Thoughts on a Sunday
My morning ritual involves reading the paper and slowly sipping tea and then reading internet news. Around 2006, I was so mad at everything, I started posting. Today, I did the same and just wonder why I even bother to read anymore. If I were a depressive, I would be drinking by now. Okay, Bloody Mary's sound good any Sunday morning, but if I were to start drinking, it would be because I was in a good mood--not for depression.
What made me so depressed?
1) Iranian elections. Not as subtle as the Bush stealing of 2000 and 2004. There he only had to cheat in one state in each election. And if Republicans really believed in the true outcome of elections, like they state in Minnesota now, they would have waited for a complete recount. But I digress. Now the incumbent declared victory by a huge margin even as the polls were closing. And then the challenger is arrested. Gotta love a democracy. They learned well as we replaced the democratically elected government with the Shah years ago.
2) Right Wing Patriot Groups. The Minutemen actually invade a home and kill 2. WTF? What, were they non-whites? The worst part is that just like the late 60s, I fear that there will be much more right-wing, race violence. Is it to undignified for Janet Napolitano to go "Nayh, nayh, I told you so!" or to rescind her apology?
3) Can Mitch McConnell move to CA for a short time so he can have a chin transplant? Nothing like watching a chinless person play macho and try to break bad while looking like Elmer Fudd. I guess this my deep thought for the day.
4) Water wars in CA. Todays Sac Bee (best local paper I have had the pleasure of reading since the Des Moines Register!!!!) had an editorial section today again focused on water rights, animal rights and water use. Not once in that debate did anyone mention sustainability. Let's see, the population tripled in the last 20 years, there are government tax breaks (aka welfare and grants) for growing water hungry corn and alfalfa in a desert, people in Sacramento use 300+ gallons of water per day (national average has decreased back to around 125) and the NPDES discharge permit system in CA has no nitrient limits! Ammonia (aka a fishkiller found in human waste) is okay to discharge because we believe that the solution to pollution is dilution. The rivers are big. I have run small wastewater plants in mountain communities of less than 400 people who have exceedingly more strict discharge permits. I mean, San Diego has primary settling, which means settle some condoms and sanitary pads, some toilet paper and some feces settle out and then they chlorinate the hell out of it and pump it to sea. The ocean can dilute a ton, I guess. AAARRRGGGH! The arguments are all wrong. They are all about how we can USE the resource the best, not protect it.
Well, to ease my mood, here is a hot little toone. After that, walk the dogs. And sorry, but again a dinosaur band.
rojo
Showing posts with label CA water use. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CA water use. Show all posts
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Think as You Drink
I came across quite a few good articles today on water that I would like to share with you. The first is the formation of a committee to study water and energy. Great news!!! Outside Loveland, CO there is Flatiron Reservoir and Pinewood Reservoir where they pump water uphill at night during low energy demand and let it flow back down the pipes during demand hours, giving a net demand. This is very unusual in water storage and energy production practice. But getting water places (for example, that water comes from the other side of the Rockies and is transported via tunel under Rocky Mountain National Park) and treating wastes costs a ton. Almost all water treatment costs are electricity. Wastewater treatment costs are the same, giving impetus to cogeneration by anaerobic digestion. That is where raw waste solids are anaerobically decomposed in a digester and the gasses run generators lower the power demand of the waste treatment facility. The waste solids are then normally used for fertilizer that is distributed, Millorganite from Milwaukee is a commercially known brand.
Another has to do with climate change and water in the western states. Believe me, if the rain and snow patterns continue to change in the West, or in the Rockies, Vegas and LA, to say the least of the people in Mexico to whom the US had to guarantee clean water too will be hurting. Yes, The US had to build a plant to desalinate what little flow of the Colorado Rover made it to Mexico. In CA, there have been extreme issues with salmon spawns because of the change in rainfall patterns. and there have been pelican deaths aplenty this year in CA. The following article details many aquatic bird deaths and ties it to global warming.
There is a viscious cycle that has started. It takes a lot of energy to pump water to the deserts of the arid west, making them livable. This includes a geographic area from Arizona, to Vegas to LA. It costs a lot to produce the energy that produces 90% of the world's almonds and over 50% of the US vegetable and fruit crop. Just think of energy required to pump water from Sacramento to San Diego to grow avocados. The annual diversion of water in the California Aqueduct alone is 2.6 million acre feet. An acre foot is roughly 326,000 gallons and a gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds, or 8.5 trillion pounds of water. I am really tired, but given a rise of about 4000 feet, and 68% combined motor and electrical efficiency giving you a demand of 1.8 million killowatts, if the water were only pumped once on that journey. It is not and there are two other canals that almost as big. The power usage is at least 8 times that amount, just for pumping. And as fresh water grows more scarce, desalinization looks good, but almost all its costs are electrical. It is very, very expensive. It is far cheaper to treat raw poop to drinking water and far less energy intensive. As long as we rely on fossil fuels to produce energy and it takes enrgy to move water and increased CO2 production leads to more warming, we are in very viscious cycle. Just to keep up the lifestyle we have grown accustomed to requires renewable and nonpolluting energy.
Mr. Cheery couldn't get this narrative the way he wanted because he was too tired, so good night and pleasant dreams.
rojo
I came across quite a few good articles today on water that I would like to share with you. The first is the formation of a committee to study water and energy. Great news!!! Outside Loveland, CO there is Flatiron Reservoir and Pinewood Reservoir where they pump water uphill at night during low energy demand and let it flow back down the pipes during demand hours, giving a net demand. This is very unusual in water storage and energy production practice. But getting water places (for example, that water comes from the other side of the Rockies and is transported via tunel under Rocky Mountain National Park) and treating wastes costs a ton. Almost all water treatment costs are electricity. Wastewater treatment costs are the same, giving impetus to cogeneration by anaerobic digestion. That is where raw waste solids are anaerobically decomposed in a digester and the gasses run generators lower the power demand of the waste treatment facility. The waste solids are then normally used for fertilizer that is distributed, Millorganite from Milwaukee is a commercially known brand.
Another has to do with climate change and water in the western states. Believe me, if the rain and snow patterns continue to change in the West, or in the Rockies, Vegas and LA, to say the least of the people in Mexico to whom the US had to guarantee clean water too will be hurting. Yes, The US had to build a plant to desalinate what little flow of the Colorado Rover made it to Mexico. In CA, there have been extreme issues with salmon spawns because of the change in rainfall patterns. and there have been pelican deaths aplenty this year in CA. The following article details many aquatic bird deaths and ties it to global warming.
There is a viscious cycle that has started. It takes a lot of energy to pump water to the deserts of the arid west, making them livable. This includes a geographic area from Arizona, to Vegas to LA. It costs a lot to produce the energy that produces 90% of the world's almonds and over 50% of the US vegetable and fruit crop. Just think of energy required to pump water from Sacramento to San Diego to grow avocados. The annual diversion of water in the California Aqueduct alone is 2.6 million acre feet. An acre foot is roughly 326,000 gallons and a gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds, or 8.5 trillion pounds of water. I am really tired, but given a rise of about 4000 feet, and 68% combined motor and electrical efficiency giving you a demand of 1.8 million killowatts, if the water were only pumped once on that journey. It is not and there are two other canals that almost as big. The power usage is at least 8 times that amount, just for pumping. And as fresh water grows more scarce, desalinization looks good, but almost all its costs are electrical. It is very, very expensive. It is far cheaper to treat raw poop to drinking water and far less energy intensive. As long as we rely on fossil fuels to produce energy and it takes enrgy to move water and increased CO2 production leads to more warming, we are in very viscious cycle. Just to keep up the lifestyle we have grown accustomed to requires renewable and nonpolluting energy.
Mr. Cheery couldn't get this narrative the way he wanted because he was too tired, so good night and pleasant dreams.
rojo
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