It is one of the most graphic temperature increases on the planet. — Lake Superior surface waters are warmest on record, Duluth News Tribune, August 13, 2010

X“If the Kalabagh dam had been built, this flood could have been tamed in the reservoir.” — Shams-ul Mulk, former chief of Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority, Pakistan floods renew debate over unbuilt dam, Wall Street Journal, August 11, 2010

“Their crops have gone, their livestock has gone, the infrastructure, the roads are gone. Right now our land link with the rest of the country is gone.” Punjab regional assemblyman Mohsin Leghari, Pakistan floods cause ‘huge losses’ to crops, BBC News, August 12, 2010

Swimming in…

“It is unprecedented …” — Major General Athar Abbas, Half a million evacuated from Pakistan floods, Daily Telegraph, August 6, 2010

“I appeal to the world to help us.” — Pakistani prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on floods now estimated to impact more than two million people, Rains worsen Pakistan flood misery, Al Jazeera, August 8, 2010*

“If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?” That’s an excellent question, but it turns out [Chief Seattle] never asked it. The entire “web of life” speech was concocted in 1972 by a Hollywood screenwriter. — H2Ownership: Ancient, Equitable Traditions…

"The first time I pulled back the bushes and saw a spring, I knew those magical places would be a permanent part of my life. Our area (north Florida) offers one of the greatest natural wonders on earth. It is a giant, three-dimensional karst terrain that produces a renewable resource.... the finest water on the planet. I can think of no place on the planet more worthy of my attention and love than my own backyard." -- Photographer Wes Skiles, who died last week in a diving accident. Click on the image to be taken to his essay at Florida Springs.com

The man who had filmed where no one had before – whether in the underwater caves of North Florida or on assignment for National Geographic in the blue holes of the Bahamas – died Wednesday in a diving accident off Palm Beach.– Photographer Wes…

Detail from Watts Towers. Photo: Emily Green. Click on the image to read Robin Rauzi argue in the Los Angeles Times, "An Angeleno who has never toured Watts Towers is the urban equivalent of a New Yorker who has never bothered with the Statue of Liberty."

Emily Green is on vacation. The week that was will return July 25th. However, for those following the Las Vegas pipeline story, one announcement from Carson City deserves noting.

“The water rights issued to the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) under the 1989 applications in Spring Valley, Cave Valley, Dry Lake Valley and Delamar Valley will revert to application status.” — State Engineer of Nevada, July 7, 2010

Los Angeles water news is currently being most capably watched and explained by the editorial board of the Los Angeles Times. For daily round-ups of California water…

Sky and Water I. Woodcut. MC Escher, 1938. Click on the woodcut for background on the Dutch woodcutter's masterpiece.

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,…