The week that was, 11/22-28/2009
Posted on | November 29, 2009 | No Comments
Hourly images were taken by the UK Met Office (originally the Meteorological Office) of record rainfall over Cumbria between November 18-20. On November 23, the Met Office issued a report with radar images, an analysis chart and rainfall totals. To read it, click on the image.
“We cannot have our grandchildren, or great-grandchildren, looking back and saying, ‘Why on earth did they build here? What possessed them to do so?'” — British Labour Member of Parliament Nia Griffith, “We have to stop building on our flood plains, warns MP,” South Wales Evening Post, November 26, 2009
“The reality is that floods are going to keep happening.” –– “Experts say the torrents cannot be prevented,” Times of London, November 22, 2009
… one emergency worker said it was like “an Irish Hurricane Katrina,” — “Electricity Supply Board was warned dams could not cope with flood,” Irish Independent, November 23, 2009
“We’re not saying we’re ready to pull that trigger, but we certainly have done some additional legal work in that area.” — Bert Brantley, spokesman for Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, on the option of moving the state boundary north so it could tap into the Tennessee River, “Georgia task force: 2012 too soon to find new water,” AP / Gainesville Sun, November 24, 2009
It’s time to get all the energy, all the best minds, all the effort on salmon recovery out of the courtroom and into the river where it belongs. — “Judge should say yes to Columbia salmon plan,” the Oregonian editorial board, November 25, 2009
“If someone says, ‘Why would the city want to put more strain on water users, and make it more difficult to use water?’ Well … from a budgetary perspective, people use more (water) and we get more money.” — Salina, Kansas City Manager Jason Gage, “City discusses water conservation,” Salina Journal, November 24, 2009
Yun-Fei Ji, detail from "Water Rising," 2006, mineral pigments and ink on mulberry paper, 22 1/2 x 450 inches. From "Displacement: The Three Gorges Dam and Contemporary Chinese Art," newly opened at the Salt Lake Art Center. Double click to enlarge image.
“For the Chinese, complex situations demand nuanced responses,” Anthony Hirschel, director of the University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art, “‘Displacement’: Center brings rare look at current Chinese art,” Salt Lake Tribune, November 27, 2009
Liu Xiaodong, Hotbed (detail), 2005, Oil on canvas, in five panels. Click on the image to be taken to the Salt Lake Art Center's web page about "Displacement: The Three Gorges Dam and Contemporary Chinese Art"
The dam would be a thick rubber cylinder bolted onto a concrete foundation in the stream bed. — “Riverside wants inflatable dam on Santa Ana River to boost water supply,” Riverside Press-Enterprise, November 22, 2009, via Aquafornia
… New York’s system — like those in hundreds of others cities — combines rainwater runoff with sewage. Over the last three decades, as thousands of acres of trees, bushes and other vegetation in New York have been paved over, the land’s ability to absorb rain has declined significantly. When treatment plants are swamped, the excess spills from 490 overflow pipes throughout the city’s five boroughs — “As sewers fill, waste poisons water ways,” New York Times, November 23, 2009
Click on the image to be taken to NASA's Earth Observatory and its November 23 account of October and November 2009 mudslides or "lahars" in El Salvador
“If we have a major rainstorm, we’ll have rocks the size of Volkswagens coming downstream.” — Brad Boman, engineering manager of water services at Pasadena Water and Power, “Devil’s Gate Dam could be put to the test,” Los Angeles Times, November 28, 2009
After the killings, the people on the river slept with their knives closer. — “Fear sets up camp on a stretch of the LA River,” Los Angeles Times, November 24, 2009
“Rand Water bottles water from the tap and everyone runs to buy it, but it is the very same water from your taps.” — South African Water and Environment Minister Bulyelwa Sonjica, “Jug of tap water is back as minister bans bottle,” Cape Times, November 24, 2009
It is a grim reality that no Arab state has enough water for its needs. — From the opinion piece “Water gravely undervalued,” Gulf News, November 26, 2009
“Everybody’s suffering in a new way because of this lack of summer rain.” — University of Arizona climatologist Michael Crimmins, “Meager monsoon worsens drought,” Arizona Republic, November 22, 2009 via Aquafornia
“It would be very interesting if we could drain the ocean and look at what’s down there.” — Holly Bamford, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program, “‘Ghost’ traps, long lost, keep catching lobsters,” AP / Denver Post, November 26, 2009
“Good God.” — An Australian response to the relative laxity of California water conservation, “Brisbane writes a case study on saving water,” Los Angeles Times, November 24, 2009
11/29/2009, 11.05am: This post has been updated. New links to the UK Met Office, Salt Lake City Art Center and NASA Earth Observatory have been added, along with new items from the South Wales Evening Post and Los Angeles Times.
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