Archive for December, 2008
« Previous EntriesFinal Comments on Solar Posts
Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog
I am going to be offline for a few more days, enjoying some time with the family. In the interim, Tom Standing has sent some detailed replies to some of the comments following his posts Arizona Solar Power Project and Ambitious Solar Plans in France.
——————————
Here is some additional material in response [...]
Poll Results — NOT YET!
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
Still one week to vote (the poll on the right sidebar) where you think I should go on the first Water Chat tour
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]
The Natural Process
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
[A post that's perhaps appropriate at the end of the human year...]
We took a few trips to the California coast recently. This estuary [click on photo to see full size] is in Point Reyes National Seashore. I really love the way that the water has formed channels and patterns in the mud. [...]
A Real Czar Speaks
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
Grist has a good piece on Bill Ruckelshaus, the man who founded the EPA. Here’s the money quotation:
Instead of a cap-and-trade plan, Ruckelshaus favors a tax on carbon emissions. Such a move would still let the market decide where reductions should happen, but it would be much simpler for the government to [...]
What’s Benthological?
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
The North American Benthological Society (mission: “promote better understanding of the biotic communities of lake and stream bottoms and their role in aquatic ecosystems”) is meeting in May in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The meeting (agenda [PDF]) is full of scientists talking about water, climate change, sustainability, rivers, agriculture, etc. (Sexier than I expected!)
The [...]
While Rome Burns
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
I recommend WashingtonWatch to those of you interested in the sausage-making that goes on in Washington DC. In a recent email, WaWa says:
Just before the beginning of the 2009 fiscal year in October, Congress passed a temporary spending measure to fund the operations of the government until March.
[snip]
The stopgap bill passed in [...]
What EDF doesn’t want, Npower picks up
Submitted by The Low Carbon Kid Blog
Npower has bought the farmland next to Wylfa nuclear power station, which EDF bought in the summer and then hurriedly sold.
While the ignorant local MP, Albert Owen, and the council, equally ignorant, are in favour of a new nuclear power station here, a recent survey found opposition running at [...]
Stupid Plastic Items: Plastic Lei
Submitted by PlasticLess.com Blog
I have nothing bad to say about the traditional lei or even about the lame 20th century bastardizing of that tradition as a way to promote tourism. I just think that there is absolutely no reason for the existence of plastic leis. The traditional materials used to make leis are renewable, biodegradable [...]
Party Time
Submitted by PlasticLess.com Blog
I work at home. I had already been working at home for a couple of years before I started trying to seriously reduce my plastic consumption. I had forgotten all about office parties until last night when we were invited to a party at the school where our kids are learning French.
If [...]
Speaking of the Museum of Trash…
Submitted by everydaytrash
…that’s where Sustainable Dave’s 365 Days of Trash trash will end up when he’s done collecting, sorting and blogging a year of his own solid waste.
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]
The 100 Mile Blog Diet
Submitted by everydaytrash
One my favorite things about reading blogs is that they are a window on the world. That being said, I have occasionally ended up at one of two ends of a particular brand of frustration. I try to blog about practical solutions to the problem of plastic, but sometimes these solutions can be [...]
Trash-o-saurus
Submitted by PlasticLess.com Blog
Oh no. The economic meltdown may kill trashosaurus, the one-ton star of Stratford, Connecticut’s Garbage Museum. In fact, the whole museum may tank. Currently, the educational institution runs on funding from a regional recycling consortium. But in these tough financial times, a half dozen local towns have pulled out of the [...]
Weekend Discussion: Moving Water
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
NOTE: This post will stay here until Sunday night. Posts for Saturday and Sunday morning go below this post.
Dear Aguanauts,
Discussion posts allow you to discuss your beliefs on a topic — to share your understanding, experience and opinions — without worrying about what’s right or what others think. (Check out last week’s [...]
International Year of Sanitation
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
That’s 2008 folks! Just a few more days left to celebrate.
Sanitation (as the flip side to water supply) is an important but often ignored topic. This book review gives a decent overview of “the business” as well as pointing out areas needing elaboration.
Bottom Line: As the importance of understanding the total lifecycle [...]
Water for Geeks
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
The Jan 2008 Wired has several interesting articles:
The King of Bionic Ag is an Iowa corn farmer obsessed by the quest for the highest yields of corn and soybeans. He loves pesticides and fertilizers (and he’s sponsored by Pioneer seed), but he also gives his crops TLC.
The Dutch masters of flood control [...]
Path Dependency
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
JD writes in with this:
“Here’s an observation on human behavior for you. We take our kids sledding to a local hill. After large snowfalls here in Detroit, the small hill gets pretty crowded with kids and parents. I was struck by the fact that when the hill gets really crowded the chances [...]
Weather Update
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
Ok — it’s time to get back to business…
So — those of you living in California will have noticed that it rained a lot recently. Has it rained “enough”? No.
This story reports on how ski resorts in the Sierra Nevada Seca are opening late in the season. Resorts are adjusting to new [...]
Shaving Cream
Submitted by PlasticLess.com Blog
I have had this glass bottle of shaving cream for a few months now and I can say without a doubt that it is adequate for its intended purpose. I can’t say the same for the brush that I bought at the same time. The synthetic bristles had been poorly glued to [...]
Weekend Discussion: Moving Water
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
NOTE: This post will stay here until Sunday night. Posts for Saturday and Sunday morning go below this post.
Dear Aguanauts,
Discussion posts allow you to discuss your beliefs on a topic — to share your understanding, experience and opinions — without worrying about what’s right or what others think. (Check out last week’s [...]
Last of the 2008 Retrospective Pics…
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
We went out to dinner last night in Santa Cruz. Luckily, one restaurant was open, and we sat down in anticipation of a lovely Italian dinner — fresh bread and olive oil, nice wine, pizza and perhaps a little tiramisu.
Our first disappointment was quick to arrive: There was no pizza; they ran [...]
Top 10 Energy Stories of 2008
Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog
Tis the season for Top 10 stories, and here are what I think were the Top 10 energy stories of the year.
1. Unprecedented volatility in the energy markets
Oil prices raced to nearly $150 a barrel, and then fell to the $30’s by year end. This marks the highest ever prices for [...]
I’ll Wash and You Dry…
Submitted by PlasticLess.com Blog
I have been living in furnished apartments and houses for several years. This means that I have often been using the plastic things that my landlord chose to supply. My most recent move was to what must be the least furnished of the four different places in question. Rather than a plastic [...]
Miracles of 2009
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
I’m tired of this Nostradamus dude; he’s old and dead. It’s time for a new prophet, and who else would be better than a random water blogger and his readers?
In honor of Sant’ Obama, I (we) make the following predictions for 2009:
Sant’ Obama will walk on water — of the Reflecting Pool [...]
Water Chats Are Coming to You!
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
I will be taking to the road in 2009 to teach and learn about water.
I will start in California (vote where I go at the weekly poll, which will run for two weeks), going north, central or south, after January 10, 2009.
My first goal will be to learn, i.e., I will meet [...]
Environmental Prop/Agit
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
All sides of the environmental/carbon debate are spending big $$ to present their POV.
There are the pro clean-coal and anti clean-coal ads.
There are ads from oil companies and car companies and spoofs on those ads (to the right - click to enlarge).
And don’t forget that classic — Chevron’s hope that you can [...]
