The week that was, 6/27-7/3/2010
Posted on | July 4, 2010 | No Comments
Sky and Water I. Woodcut. MC Escher, 1938. Click on the woodcut for background on the Dutch woodcutter's masterpiece.
Click on the image for background on the "Escher in Oil" New Yorker cover.
The utility burned through nine general managers in 10 years, during which time maintaining the status quo was a much higher priority than moving the City forward. No wonder DWP’s popularity currently resides somewhere between the DMV and BP. — Op-ed by Heal the Bay president Mark Gold, “Power and water don’t mix,” Los Angeles Times, June 30, 2010
… responsibility for water management in Los Angeles is split between two agencies — the Department of Public Works and the Department of Water and Power — with very different missions and approaches… Putting all water issues under one roof would mean that sewage, storm water, flood control, water recycling, conservation efforts and drinking water could be managed in concert, which would produce far greater efficiency. — Op-ed by Heal the Bay president Mark Gold, “Power and water don’t mix,” Los Angeles Times, June 30, 2010
Our next water will be collected from high entropy sources, like stormwater runoff, which is widely distributed and often polluted … — You reap what you sow, Gov. Schwarzenegger, On the public record, June 30, 2010
“It is unpredictable what level of contribution the (North Bay Aqueduct) will have to the county’s long-term municipal supplies. Increased use of recycled water can mitigate the demand on potable water supplies.” — Napa County Grand Jury, Grand Jury: Meld water and sewer agencies, July 4, 2010.* News item via Aquafornia. To read the Grand Jury report, click here.
“After reviewing the agenda for this year, I believe our focus should be on the budget.” — California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on the decision to delay the $11bn water bond from the November ballot, State water vote may be delayed, Sacramento Bee, June 30, 2010
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, with support from both sides of the aisle, wants to pull Proposition 18, the so-called Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2010, off the November ballot. The reason: It won’t pass. — Timing is everything, Stockton Record editorial, July 2, 2010
“I would suggest to you that if everyone is a bit nervous, that is a good thing.” — Palo Alto Democratic Senator Joe Simitian, New state agency tries to revive delta, San Francisco Chronicle, June 27, 2010
Venice in flood. Source: 'Beautiful Islands'
“What can I do to gain your trust?” — British Petroleum CEO Tony Hayward during a chance encounter with “Ragin Cajun” James Carville in the New Orleans restaurant Eleven 79, BP: The inside story, Financial Times, July 2, 2010
“To be frank with you, Mr Hayward, not very much.” — James Carville’s reply, BP: The inside story, Financial Times, July 2, 2010
“Did you plug the hole yet, Daddy?” — Malia Obama, Obama and the BP Oil Spill, The New Yorker, June 28, 2010
Maria Ritter, a spokeswoman for Spanish oil company Repsol YPF SA, said it plans to drill off Cuba, about 60 miles south of Key West, Fla., early next year. — Cuban drilling poses new threat to Florida beaches, Wall Street Journal, July 2, 2010
Click on the popsicles to be taken to www.losingourcool.com
Noting the degree to which the population has boomed in the American Southwest and Southeast — migrations quickened by air conditioning — [‘Losing our Cool author Stan Cox] warns that such growth can’t go on forever. Arizona, for example, relies heavily on the Colorado River, but by the middle of this century, Cox writes, the state’s “demand for water from the already badly-stressed Colorado will exceed what the river can provide by as much as 90 percent.” — ‘Losing Our Cool’ asks to turn down the air conditioning, Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2010
Scenes of seal hunters slogging through slush and Venetians dining ankle deep in water are lovely but inert; without timelines and comparisons the film struggles to become more than a wistful plea … — Floating Away, a review of Kana Tomoko’s film Beautiful Islands, New York Times, July 2, 2010
As plot hooks for suspense tales go, haunted water is certainly unexpected. — A Hoosier haunting: There’s something in the water that’s very strange, a review of So Cold the River, New York Times, June 30, 2010
For the first month of Ricardo and Felicity’s affair, they greeted one another at every stolen rendezvous with a kiss — a lengthy, ravenous kiss, Ricardo lapping and sucking at Felicity’s mouth as if she were a giant cage-mounted water bottle and he were the world’s thirstiest gerbil. — Seattle mom honored as a really bad writer, Seattle Times, June 29, 2010
… in its urgency to rapidly assess the situation, the CDC communicated scientific results poorly. — Centers for Disease Control director Thomas R Frieden, Lead in DC water: Still more to do, Washington Post, June 27, 2010
“This lake has become a toilet, and it needs to be flushed.” — Grand Lake St. Marys ‘dying’ from toxic algae, Dayton Daily News, July 2, 2010
“People move in, and right away they complain the docks smell like fish. What did you expect? You moved into a fishing village.” — Lobsterman Michael Grimshaw, Endangered species on Connecticut coast, New York Times, June 27, 2010
Planting drought-tolerant plants and changing landscaping techniques would save … 138 billion litres of water, the equivalent of the water used in three million NHL ice rinks. — Canadians flushing Great Lakes water down the toilet, Canada Newswire, July 2, 2010
“… nobody wants to deal with sewage sludge …” — Blue Ridge Environmental Defense Fund community organizer Sue Dayton, Group seeks partial sludge ban, Chapel Hill News, June 30, 2010
For a full round-up of California water news, go to Aquafornia, the newsfeed of the Water Education Foundation, or to UC Berkeley’s On Water. For San Diego water news, try Groksurf’s San Diego. Or, for all things fresh water, do check in with WaterWired.
This post was updated at 3.24pm, 7/4/2010. The ‘Losing our Cool’ and Napa County grand jury links were added.
*From the week that is.
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