The week that was, 8/29-9/4/2010

Posted on | September 5, 2010 | No Comments

"... one jumped right in front of me and I realized what it was." -- Chuck Fountain on a leaping sturgeon caught on film by his wife Trina on the Ogeechee River. Click on the image to be taken to the story in the Savannah Morning News.

“This is what you get when you move to the desert to ski.” — Tribal spokeswoman Jamescita Peshlakai of Cameron, Arizona at a community meeting debating a proposal to use potable water to make artificial snow, Snowbowl vote postponed, Arizona Daily Sun, August 31, 2010

To me, the whole debacle demonstrates just how dysfunctional the state legislature has become … Laws that protect the special interests at the expense of the public pass routinely. — Heal the Bay president Mark Gold on the failure of the California legislature to pass a bill banning single-use plastic bags, “State senate: Industry bagmen,” Spouting Off, September 1, 2010

The Democrats have offered a slate of candidates for statewide office that largely hail from the cerulean blue enclave encircling the San Francisco Bay. — Ben Boychuk, Head to head: Should fractured California split itself into two or more states? Sacramento Bee, September 1, 2010

“If it starts in Colorado, it’s our water.” — Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes, Keeping our water not easy, Denver Post, September 2, 2010

“There is not a field of grain or a herd of cattle that will want for water because of a lawn in Denver.” — Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes, Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Denver mayor John Hickenlooper, Candidates for governor spout water remedies, Pueblo Chieftain, August 29, 2010

“Maybe it’s in Denver’s best interest that we keep every drop of water we can in the Colorado River, the Arkansas River, the Frazier River and the South Platte River.” — Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Denver mayor John Hickenlooper, Candidates for governor spout water remedies, Pueblo Chieftain, August 29, 2010

Pouring a basin of water over head. Eadweard Muybridge 1907

Muybridge’s great achievement was conceptual: he made time visible in space. His studies of locomotion atomise duration into instants. He demonstrates, for instance, what water looks like, second by second, as it is hurled from a bucket by a bizarrely naked female model. — Eadweard Muybridge: Pioneer photographer, The Observer, August 29, 2010

“In terms of safety and the problems that exist in the Delta, we believe it was appropriate to require reductions in ammonia now, as opposed to waiting perhaps years until there is scientific consensus.” — Kenneth Landau, assistant executive director of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, State board wants Sacramento to reduce sewage in river, Sacramento Bee, September 4, 2010

"In this natural-color image from August 31, 2010, the ocean’s canvas swirls with turquoise, teal, navy, and green, the abstract art of the natural world," reports NASA. Click on the image to keep reading about the annual pyhtoplankton bloom in the Barents Sea from the Earth Observatory.

“There is nothing that we have in the world today that solves this particular dilemma.” — Rick Sugarek, US EPA project manager, Iron Mountain Superfund site, Inside ‘belly of the beast’ – Redding’s toxic hellhole, San Francisco Chronicle, August 29, 2010

“The EPA doesn’t negotiate water rights.” — EPA project manager Lynda Deschambault, EPA proposes $69.2 million plan to contain 4.2-mile-long contaminated grond water plume from Whittier to Norwalk, Whittier Daily News, September 1, 2010

A river runs through Chicago. Not a sewer. — Stop polluting the river, Chicago Tribune, September 4, 2010

“It’s too bad we have a nice place like this and everyone’s afraid of the water.” — Nancy Revill of Walbridge, Ohio, Toxic algae blooms choking Lake Erie, Toledo Blade, August 29, 2010

“From an Everglades restoration perspective, having a willing seller of this much land in the Everglades Agricultural Area presents opportunities that did not exist … and cannot be ignored.” — Special Master John Barkett on an opportunity to build a storm water treatment plant, Report to federal judge recommends against finishing Everglades reservoir, South Florida Sun Sentinel, August 31, 2010

Hurricane Earl … started life last month as a minor thunderstorm forming over the highlands of Ethiopia. Drifting west across the African continent, it crossed the coastline and encountered the warmest tropical Atlantic waters on record, about 2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than usual. That transformed a minor tropical depression into a major hurricane with surprising speed … — Meteorologist Scott Braun, Warmer waters give storm extra jolt, Wall Street Journal, September 2, 2010

Click on the image for an explanation from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of how La Niña ocean conditions may lead to more Atlantic hurricanes.

The voluntary Smarter Water Pilot Project is designed to provide more than 300 participating households with more detailed information they can use to reduce their water bill, conserve water and cut carbon emissions – if they choose to do so. — City has stated new meters won’t ration usageDubuque Telegraph-Herald, September 2, 2010

“Each family is given a bucket of water to last them two days.” — Vanuavatu villager Meresiana Tubuna, Drizzle of hope, Fiji Times, September 3, 2010

Folks on both sides of the debate over climate change hold strong views with almost religious fervor. Much like the dustup over whether President Obama was born in the United States or not, opinions often depend on whom you trust. But climate change isn’t just an academic exercise in south-central Idaho. It will determine the future of development and agriculture here. — Much is at stake in how dry we’ll be, Twin Falls Times News, August 31, 2010

… the representatives of about 25 major public utilities conveyed concerns about observed changes increasingly affecting their operations: earlier snowmelt from mountains, increased rain instead of snow, rising sea levels, flooding that leads to overflowing sewers, and drought. — Water suppliers brainstorm in Denver about climate change, Denver Post, September 1, 2010

With the grace of ballerinas and the strength of gymnasts, the synchronized swimmers known as the Aqualillies glide through the water, putting to rest the idea that mermaids are a myth. — Eau Joy, Los Angeles Times Magazine (advertorial), August 2010 issue

In the Barnett, fracking occurs more than a mile below underground freshwater aquifers, so thousands of feet of dense, unfractured rock prevent gas or fracking fluid from migrating into them. — Mike Middlebrook, Range Resources Corp vice president of Barnett Shale operations, How fracking works: Sand and water go in, gas comes out, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, September 4, 2010 (Also see The week that was: Fracking Special)

Georgia’s leaders have yet to fully embrace the dramatic change of course the judge’s ruling should have ignited. — Sally Bethea: How to solve the tri-state water conflict, Gainesville Sun, September 2, 2010

The wells are seen as the backup, last-resort water — something like a fund for nonrainy days when the river and the reservoirs are declining.Monitoring well helps city water manager explore aquifer, Santa Fe New Mexican, September 3, 2010

The Gulf is a closed system with little freshwater inflow. By excessively desalinating seawater, the Gulf states are killing off their main supply. — Multiplying the yield of an oasis, New York Times, September 2, 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 11.24pm PST, 9/6/2010. The Barents Sea image was added.

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