The week that was, February 14-20, 2016
Posted on | February 21, 2016 | No Comments
Gavin Younge’s folded metal sculptures, such as this rendering of De Hoop Vlei, a nature reserve and wetland, study water bodies impacted by climate change in South Africa. They are part of the show “Water Matters” at IS Art Gallery at 11 Huguenot Street, Franschhoek, South Africa, until February 29. Click on the image to be taken to the catalogue.
These outlines, delineated by topographic contour lines, have been removed from the plate steel and exist as absences – metonyms for desire, as in most cases these dams are never full. — Sculptures highlight drought and ‘Water Matters,’ Cape Times, 2/17/16
Watch the video all you like. But if you live in Boston please don’t try it yourself — it could prove dangerous (and we’ve had enough snow already). — What happens when boiling water meets freezing cold air?, Boston Globe, 2/17/16
Oily black liquid is coming out of residential faucets in the rural Texas town of Crystal City, and no one is sure who to alert … — ‘Black sludge’ pours out of Texas town’s faucet days after FBI arrests nearly every city official, Think Progress, 2/19/16
“It’s the wave of the future.” — Maryland Secretary of the Environment Ben Grumbles on nutrient trading in which polluters pay other polluters to stop polluting instead of stopping polluting themselves, Midday, WYPR, 2/17/16
“At a very basic level this is an urban sprawl issue masquerading as a drinking water problem …” –Cory Mason, Racine representative on the Great Lakes Regional Body, Public hearing on historic application to tap Lake Michigan’s Drinking Water, CBS 58, 2/18/16
The week that was, February 7-13, 2016
Posted on | February 13, 2016 | No Comments
“How do you get a farmer’s attention? Humbly, and with a thick wad of money.” — Hedge fund manager Disque Deane Jr, Can Wall Street solve the water crisis in the West?, ProPublica/Atlantic, 2/9/16
Individual farmers selling water away will crash their whole district. — A close look at water markets in practice, On the Public Record, 2/9/16
La Aguadora (above), painted between 1808 and 1812, was wrongly interpreted as a decorative picture of a woman carrying a jug of water until researchers discovered that she was a folk heroine who helped Spanish troops attempting to repel French forces. She has been identified as Maria Agustin, who was carrying not water but brandy, which she distributed to Spanish troops to raise morale on the battlefield. — Goya’s water carrier was a war heroine, The Times, 2/11/16
The week that was, Jan 31-Feb 6, 2016
Posted on | February 7, 2016 | No Comments
Charles Hatfield, drought doctor. Photo: Wikipedia.
“I do not make it rain,” Hatfield would demur. “That would be an absurd claim. I simply attract clouds, and they do the rest.” — The Magic of Squeezing Water Out of the Sky: A Hundred Years Ago, Charles Hatfield Cashed in on America’s Weakness for Quick Fixes—Even if They Seem Too Good to Be True by Cynthia Barnett, author of “Rain: A Natural and Cultural History,” Zocalo Public Square, 2/2/16
Cloudspotters across the UK and Ireland have witnessed fantastic displays of rare ‘nacreous’ clouds over the first few days of February. The formations are also known as ‘mother of pearl clouds’ due to their beautiful bands of colour, which appear as the cloud’s ice crystals diffract the sunlight, separating it into its different wavelengths. — Nacreous clouds over Britain, The Cloud Appreciation Society, 2/2/15
The week that was, 1/24-30/2016
Posted on | January 31, 2016 | 10 Comments
“It looked like a sea monster rising out of the ocean when it came my way. But I was going. No matter what. So I flipped around and started paddling to get into it.” — Tom Dosland, after falling 40 feet off a wave in Maui, Legend of the Fall, Surfer Magazine, 1/29/16
For the most part, support for the [twin water tunnels] project is geographical, with proponents in the Central Valley and Southern California, and opponents in the Bay Area, Delta and other parts of Northern California. Silicon Valley, though, is a key swing vote. Three of Gov. Brown’s key staff visited Santa Clara on Tuesday in an effort to gain support. It seems to have backfired. — Water Deeply Executive Summary, 1/29/16 Read more
After the Lawn
Posted on | July 1, 2015 | 1 Comment
The KCET series “After the Lawn” takes an imaginary lot through different stages of conservation measures including keeping grass but watering it less, to removing lawn in stages, to creating a full-on rain and greywater harvesting landscape. Click here to be taken to Part One, a short introduction to rebate culture and things to avoid in a crisis conversion. Further links: Part Two: How to plan. Part Three: Caring for turf in dry times. Part Four: How to remove lawn. Part Five: Resources and courses. Part Six: Low cost, simple first phase conversion. Part Seven: Parkways. Part Eight: Rain gardens. Part Nine: Greywater. Part Ten: Calculating the landscape’s carrying capacity for plants using only rain and greywater. Part Eleven: The importance of planting at the right time of year. Part Twelve: Cost.
North American Native Plant Societies
After the lawn
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