mountains of toxic refuse. We’re poisoning our bodies, our soil, our air, our water, the animals around us – everything that we depend upon to survive. These actions will have consequences, whether you want to face it or not. It’s time to move forward into the 21st century, and take responsibility.

Link [The New York Times]
Photo credit: Flickr user ximenatapia

Giant Dead Zone in Gulf of Mexico to Grow Larger After Midwest Floods

Everything is fine, pay no attention to the GIANT DEAD ZONE in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. At least, that’s the stance the government seems to be taking. The EPA has released a ‘plan of action’ to tackle the problem, but no funds have been allocated to the inevitably very expensive project and a tangle of federal agencies involved in the plan ensures that they’ll all just be running around bumping into each other like dumbasses while nothing gets done.

The dead zone in the Gulf has been caused by chemical-laden runoff from farms in the Midwest, which flows down the Mississippi and pours millions of tons of nitrogen, phosphorous and other fertilizer into the Gulf of Mexico. What results is a ‘hypoxic event’, where the fertilizers cause algae to bloom out of control and suck all of the oxygen out of the surrounding waters, causing the water to become barren, killing sea life in the area.

The dead zone is getting ever-larger and recent flooding in the Midwest promises that it will be much worse this year. While this should be a major priority for the government, TIME Magazine reports,

A 2007 report by the National Research Council called for more aggressive leadership by the EPA to coordinate and oversee state activities along the Mississippi, but the agency doesn’t seem ready or able to seize that role. The plan itself reports that “resources are insufficient to gain the goals” of the task force. “We seem to be going in the opposite direction,” says Donald Scavia, a professor of natural resources and the environment at the University of Michigan. “We don’t seem committed to fixing the problem.”

Not that it’s an easy one to fix. Most of the nutrient pollution that ends up in the Gulf comes from the hundreds of thousands of farms in the Midwest. The only sure way to shrink the dead zone is to reduce the amount of fertilizer running off those farms. But thanks in part to the push for corn-based ethanol and the skyrocketing price of food crops, U.S. farmers are planting more acres for corn than they have since World War II — including 15 million more acres last year than in 2006. Although there are measures farmers can take to limit fertilizer runoff, those changes are expensive, and there’s little federal funding to support such conservation. The just-released action plan relies mostly on voluntary activities. “We need Congress to act as if this is going to get done,” says Doug Daigle, a member of the task force. “The state governments will contribute, but this has to be initiated by the Federal Government.”

The dead zone in the gulf is one of 150 in the world. Clearly, we as a nation need to change our agricultural policies, which have allowed this problem to occur in the first place. Hopefully, experts will find some way to alleviate the problem before it wipes out all life in the beautiful Gulf of Mexico.

Link [TIME Magazine]
Photo credit: Flickr user blmurch

New ‘Waterfalls’ Art Installation in NYC Gets Green Spin

A new art installation unveiled today will give the New York metropolitan area four waterfalls, located at Pier 25, at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge in Dumbo, between Piers 4 and 5 and on the north shore of Governors Island. The waterfalls will range from 90 to 120ft, with two of them being roughly as high as the Statue of Liberty from head to toe and three-quarters of the height of Niagara Falls. The installation, by Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, will be up until October 13th. The materials used to create the waterfalls will be reused in construction projects, and pains were taken to avoid disturbing aquatic life.

From The New York Times:

All told, the scaffolding used for “Waterfalls” measures 64,000 square feet and weighs 270 tons; the materials will be re-used in future construction projects after the work closes on Oct. 13. The waterfalls will be turned on every day from June 26 to Oct. 13, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and will be lighted after sunset. More details are available at the project’s official Web site.

Meanwhile, Mayor Bloomberg used his weekly radio address on Sunday to drum up excitement about the project. The mayor said, in part:

“The project promises to make a big splash in our local economy by attracting thousands of sightseers to town, who will then spend money in our restaurants, hotels and stores. And that money will go straight into the pockets of hard-working New Yorkers. In addition, the project’s design takes steps to protect fish and other aquatic life, which means that for the more than three months they’re up, the Waterfalls will have little impact on the environment.

It isn’t noted in the story, but we’re assuming that the water will be pumped up from the river and used for the falls. Check them out this summer if you live in the NYC area or plan to visit; Governors Island is open to the public all summer.

Link [The New York Times]

New Zealand’s Green Party Gets Punked

People, this is why you need to do research before you start jumping up and down hollering about dangerous chemicals. New Zealand’s Green Party got a little ahead of themselves when MP Sue Kedgeley received an email detailing all of the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide and spoke out against its use, saying she was ‘absolutely supportive’ of a ban on the chemical solution – otherwise known as water. This has one of New Zealand’s other political parties, the National Party, doing a merry little dance in their haste to point out how ignorant the Green Party’s response was.

From The Scoop:

“The Greens’ support for a ban on dihydrogen monoxide shows just how scientifically illiterate the party is. They would ban anything if it has a slightly scientific name, regardless of the fact that all life would cease without water,” Dr Smith said.

The email on dihydrogen monoxide points out it is a colourless, odourless, tasteless chemical used in all sorts of dangerous industries and that in gaseous form it causes thousands of burns; in liquid form millions of deaths from overdose (drowning), and in its solid state causes tissue damage.

Here’s an important thing we all need to know about the world: everything in and on it is made up of chemical compounds. Scary sounding chemicals are often extremely innocuous. It’s important for environmental activists especially to avoid making assumptions about chemicals and figure out what they are before getting worked up about their use. Scientific literacy, as Dr. Smith of the National Party rightly points out, is very important.

That said, we think this story is hilarious. We love seeing greenies get punked – it keeps us all on our toes.

Link [The Scoop]
Photo credit: Flickr user CTD 2005

The Citarum - Dirtiest River in the World?

What happens when nine million people throw their trash in a river, and corporations use it to dump hazardous waste? It becomes like the Citarum in West Java, Indonesia – choked with plastic, loaded with chemicals and human waste. A generation ago, the Citarum River was a peaceful waterway where wildlife enjoyed the clean, fresh water and villagers caught fish and made a living off the rice paddies.

The villagers can’t make money off of fishing anymore, so they’ve turned to picking through the trash that floats on the surface to find items that can be sold or traded. Rapid industrialization in the ‘80s is what led to this: more than 500 factories line the banks of the 200-mile river, many of them leaking textile treatment chemicals into the water. The trash that floats on top is the result of the lack of a trash pickup service in the area. All of the houses, factories, and other buildings along the river pour human waste into it for lack of anyplace else to put it.

Many people who live in the area still collect the water to drink, cook with and wash their clothes – they don’t have much choice, as it’s the only nearby source of water.

It’s unknown whether the Citarum really is the most polluted river in the world, since no study has ever been done to conclude such a thing. There are many other rivers that are also incredibly polluted, and many of them are located in Asia. Part of the problem is that wealthy countries like America pay poor Asian countries to take huge barges of our trash to dispose of. Electronics make up the bulk of it, and as today’s equipment becomes obsolete and we purchase tomorrow’s to replace it. Many of the world’s rivers may see fates similar to that of the Citarum River if we don’t begin a major overhaul of our sanitation systems, and help other countries with their waste management as much as we can.

Link [Environmental Graffiti] + [The Daily Mail]

Celine Dion’s Florida Mansion Used 6.5 Million Gallons of Water in Two Years

Celine Dion, despite being known for singing an incredibly annoying ubiquitous song for the blockbuster film that made Leonardo DiCaprio a household name, apparently hasn’t learned much from the actor. The Palm Beach Post checked out the Canadian diva’s water usage at her Jupiter, Florida home and what they found is astonishing. Over the past two years, 6.5 million gallons of water were used at the home. And that’s just one home of many she owns.

ABC News has it:

That’s nearly 18,000 gallons of water a day, about 100 times more than the 170-gallons-per-day the average resident uses every day, according to the Florida-based U.S. Water Institute. Dion’s annual water usage could fill more than 10 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

For the past few years, according to Graham, Florida, along with much of the southeast United States, has experienced a water shortage due to increased population and record-low rainfall. In addition to causing a spike in water prices, the drought has created a tug of water in the northern part of Florida with neighboring Georgia, over water from Georgia’s Lake Lanier.

“If we want to protect our ecosystem, we’re certainly going to have to be more careful,” Graham said. “Definitely, anything like 6 million gallons per year is way out there.”

When you think about it, it’s not all that surprising. She looks like the effing cryptkeeper. Maybe all of that water is necessary to keep her skin from collapsing in on itself. That, and the blood of 666 virgins. Seriously, this woman is the spawn of the devil. How else can you explain the fact that she’s so popular despite a tremulous voice that makes me want to hide under my bed when I hear it?

Link [ABC News]
Photo credit: Columbia Records

Yum, Sewage: LA Aims to Add Wastewater to Drinking Water Supply

Los Angeles is one of many cities facing water shortages, and it’s bound to only get worse over the next decade as the city’s population grows ever larger. Enter Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa’s solution: recycling ‘heavily cleansed’ sewage water into drinking water.

From The New York Times:

Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, who opposed such a plan a decade ago over safety concerns, announced the proposal on Thursday as part of a package of initiatives to put the city, the nation’s second largest, on a stricter water budget. The other plans include increasing fines for watering lawns during restricted times, tapping into and cleaning more groundwater, and encouraging businesses and residents to use more efficient sprinklers and plumbing fixtures.

The move comes as California braces for the possibility of the most severe water shortages in decades.

Snowfall in the Sierra Nevada, which supplies about a third of Los Angeles’s water, is short of expectations. At the same time, the Western drought has lowered supplies in reservoirs, while legal rulings to protect endangered species will curtail water deliveries from Northern California.

Before you wrinkle your nose and decide it’s absolutely disgusting, consider this: not only will the water be purer than tap water, it won’t be introduced directly to taps: it would be injected into the ground and gradually filter down to aquifers, making it much cleaner. The only problem is that the chemicals that are set to be used to cleanse the water haven’t been independently tested for safety, so hopefully that will happen before action is actually taken on the plan.

Props to LA for dealing with the problem now instead of waiting until they’re in the midst of a severe crisis, like our federal government likes to do.

Link [New York Times]
Photo credit: Flickr user Elsie esq.

Oy Vey! South Florida May be Lost to Global Warming

When news came out about polar bears’ melting habitats, Florida water managers sat up and listened. It’s always been known that melting ice caps could raise the sea level in the state, but officials are finally concerned enough to take real action. Despite a governing board full of Bush supporters (and some global warming deniers), board members decided to review the situation and come up with a plan.

From the Sun-Sentinel:

The South Florida Water Management District’s long-term plans once anticipated the sea level rising about 1 foot by 2100, but more recent projections say the rise could be five times as much.

That could move the southern tip of Florida’s mainland to the Tamiami Trail and submerge swaths of some of the most populated areas along the southeast coast.

From flooding to more saltwater seeping in and fouling drinking water supplies, climate change is an issue that needs more attention, said Jayantha Obeysekera, who will lead the district’s global warming review.

“We cannot put up walls and stop the sea level,” Obeysekera said. “Let’s start looking at it [and] see what our vulnerabilities are.”

This situation, though in all seriousness very worrisome, brings to mind some pretty comical images for me since I grew up in the area. Picture the scene in Boca Raton, where tacky nouveau riche retiree-chic reigns supreme: women in gold blazers and ostrich-feather hats swearing in Yiddish, up to their knees in water, standing on the rooftops of their vomit-pink houses holding their Shih Tzus above their heads. Classic. Of course, the change wouldn’t happen that quickly (hopefully) but it’s fun to imagine.

Link [Sun-Sentinel]
Photo credit: DoggieBowties.com

Awesome! Rainwater Harvesting Vertical Garden

Now here is a really cool and smart bit of green designing! Ontario College of Art and Design student Michael Tampilic created this rainwater harvesting vertical terrace, which has been entered into the Rocket 2008 Industrial Graduation Show and Competition. The way it works is pretty brilliant: it connects with your gutter downspout and stores water in a tank, which waters the greenery you plant in the planter boxes. Cotton wicks transport the stored water to the plants.

From Rocket 2008:

Vert is a rain terrace: a rainwater harvester and vertical garden. This project establishes sustainable water practices through the harvesting of rain, and brings the advantages of a living wall to the backyard through vertical gardening. Vert alleviates a homes reliance on public utility systems while beautifying unused vertical space.

How cool would it be to have one of these to grow food in? Talk about a smart use of space and water! Vertical gardening is definitely a smart idea for urban areas, and with this cool design, you can harvest your own herbs and veggies even if you live in a tiny apartment, as long as you have just a bit of outdoor space and a gutter downspout available. Plus, it’s pretty. We likey.

You can read more about how it works at the Rocket 2008 website.

Link [AzSustainably] + [Rocket 2008]

There’s Rocket Fuel in Our Water, and the EPA Says “Too Bad for You!”

In a world where we’re increasingly exposed to dangerous chemicals on a daily basis, thank goodness we have the EPA to protect us. After all, as their website states, their main goal is to protect human health and the environment. So when the EPA says that they’re not too concerned about a known toxic component of rocket fuel that harms fetuses and causes thyroid dysfunction being present in our water, I guess that means we’re in the clear, right?

Envirowonk has it:

However, they may issue a bulletin telling you that it might harm your unborn children, just so you know. At least it works out OK for the poor, impoverished Department of Defense, who’d have to fund the cleanup.

The EPA’s assistant administrator for water, Benjamin Grumbles, said he knew that perchlorate was toxic, but questioned whether regulation of drinking water was feasible or effective. He cited a Food and Drug Administration study released in January that found 81 percent of perchlorate intake by infants comes from baby foods and dairy foods, and that 74 percent of the 285 distinct foods tested contained the chemical.

Grumbles’ point that drinking water isn’t the only source of perchlorate intake is well-taken, but we’d rebut that by noting that the study he cited only dealt with infants, not adults, who are more likely to drink significant amounts of tapwater. Also, given the EPA’s jurisdiction over water pollution in all forms, not just drinking water, the fact that it’s present in food doesn’t seem to be a barrier to regulating its presence in surface and groundwater used for irrigation and livestock watering too.

Oh, I see. A bulletin warning us is enough to protect us. Plus, if it’s already in baby food and dairy, then why not just give up? We’re screwed either way, right?

Thank you, EPA. Thank you for doing your job – the job that millions of Americans take for granted that you do thoroughly and correctly. I mean, it’s only our lives on the line. And, the lives of our children. When my baby comes out looking like Sloth, I know who to call.

Link [Envirowonk]
Photo credit: Warner Bros

“Blue Gold”: T. Boone Pickens and the Privatization of Water

Imagine a future where water is more valuable than gold – where corporations have control over the public’s water sources, and everyone has to pay a premium for access. It’s a scary thought for most of us, but for T. Boone Pickens, it’s a dream he’s banking on.

When Pickens, a billionaire oil tycoon, purchased eight miles of bare scrubland in the Texas panhandle recently, some people were confused: there’s no oil in them there flatlands. What he’s interested in, though, isn’t black gold, it’s blue gold: water, contained within the Ogallala Aquifer partially located under the ranch. His plan was to build a pipeline from the aquifer to larger cities, selling the water as a commodity that, at least in his mind, would undoubtedly be in demand during times of drought.

While it seems like there should be some kind of law against doing such a thing, the groundwater laws in Texas and many other states make it easy to get away with. When the laws were put into place, water was so abundant and readily available that no one ever considered the idea that people might try to buy and sell it in this way. So when it was time to vote on allowing the creation of Pickens’ water district, the only people required to vote on it were the people who live on the land: Pickens, his wife and three employees.

From Bloomberg News:

Pickens “has pulled a shenanigan,” said Phillip Smith, a rancher who serves on a local water-conservation board. “He’s obtained the right of eminent domain like he was a big city. It’s supposed to be for the public good, not a private company.”

Pickens and his allies say no shenanigans are involved. Once the district is created, the board will be able to issue tax-exempt bonds to finance construction of Pickens’s planned 328-mile, $2.2 billion pipeline to transport water from the panhandle across the prairie to the suburbs of Dallas and San Antonio.

Pickens was recently in the news for spending big bucks on wind farms. His move toward investing in alternative energy doesn’t mean he’s an environmental activist, though: he’s in it for the money. While there’s nothing wrong with businesses making profits off products, policies and practices that are beneficial to the environment, Pickens’ past and present ventures make it clear he’s no friend to the earth. In fact, he’s admitted that he’s taking advantage of public fears about climate change, and he’s obviously not too concerned about the environmental impact of draining the Ogallala Aquifer.

Amidst current awareness about global warming, he feels confident that he’ll soon be making big money off the business of selling water. Population growth, prolonged droughts and the production of certain biofuels continues to put a tremendous strain on water resources, and Pickens doesn’t see why he shouldn’t pad his bank account as a result.

The Ogallala runs through an area of America that’s already threatened. Annual withdrawal from this aquifer is already outpacing the recharge rate by 300%. The amount of groundwater in the aquifer has been steadily declining in recent years. The government also faces a hurdle that billionaires with access to oil might be able to jump more easily: the rising cost of energy needed to pump water from the aquifer is making it tougher to access it. The USDA laments that “even in areas where the pumping depth is economical, geology limits pumping access as the water table declines”.

Undoubtedly, a public water crisis is brewing. While other countries have been suffering a lack of water for years, America has remained largely insulated from the problem. We’re only beginning to experience the effects of a water shortage, partially due to unscrupulous deals made by bottling companies like Nestle along with America’s dependence on bottled water. The more people buy bottled water, the less money goes into the public water system. Corporations with dollar sign fairies dancing in their minds see it as an opportunity to grab and wield control over the supply. In a country dominated by a ‘winner takes all’ capitalist attitude, that sets us up for trouble.

What exactly would the corporate privatization of water mean to the public? For one thing, water would no longer be considered something that all people have a right to. It would be a commodity, bought and sold by private individuals and companies, based on availability and the public’s willingness to pay. Corporations tend to value profits over service. Obviously, we can’t live without water. We’d be at the mercy of the people in control.

T. Boone Pickens isn’t the only one grabbing up water rights. In fact, most of the companies that are buying land with access to aquifers are foreign. Major players here and abroad include Viviendi, Perrier, Suez, Bechtel and Monsanto. Right now, only 5 percent of the water supply is in corporate hands, but that could change at any time, especially as the World Bank and other organizations push for privatization.

The only obstacle that remains in Pickens’ and other investors’ path is finding buyers. Several water districts have already refused to sign up, mostly due to pressure from political and environmental groups campaigning against the privatization of water. The Sierra Club is one of them, and their efforts to educate the public in Texas might just pay off. Until the day that Texas gets so dry officials are desperate for water and willing to do just about anything to get it, that is. Then a ball may be set in motion that will change public water access as we know it. We can only hope that other solutions are put forth before that becomes a reality.

Link [Bloomberg News] + [USDA] + [Sierra Club]

Photo credit: Time Magazine + Sierra Club

Brilliant! Drought-Stricken Florida Gives Nestle Unlimited Water for $230

Ah, Florida. With a reputation already sullied by dirty election politics and bonehead decision making, this latest news is funny, sad and totally unsurprising all at once.

Boing Boing has it:

The State of Florida has given a Nestle bottling plant the right to pump as much water as it can get out Madison Blue Springs State Park, which is presently in drought conditions. The right lasts until 2018, and cost Nestle $230 in permit fees. Florida is presently in bitter dispute with its neighboring states over a region-wide water-shortage.

$230. Total. No taxes, no fees - plus the state gave Nestle an outrageously large tax refund for this bottling operation. With some predicting that water shortages will place this precious commodity’s value above oil in the not-so-distant future, Florida has proven that politics trump the needs of its citizens any day of the week.

One wonders whether the clowns in office just run around in circles playing human whack-a-mole on each other all day. Maybe that would explain the astounding dearth of brain cells in lawmakers’ skulls.

Link [Boing Boing]

Photo: Flickr user rexboggs5

Drastic Plastic: From Floating Plastic Crap to Toxic Food Chain Bomb

We all know that plastic waste in our oceans is a big threat for entanglement and digestion to sea-life and ocean-dependent creatures. It goes without saying, but, hell, let’s do it anyhow, that this is just another pathetic example of how human consumption and selfish disregard is dramatically affecting the world around us. And this in itself really sucks. Big time.

But just in case the visible plastic waste that is circulating the waterways of the world wasn’t enough to swallow, turns out the no-see-um plastic is chipping in to ruin the planet as well. You see, as non-biodegradable plastics are s-l-o-w-l-y broken down by the sun, they break up into smaller pieces, attracting and collecting toxins and poisonous residues along the way. (This is where you shake your head in shame, realizing that as a lean, mean, full-service polluting machine, we not only throw throw the plastic into the oceans, but the poisons that stick to the plastic as well. ‘Attaboy!)

The risk that these small, toxic-covered plastic bits will then be consumed by ocean-dwelling organisms is quite significant. And once inside the little critters, digestive enzymes take over and increase the risk that the toxicity will then be absorbed.

“Now there’s the potential for those chemicals to be released to those marine organisms if they then eat the plastic.” - Dr. Richard Thompson of the University of Plymouth

It doesn’t take much to run through your own mental food chain map before you realize that the threat is real. Talk about a serious bummer.

Source [BBC News]

Flickr photo credit [jschneid]

Inventor of Virtual Water Honored by Stockholm International Water Institute, Wins 150 Large

Anthony Allan, a professor at King’s College in London, was recently honored by the Stockholm International Water Institute for his contributions to water research (the honor is no joke: they gave him $150,000). He was recognized for inventing the concept of “virtual water” back in 1993. This concept has revolutionized the way people think about water consumption and it’s worth pausing on this occasion to give it some attention.

Basically, virtual water refers to the water required to produce a commodity. A famous example is a cup of coffee; the process of making that single cup actually requires 140 liters of water (about 37 gallons) to grow and ship the beans. A single hamburger requires 2,400 liters, a beer about 75 liters, and wheat takes 1,300 liters to make 2.2 pounds.

Allan explained, “The water is said to be virtual because once the wheat is grown, the real water used to grow it is no longer actually contained in the wheat. The concept of virtual water helps us realize how much water is needed to produce different goods and services. In semi-arid and arid areas, knowing the virtual water value of a good or service can be useful towards determining how best to use the scarce water available.”

The term “virtual water”–just the term–has always sounded wrong to me, like the water in a video game (Rollercoaster Tycoon, maybe). The water that the term refers to is real enough; it’s simply not physically there with the final commodity. It is sometimes, therefore, called “hidden water” or “embedded water.” But that’s just a problem with the term. The concept itself is essential.

Link [The Raw Story]

Photo Credit: Flickr User Laszlo

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