Wednesday, January 01, 2014

2014-The year of clean water and climate justice?



We say goodbye to another year and look to a new one. A 365 page book of blank pages in which we can now write our story. Will those pages include your story about taking steps to ensure clean water and access for those who do not have it? Will it include taking action to bring about a world free of fossil fuels and its toxic effects on our water, air, land and health? In this past year and in the six years before it I have written here about the many challenges the world faces regarding water access, sanitation, pollution, privatization and the effects of our disregard for this most precious resource as well as the effects of climate change and our contribution to it.

While we have seen some good things in the past year regarding more getting access to water, we still see grave threats to developing lands regarding access, sanitation and the effects of climate change most prominent among them drought and floods as well as ocean acidification. In relaying those threats I have also tried to relay solutions to these problems and crises because I do believe that anyone who takes on the challenge of relaying information in an age where distraction rules is doing a good and necessary thing and because as bleak as it may seem I still have hope in humanity as a whole.

Therefore, I will continue to bring information on the many facets of water and climate change and the challenges we face in 2014. I hope this information not only makes you aware but empowers you to spread it and take action. The threats and effects we now face from climate change in this Anthropocene epoch we have now precipitated especially in regards to water resources and climate will not be solved by status quo solutions. It will take sacrifice, innovation and perseverence. We must not only speak with our modems but with our voices, bodies and votes.

Despite the precarious situation we find our world in today regarding our environment however, there is always the hope of the human spirit. 2014 must be the year we regain that spirit in order to see the world we know we can have if we really want it. Access to clean water for all: Access to sanitation: Climate Justice: A global renaissance bringing affordable clean energy to those most affected in developing countries with them being a part of the transition to not only see a cleaner healthier world but one where all have access to the opportunities that will lift them out of poverty: Accountability of those responsible for the continued destruction of our planet all for a false choice.

For far too long we have heard the promises of those in power whose words are empty. This must now be the time when the peoples' voice becomes stronger and louder.

I hope your 2014 book is filled with good things and that you are one of those voices. I will be here filling my own pages and letting my voice be heard with you.

Thank you for the support in 2013. Let's make 2014 a year we will never forget. A year we were not only kinder to the Earth and each other, but a year when we staked our claim to a clean energy and water future.

Most read posts in 2013:

Women Lack Access To Safe Drinking Water

Our Carbon Debt Our Moral Duty

Make Our National Parks Bottled Water Free

Major Loss In Arctic Sea Ice Volume-It Does Effect You

The Arctic, Humanity's Barometer

NOAA:Waters Off Northeast US Coast Were Warmest In 150 Years

Ocean Acidification Poised To Radically Affect Arctic

Obama's Arctic Strategy Sets Off A Climate Time Bomb

Source Of Life Running Out: Water Scientists

Nestle' Strikes Deal To Pump Unrestricted Amounts Of Water From Ontario Aquifer During Drought Conditions

Fukushima Radiation Spiking Suddenly-Media Blackout

Arctic Ice, Oceans, Climate And The Human Condition

China /India "Water Grab" Dams Put Hydrology Of Himalayas In Danger

Fukushima Leak Is Much Worse Than We Were Led To Believe

Floods Ravage Sudan and The World As We Sit Watching

Root Causes Of Violence In Syria:Climate Change And Water:

Out Of Sight Out Of Mind: Carcinogenic Chemical Spreads Beneath Michigan Town

Scientists: Hurricane Sandy Storm Surge Directly Affected By Climate Change

Colorado Flooding Breaking Records And Cutting Off Towns

Fukushima Getting Worse: Out Of Control

Water In The Anthropocene

Mine May Open Next Year As Last-Chance Appeal Languishes

Fracking In US Produced 280 Billion Gallons Of Toxic Wastewater

Cyclone Phailin To Hit India

Blog Action Day 2013: Water- A Human Right Under Threat

It All Comes Down To Hubris

The Cholera Outbreak In Haiti: Three Years Later

Thousands Of Starfish Melting On the Ocean Floor Off Pacific West Coast

Methane Feedback & Abrupt Climate Change: How Far Are We From It?

Methane Feedback & Abrupt Climate Change Part 2

Super Typhoon Haiyan Big Threat To Philippines- With Updates

Flesh Eating Bacteria Tied To BP Oil Ecocide Tarballs

Arctic Ocean Leaking Methane At Alarming Rate

TEPCO Plans To Dump ALL Fukushima Radiation Into Pacific Ocean ?!

Monday, December 30, 2013

Devastating Drought Continues To Plague California


California’s Central Valley—prime agricultural land—is being hit the hardest by the state-wide drought which could cause catastrophic losses to crops and food supply.

The third winter with precipitation averages way below normal. This directly effects agriculture, economy, the frequency of wildfires, health and other species. This is what climate change looks like regardless of what you will hear from those who still continue to deny its effects. I keep asking myself how many of these events have to continue to occur before people wake up as a whole. How many seasons with below average rainfall? How many winters without snowpack? How many dead crops? Livestock? People?

Snows in Egypt not seen in over a century, huge flooding in Great Britain, the Caribbean, extreme flooding and heat now in South America again this season, severe weather in places like Toronto where a monster ice storm still has residents without power as well as extreme weather continuing here in the US. Droughts, floods, extreme events, huge swings in temperature and wind patterns due to jet stream changes due to Arctic ice melt. THIS IS REAL AND HAPPENING NOW.

What will the people of California do should this drought continue as the drought in Texas did to the point of towns running out of water completely? Will Governor Brown frack California as well and even try to convince us that fracking does not effect water supply? There is a catastrophe at our doorstep and we continue to move in a haze as if it is just an illusion.

California needs water. However, do you really think government has the solution that will benefit all? Oil companies now want to move tarsands on the Great Lakes which are also below capacity! Does anyone else see the macabre irony in that? The Colorado River no longer flows to the Gulf of Mexico. Population continues to increase in this part of the country as casinos continue to pump gallons of water into their ornate fountains as rivers and reservoirs run dry and late season wildfires threaten and destroy homes and trees. Yet our rapacious rate of consumption of fossil fuels and resources continues.

Of course, if it gets to the point where towns are running out of water they can pump water from the Pacific Ocean and hope there is no Fukushima radiation in it... Realistically however, farmers are then going to have to rethink what they grow in regards to the impact on water resources and those with the huge swimming pools will have to decide if swimming or eating is more important. There is as has been for decades a new water war between South and North:

North-South California Intensify Water War

(Can't really comment regarding the veracity of the content but think the comments are worth the read to make the point)

The Twin Tunnels Project (which I am ambivalent about) is now causing this war to escalate and while I do not live in California and can't speak to what anyone on any side of this is going through, I can say that those in any part of the state continuing to live an opulent lifestyle knowing what the state faces regarding water resources should understand that they are part of the problem. As are politicians like Governor Brown who seems to have proposed this as a gift to rich farmers and businesses like the oil and gas industry only looking for profit. Also, let's not forget all those million dollar celebrity homes with the huge swimming pools that aren't really necessary.

Also for those who blame environmentalists, Delta Smelt and all other species have just as much of a right to water as we do. It is HUMANS making this problem and with climate change exacerbating it with decreased rainfall and snowpack it surely will be interesting to see where this all leads. One would think it would lead to an awakening, a metamorphosis of sorts wherein farmers, businesses and citizens learn to share, conserve and understand the real stakes involved in this. Sad to think that only politics, greed and selfishness will continue to rule until the greatest agricultural lands we have are bone dry. Hunger and thirst have a way of making you see the importance of priorities.

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Devastating Drought Continues To Plague California

By Kiley Kroh

As California enters its third consecutive dry winter, with no sign of moisture on the horizon, fears are growing over increased wildfire activity, agricultural losses and additional stress placed on already strained water supplies.

California’s Central Valley—prime agricultural land—is being hit the hardest by the state-wide drought which could cause catastrophic losses to crops and food supply. The city of Los Angeles has received only 3.6 inches of rain this year—far below its average of 14.91 inches, USA Today reported. And San Francisco is experiencing its driest year since record keeping began in 1849. As of November, the city had only received 3.95 inches of rain since the year began.

The state is enduring its driest year on record and while a drought emergency has not yet been officially declared, the U.S. National Drought Monitor shows that as of Dec. 24, nearly the entire state is gripped by severe to extreme drought conditions.

The portion of the state currently hit hardest by drought includes the Central Valley, a prime agricultural area, and “a lack of rain and snow this winter could bring catastrophic losses to California agriculture, as water allotments are slashed by state agencies,” USA Today reported.

The lack of precipitation is also extending what’s been a devastating wildfire season in California. According to AccuWeather, fire season usually tapers off in the fall and December marks the beginning of the wet season, which usually extends through March. This year, however, looks to be different.

End of excerpt

Also see:

Driest Year Ever In California Sparks Fire and Water Fears

Drought Brings Water Rationing Orders



California Drought Deepens As Another Year's Rains Stay Away

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California should call Arizona to see how its done:

Smarter Irrigation Returns Water to Arizona'a Verde River

Another World Water Day Gone

We see another World Water Day pass us by. The theme, Water For All, signifies that though some progress has been made we are woefully behin...