Missing in Action

Sorry for those who have visited the site recently and noticed the dearth of posts.  I am in the midst of writing my Master’s Thesis and this site has been relegated to the back burner.  I can’t say that it will get any better any time soon…

Water Marketing and Recycling

In the business section of the NYTimes today - The Growth Opportunities of Clean Water.  Quite an interesting article about water marketing being done by small businesses…

Great Lakes Law

Ack. So I have been missing out on a great blog, Great Lakes Law, “a blog on all things wet and legal in the Great Lakes Region by Professor Noah Hall”. While I have now remedied the situation, I encourage you too as well. The blog is a great read for water policy wonks…

Sunscreen, Snorkeling, Sea Water, & Sematic Signals

Coral bleaching (the release of coral symbiotic zooxanthellae) has negative impacts on biodiversity of reef ecosystems. In my understanding, while climate change-associated coral bleaching now represents the greatest threat to coral reefs, at least in the West Indian Ocean, other factors certainly impact mortality of these reef systems. Most of the research I have previously read has focused on bleaching resultant to thermal stress caused by temperature anomalies, sea surface temperature warming and intensification of ENSO (El Nino-Southern Oscillation) cycles. Last week however, I ran across an interesting link from the New York Times to a paper in Environmental Health Perspectives. Apparently, Sunscreens cause coral bleaching by promoting viral infections (paper available here). Continue reading »

Juniper Trees Survive in Times of Drought

Robert Jackson, Cynthia Wilson, and Paul Manos just finished a study about why Juniper trees require much less water for survival. Check it out coverage here. Take home message according to Jackson, “junipers are the most drought-resistant group that has ever been studied.” Why you might ask? Junipers have a key structural adaptation - resistance to cavitation. Continue reading »

A Not So Quick Return

After a rather long break for finals, vacation, etc…

Happy Earth Day

Here’s a quick video of the planet we inhabit viewed from space…

EPA Wetlands Rule

So I know I’m behind the curve here, but here are some quick thoughts on the final compensatory wetlands rule issued by the EPA last week. The final version came out in the Federal Register today and is available here. Coverage from the Washington Post:

The regulation encourages expanded use of so-called “mitigation banking” where a developer can obtain a permit to destroy a wetland or stream if the developer agrees to invest in wetland creation or enhancement elsewhere. This approach has resulted in creation of businesses that specialize in wetlands creation for a price.

The policy implications of mitigation and wetlands banking are quite different than requiring developers to restore on site wetlands. The decision is likely a boon for those involved in the business end of wetlands banking as developers will seek out less expensive projects to meet the EPA requirements.  While I have not had time to parse the entire rule, I will direct you to a fellow graduate student’s discussion of the wetlands rule in the context of the carbon tracking and trading term “leakage”.  Unlike Caroline, I am not am not an expert on the ins and outs of carbon trading, so check out her response to a question about the new rule and “leakage”…

Teton Dam Resurrection

In 1976 the Teton Dam in Idaho failed. Here’s a video of the event:

High Country News is reporting the dam may return (article here). The Idaho Department of Water Resources has alloted $400,000 to determine the feasibility of rebuilding the dam. In addition to human safety concerns, there has been discussion the a return of the dam would result in damage to the Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout spawning cycles. A 2006 petition to list the species under the Endangered Species Act failed as a result of the Fish and Wildlife Service finding the population was stable (here). A much more likely hook for litigation against rebuilding the dam is the fact that the reservoir behind the dam would drown bald eagle nesting grounds.

Given the catastrophic consequences of the dam collapse - the destruction of thousands of homes and businesses, I would be surprised if the plan found immediate widespread support. Irrespective of the need for additional storage especially in the context of climate variability and drought, I think the public relations campaign that would have to be mounted might be as costly as the actual reconstruction of the dam…

Energy-Water Nexus

Nature Reports Climate Change ran an article last month in their policy watch section called The energy-water nexus: deja-vu all over again? (subscription required). AAAS is urging policy makers to consider relationship between the two. While water supplies may be more at risk with warming climate, the demand for water-intensive alternative energy sources may increase. This inverse relationship between supply and demand could lead to serious disaster.

Further exacerbating such a disaster is conflicting jurisdiction. Starting on the national level, energy and water matters are governed by different Congressional committees. State law usually governs the manner in which water is managed and distributed (ie- prior appropriation, riparian, etc). But when it comes down to it, most conflict occurs on a local scale. The article cites the Georgia-Tennessee conflict previous covered on this blog.

More important than addressing confusing jurisdiction issues is acknowledgment of the fact that biofuels like corn-based ethanol require extensive irrigation (note- physiologically other potential bioenergy crops like switchgrass have a greater water use efficiency). According to Michael Webber at the University of Texas-Austin, given this requirement, at least 40 gallons of water are required for every mile traveled by an vehicle using corn-based ethanol. Gas-Electric hybrid vehicles using gas are also water intensive. My neighbors own two Toyota Priuses and somehow when they are extolling the societal benefits of their purchase, the fact that electricity is water intensive never comes up.

Webber figures that replacing all gasoline-powered vehicles with electric vehicles would require 17 times more water, nearly 11 gallons per mile, compared with the 0.6 gallons of water per mile it takes to power today’s gas-guzzlers. Hydrogen power is even more water intensive, as energy is generated by electrolysis.

There are no easy answers, but solely focusing on reducing our carbon dioxide emissions may leave us thirsting for a different policy down the road…