With Pressure from Drought, San Diego Looks to Reclaim Wastewater
With water supplies dwindling in the Western United States, more cities are looking to reclaim wastewater for drinking purposes. The city of Escondido in San Diego County has recently decided to explore this option. Similar to the system currently being used by its northern neighbor Orange County, Escondido is looking at a process that would clean the wastewater to irrigation standards, remove the salt via reverse osmosis, and treat the water with ultraviolet light and hydrogen peroxide to kill remaining bacteria. It would then be released into a wetland or basin, where it would percolate through the soil, before being pumped back out of the ground. READ MORE
Warming Climate Doubling Tree Deaths in Western U.S.
A USGS study to be published on Friday found that tree deaths in the western United States have more than doubled over the last few decades. The study attributes the deaths to a warmer and drier climate in the region. The researchers analyzed old-growth forests with a wide variety of forest types, at all elevations, in trees of all sizes, and in pines, firs, hemlocks, and others, and found consistent results throughout.
The study also ruled out a number of other possible sources of the deaths, including air pollution, effects of fire suppression, and normal forest dynamics.
“Average temperature in the West rose by more than 1° F over the last few decades,” said USGS scientist and co-leader of the research team, Phil van Mantgem. “While this may not sound like much, it has been enough to reduce winter snowpack, cause earlier snowmelt, and lengthen the summer drought.”
This study, coupled with the pine beetle infestation in Colorado and the migration of plants to higher elevations in Southern California mountains, is just another bright red flag that cannot be ignored.
Not a Drop to Drink… But Plenty to Use For Drilling and Mining
Foreshadowing the impending conflicts of the 21st century, a battle is heating up in the American West between water and oil interests. On the one side are those in favor of exploiting the massive oil shale reserves under the Rocky Mountains. These reserves are one of the biggest remaining oil resources in the world– containing three times as much oil as that remaining in Saudi Arabia.
Although oil shale extraction is extremely costly, energy intensive, and polluting, it is the massive amount of water that it consumes that is really bringing out the political opposition. Opponents worry that the Colorado River, which is already being taxed to its limits, can not support the enormous draw that would be required for wide scale shale mining in the region. READ MORE
The Colorado River, and the Civilization Dependent Upon it, Faces Dramatic Threats
Although climate change takes most of the headlines nowadays, the environmental threats we are facing are even more widespread. While climate change will exacerbate many of these problems, there are a number of other external issues that must also be urgently addressed.
One of those environmental disasters that is being worsened by climate change, but which also is being worsened by external events, is the destruction of the Colorado River.
SignOnSanDiego expands on this crisis:
The Colorado River has endured drought, climate changes, pollution, ecological damage from dams and battles by 7 states to draw more water. Now energy companies are sucking up the river’s water to support increased development of oil, natural gas and uranium deposits. Yet, the river must provide drinking water for 1 out of 12 Americans and 15% of our crops. READ MORE
Western U.S. to face major water shortages even without climate change
The AP had an article on Friday about the impending water shortages in the Western United States [link may expire]. The region will face shortages as a result of a changing climate as well as exceedingly dumb planning that led to inefficient development and failed to account for the fact that the 1900′s were an above average century for wetness on the whole.
The result was a massive population boom in the Western US that was built on inefficient water use from the Colorado River based on the assumption that the river’s flow would not decrease and population growth would not overwhelm it. Of course, none of these assumptions proved true. READ MORE
US to Open More Land to Geothermal Development
Geothermal power, the oft-forgotten renewable sibling of wind and solar, got a boost when the Department of the Interior announced on Wednesday that it would be opening 190 million acres of federal land in the West to geothermal energy development. This does not mean that all of that land (twice the size of California) will be actually developed. Instead, it merely identifies the territories that will be open for development applications, and also lays the groundwork to streamline the application process. READ MORE
