OneWingedBird
Beloved of Ra
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The human race is screwed.
Environmental Issues
- Thread starter rynner2
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Europe-wide flood losses to 'increase four fold' by 2050
By Matt McGrath, Environment correspondent, BBC News
According to the most accurate model yet developed, flood damage losses across Europe are expected to increase four fold by 2050.
The scientists believe that the continent's annual flood costs may be 23.5bn euros by the middle of the century.
Two-thirds of the projected increase in flood damage will be caused by human development, not climate change.
The study has been published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
One of the big problems for European flood disaster research has been that countries tend to do their risk assessments on their own, using different models and methodologies compared with their neighbours.
"This is not an accurate way of working," said lead author Brenden Jongman from VU University in Amsterdam.
"We show that if you have very high flood risk in the UK there is also a very high risk in northern France, the Netherlands and some parts of Germany."
Rather than looking at individual flood risks, the team decided to look at maximum water discharges in over 1,000 European river sub-basins, or parts of catchments.
They found that different rivers often reach dangerous levels at the same time, threatening large regions.
"If you don't take into account these spatial co-relations then you highly underestimate the risk - there is a much higher risk than we actually think so far," said Mr Jongman.
"We say the average annual losses are expected to increase by a factor of four between now and 2050."
The researchers tested the model by looking at data from rivers between 2000 and 2012. From that information they estimated that annual flood losses across Europe would be 4.9bn euros per year. Reported annual losses were 4.2bn.
Using the same system, the team estimates that annual losses by 2050 across Europe would be 23.5bn euros.
Looking at the disastrous summer floods in Central Europe last year that cost 12bn euros in losses, the researchers estimate that the chances of an event like this happening in 2050 will have increased from once in 16 years to once in 10.
The scientists say that this is the first time they can look at the probability of total damages from floods across Europe.
And while climate change is an important factor, according to Brenden Jongman, it is not the critical element in their model.
"About two-thirds is caused by socio-economic growth," he said.
"More people are living in flood-prone areas, [and] the income per capita is increasing in the dangerous areas around Europe."
Climate change cannot be dismissed and is likely to cause precipitation events to become more intense, and flood waters will likely be deeper and last longer.
While the increase in losses from floods is significant, the scientists believe that by investing in defences and mitigation, governments can limit the economic impact.
The amount of damages likely to be caused is far more than the costs of prevention, but Brenden Jongman says that political issues muddy the waters.
"The costs of these investments come up front, but the benefits of this flood protection might be in the future, not in the current government's term.
"There may be no votes for them."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-26382128
By Matt McGrath, Environment correspondent, BBC News
According to the most accurate model yet developed, flood damage losses across Europe are expected to increase four fold by 2050.
The scientists believe that the continent's annual flood costs may be 23.5bn euros by the middle of the century.
Two-thirds of the projected increase in flood damage will be caused by human development, not climate change.
The study has been published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
One of the big problems for European flood disaster research has been that countries tend to do their risk assessments on their own, using different models and methodologies compared with their neighbours.
"This is not an accurate way of working," said lead author Brenden Jongman from VU University in Amsterdam.
"We show that if you have very high flood risk in the UK there is also a very high risk in northern France, the Netherlands and some parts of Germany."
Rather than looking at individual flood risks, the team decided to look at maximum water discharges in over 1,000 European river sub-basins, or parts of catchments.
They found that different rivers often reach dangerous levels at the same time, threatening large regions.
"If you don't take into account these spatial co-relations then you highly underestimate the risk - there is a much higher risk than we actually think so far," said Mr Jongman.
"We say the average annual losses are expected to increase by a factor of four between now and 2050."
The researchers tested the model by looking at data from rivers between 2000 and 2012. From that information they estimated that annual flood losses across Europe would be 4.9bn euros per year. Reported annual losses were 4.2bn.
Using the same system, the team estimates that annual losses by 2050 across Europe would be 23.5bn euros.
Looking at the disastrous summer floods in Central Europe last year that cost 12bn euros in losses, the researchers estimate that the chances of an event like this happening in 2050 will have increased from once in 16 years to once in 10.
The scientists say that this is the first time they can look at the probability of total damages from floods across Europe.
And while climate change is an important factor, according to Brenden Jongman, it is not the critical element in their model.
"About two-thirds is caused by socio-economic growth," he said.
"More people are living in flood-prone areas, [and] the income per capita is increasing in the dangerous areas around Europe."
Climate change cannot be dismissed and is likely to cause precipitation events to become more intense, and flood waters will likely be deeper and last longer.
While the increase in losses from floods is significant, the scientists believe that by investing in defences and mitigation, governments can limit the economic impact.
The amount of damages likely to be caused is far more than the costs of prevention, but Brenden Jongman says that political issues muddy the waters.
"The costs of these investments come up front, but the benefits of this flood protection might be in the future, not in the current government's term.
"There may be no votes for them."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-26382128
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Restoring bogs 'could cut flooding'
By Roger Harrabin, Environment analyst
The UK government is discussing new rules to stop farmers contributing to flooding through poor land management.
A policy of paying farmers to dig peat drainage channels is being reversed.
Environmentalists say grants should be withheld if farms are managed in a way that encourages floods, but farmers don't want more regulations.
Experts say some farmers have caused soil and water to flush into rivers by leaving fields bare and compacting land with cattle and heavy machinery.
Scientists are particularly concerned about maize, the crop that creates most rainfall run-off.
Some experts want maize to be banned from steep slopes altogether because its bare rows contribute so much to flooding and silt.
The rules are being discussed in informal consultations, run by the environment department Defra, over what farmers should do to qualify for the £3.6bn grants they receive from the taxpayer.
There is pressure for landowners to capture more rain where it falls in upper catchments of rivers by causing localised mini-floods so the water can seep into the soil instead of flushing into the river system.
In a related project on Exmoor, South West Water is working with landowners to restore the peat bog to improve its water storage.
In the past, farmers have been paid by the taxpayer to dig drainage channels in peat to improve its productivity for sheep and cattle.
Productivity did not increase, but flooding did as water flushed off the moorlands to swell rivers.
Now we are paying again to reverse the failed policy and fill in the drainage channels.
The scheme costs £2.2m. "It's having huge impact," said Dylan Bright of South West Water.
"By the time the restoration of the catchment is completed, the moor will be able to hold the equivalent of 104 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water. It'll hold back rainfall from flowing down to places like Exeter."
The sphagnum moss that forms peat holds up to 20 times its dry weight in water.
Preliminary trials on Exmoor by Professor Richard Brazier, from Exeter University, show that blocking drainage channels has allowed the moorland to hold a third more rainfall - this can make the difference between flooding and not flooding.
Prof Brazier is also concerned about land management on farm fields. He said too many farmers leave vulnerable soils bare and allow soil and water to run off.
He claims that current government rules on soil management are often ignored by farmers, who face a 1% chance of an inspection to check that they are earning their grants by obeying the regulations.
Maize farming in the wet west of England is a particular problem, he says, as there are no rules for producing the crop. Three quarters of the maize fields in the south-west contribute to flooding, a report in the journal Soil Use and Management says.
Farm vehicles tend to compact the soil of maize fields, causing massive run-off. "Personally I think the best thing would be simply to ban the cultivation of maize on steep fields," Prof Brazier told BBC News.
Farmers reject a ban on maize on slopes: "We don't need any more regulations on farmers," Mark Humphry told me on his part-flooded farm near Taunton.
"We are working with local Defra officials to get advice on vulnerable soils; that's the best way of doing things."
But experts say more needs to be done to protect vulnerable soils, like those around the River Parrett which flooded the Somerset Levels.
Professor Bob Evans from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge told BBC News: "The National Soil Map makes it clear that some soils on the Parrett catchment are vulnerable to run-off.
"Erosion probably increased in the 1970s-80s because of the change in cropping to winter cereals around that time."
He too is especially worried about maize: "The possibility of erosion occurring in winter cereals is one field in 42, in maize it's one field in seven."
At Cranfield University, Professor Jane Rickson measures the impact of rainfall on different crops and soil types.
"We have to be much smarter about the way we manage the land," she said.
"If we manage soil properly it can absorb a lot of rainfall. We can't prevent flooding but we can certainly inhibit flooding by good land management."
She said the government's desire to make farming more profitable by encouraging high-value crops like maize, potatoes and asparagus has tempted farmers to plough up grassland that previously used to bind fragile soils together.
Capturing water where it falls was one of the key objectives laid down in the Pitt Review of the 2007 floods and Defra is hoping to expand that work as part of its response to this year's flooding.
Scientists fear that the government will be diverted from the task by the political clamour to increase dredging.
"Dredging will only solve part of the problem," said Prof Rickson.
"If you get dredging wrong, you can make matters worse by making it flood somewhere else. And dredging is an endless expensive commitment year on year.
"It would be better to keep as much soil out of the rivers in the first place."
A Defra spokesperson said: "We are currently seeking views on the rules that farmers need to follow, including soil management and erosion prevention, in return for the CAP funding that they receive."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-26466653
By Roger Harrabin, Environment analyst
The UK government is discussing new rules to stop farmers contributing to flooding through poor land management.
A policy of paying farmers to dig peat drainage channels is being reversed.
Environmentalists say grants should be withheld if farms are managed in a way that encourages floods, but farmers don't want more regulations.
Experts say some farmers have caused soil and water to flush into rivers by leaving fields bare and compacting land with cattle and heavy machinery.
Scientists are particularly concerned about maize, the crop that creates most rainfall run-off.
Some experts want maize to be banned from steep slopes altogether because its bare rows contribute so much to flooding and silt.
The rules are being discussed in informal consultations, run by the environment department Defra, over what farmers should do to qualify for the £3.6bn grants they receive from the taxpayer.
There is pressure for landowners to capture more rain where it falls in upper catchments of rivers by causing localised mini-floods so the water can seep into the soil instead of flushing into the river system.
In a related project on Exmoor, South West Water is working with landowners to restore the peat bog to improve its water storage.
In the past, farmers have been paid by the taxpayer to dig drainage channels in peat to improve its productivity for sheep and cattle.
Productivity did not increase, but flooding did as water flushed off the moorlands to swell rivers.
Now we are paying again to reverse the failed policy and fill in the drainage channels.
The scheme costs £2.2m. "It's having huge impact," said Dylan Bright of South West Water.
"By the time the restoration of the catchment is completed, the moor will be able to hold the equivalent of 104 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water. It'll hold back rainfall from flowing down to places like Exeter."
The sphagnum moss that forms peat holds up to 20 times its dry weight in water.
Preliminary trials on Exmoor by Professor Richard Brazier, from Exeter University, show that blocking drainage channels has allowed the moorland to hold a third more rainfall - this can make the difference between flooding and not flooding.
Prof Brazier is also concerned about land management on farm fields. He said too many farmers leave vulnerable soils bare and allow soil and water to run off.
He claims that current government rules on soil management are often ignored by farmers, who face a 1% chance of an inspection to check that they are earning their grants by obeying the regulations.
Maize farming in the wet west of England is a particular problem, he says, as there are no rules for producing the crop. Three quarters of the maize fields in the south-west contribute to flooding, a report in the journal Soil Use and Management says.
Farm vehicles tend to compact the soil of maize fields, causing massive run-off. "Personally I think the best thing would be simply to ban the cultivation of maize on steep fields," Prof Brazier told BBC News.
Farmers reject a ban on maize on slopes: "We don't need any more regulations on farmers," Mark Humphry told me on his part-flooded farm near Taunton.
"We are working with local Defra officials to get advice on vulnerable soils; that's the best way of doing things."
But experts say more needs to be done to protect vulnerable soils, like those around the River Parrett which flooded the Somerset Levels.
Professor Bob Evans from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge told BBC News: "The National Soil Map makes it clear that some soils on the Parrett catchment are vulnerable to run-off.
"Erosion probably increased in the 1970s-80s because of the change in cropping to winter cereals around that time."
He too is especially worried about maize: "The possibility of erosion occurring in winter cereals is one field in 42, in maize it's one field in seven."
At Cranfield University, Professor Jane Rickson measures the impact of rainfall on different crops and soil types.
"We have to be much smarter about the way we manage the land," she said.
"If we manage soil properly it can absorb a lot of rainfall. We can't prevent flooding but we can certainly inhibit flooding by good land management."
She said the government's desire to make farming more profitable by encouraging high-value crops like maize, potatoes and asparagus has tempted farmers to plough up grassland that previously used to bind fragile soils together.
Capturing water where it falls was one of the key objectives laid down in the Pitt Review of the 2007 floods and Defra is hoping to expand that work as part of its response to this year's flooding.
Scientists fear that the government will be diverted from the task by the political clamour to increase dredging.
"Dredging will only solve part of the problem," said Prof Rickson.
"If you get dredging wrong, you can make matters worse by making it flood somewhere else. And dredging is an endless expensive commitment year on year.
"It would be better to keep as much soil out of the rivers in the first place."
A Defra spokesperson said: "We are currently seeking views on the rules that farmers need to follow, including soil management and erosion prevention, in return for the CAP funding that they receive."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-26466653
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
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- Eblana
The farmers probably say he was badgering them.
Anome
Bibliomancer
- Joined
- May 23, 2002
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- 5,528
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- Left, and to the Back
There's a similar fuss kicking up in the highlands near here, about brumbies (wild horses) and the damage they're doing. On the one hand, you have the parks authority trying to reduce numbers as humanely as possible, and then you have some bunch of nut bags who want to start shooting them from helicopters, and then you have the farmers who don't want them removed because they like having them around. (Never mind their hooves are tearing away the topsoil and ruining the ground around watering holes.)
- Joined
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- 113
Anome_ said:
The nut bags you mention are well and truly already in operation. I did a degree in land management and came across a guy who was contracted to do the very thing you have mentioned. (I dont know if it was legally or not)
I have to say the people that they recruit must be insane. He 'stalked' cats (yes normal cats present across the UK) using night vision goggles and a (licensed) rifle.
When I asked him why he felt it was necessary to stalk domestic cats using state of the art technology, he told me he 'safeguarding' songbirds.
I reported him for illegal use of firearms, but nothing ever came from it. (He told me on several occasions he shot neighbors cats if they 'strayed' onto 'his' land.
I explained to him that cats actually have have a law protecting their 'right to roam'
He was unimpressed, and continued to tell me he shot any cats 'tresspassing' on his property would be "shot on sight".
A most peculiar fellow.
Anome
Bibliomancer
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- 5,528
- Location
- Left, and to the Back
Whereabouts was this? Feral cats are a serious problem in much of Australia. Although, shooting them from helicopters is probably more problematic than shooting brumbies.
As with the brumbies, however, the damage they do to the environment is often overlooked by people who think cats are cute. (Don't get me wrong, they are adorable, but if you let them get outside, they kill things, even if they're well looked after and fed.)
As with the brumbies, however, the damage they do to the environment is often overlooked by people who think cats are cute. (Don't get me wrong, they are adorable, but if you let them get outside, they kill things, even if they're well looked after and fed.)
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
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- Eblana
Perhaps the Australian Armed Forces could use the ideas from the old book and strap rockets to the cats.
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2014
- Messages
- 113
Anome_ said:
He didn't actually shoot cats from a helicopter (that would be quite hilarious...) He was contracted to shoot deer from a helicopter in the Scottish highland.
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
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- Location
- Eblana
AnacondaEq said:
I now have visions of gun dogs as door gunners in copters.
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Paris restricts car use after pollution hits high
Alternative driving days are being introduced in the French capital, Paris, in an attempt to tackle dangerous levels of air pollution.
From Monday, drivers will only be able to use their vehicles every other day.
This is only the second time since 1997 that such a restriction has been enforced.
The French government made the decision after air pollution exceeded safe levels for five days running in Paris and surrounding areas.
Motorcycles will also be covered by the ban, which will allow only vehicles with number plates terminating in an uneven digit to take to the roads, beginning at 05:30 (04:30 GMT) on Monday.
On Friday, public transport was made free of charge for three days in an attempt to encourage people to leave their cars at home. This measure will continue on Monday.
The smoggy conditions have been caused by a combination of cold nights and warm days, which have prevented pollution from dispersing.
The capital's air quality has been one of the worst on record, French environmental agencies say, rivalling the Chinese capital, Beijing, one of the world's most polluted cities.
On Friday, pollution levels hit 180 microgrammes of PM10 particulates per cubic metre, more than double the safe limit of 80.
PM10 particulates are emitted by vehicles, heating systems and heavy industry.
The government will review pollution levels on Monday, before deciding whether to extend the driving restrictions for longer.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26599010
Alternative driving days are being introduced in the French capital, Paris, in an attempt to tackle dangerous levels of air pollution.
From Monday, drivers will only be able to use their vehicles every other day.
This is only the second time since 1997 that such a restriction has been enforced.
The French government made the decision after air pollution exceeded safe levels for five days running in Paris and surrounding areas.
Motorcycles will also be covered by the ban, which will allow only vehicles with number plates terminating in an uneven digit to take to the roads, beginning at 05:30 (04:30 GMT) on Monday.
On Friday, public transport was made free of charge for three days in an attempt to encourage people to leave their cars at home. This measure will continue on Monday.
The smoggy conditions have been caused by a combination of cold nights and warm days, which have prevented pollution from dispersing.
The capital's air quality has been one of the worst on record, French environmental agencies say, rivalling the Chinese capital, Beijing, one of the world's most polluted cities.
On Friday, pollution levels hit 180 microgrammes of PM10 particulates per cubic metre, more than double the safe limit of 80.
PM10 particulates are emitted by vehicles, heating systems and heavy industry.
The government will review pollution levels on Monday, before deciding whether to extend the driving restrictions for longer.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26599010
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- Aug 10, 2005
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- 11,990
Someone said on the radio news that Paris has been suffering similar levels of pollution to Beijing. Not sure if that's true, but sounds bad enough.
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Falmouth harbour dredging will not affect wildlife, study shows
A scientific trial shows dredging Falmouth Harbour can be carried out without affecting local ecology, those behind the proposals say.
Harbour bosses want to dredge a channel to allow more cruise ships access, but there are concerns fishing beds and a rare algae, maerl, would be damaged.
Harbour authorities said a trial dredge saw a top layer of maerl scraped away, re-laid and successfully re-colonised.
Fishermen said they still had concerns about the dredging process.
Maerl is a calcified seaweed that exists in only a few coastal areas. It acts as a nursery for commercial fish stocks.
Harbour bosses said the dredging trials showed that, after 44 weeks, the maerl habitat had been re-colonised.
Falmouth harbour bosses said dredging was needed because cruise ship visits could be under threat as the port was becoming too shallow for bigger ships.
Harbourmaster Mark Sampson said: "Ships are getting larger and ports can outlive their usefulness unless they can improve."
He said the data would be passed on to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to consider whether to allow full scale dredging.
Mr Sampson said: "This trial does give very useful data around maerl in this case."
However, critics said other concerns still had to be addressed.
Dr Miles Hoskin, a marine biological consultant and part-time commercial fisherman, said: "There are still unresolved issues about what's going to happen to this huge amount of material that would be dredged.
"That could settle and smother habitats elsewhere."
Those campaigning for dredging say it could bring an extra 800 jobs to Falmouth.
Those against it said the risks to the environment were just too great.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-26756354
I've mentioned before that until a few years ago a couple of local vessels used to dredge up the Calcareous Maerl to be sold as fertiliser! (This was before 'The Environment' was invented!) One of these vessels, Diction, is now laid up in Truro: pic near the bottom of this page
http://cornwalltidesreach.weebly.com/truro.html
A scientific trial shows dredging Falmouth Harbour can be carried out without affecting local ecology, those behind the proposals say.
Harbour bosses want to dredge a channel to allow more cruise ships access, but there are concerns fishing beds and a rare algae, maerl, would be damaged.
Harbour authorities said a trial dredge saw a top layer of maerl scraped away, re-laid and successfully re-colonised.
Fishermen said they still had concerns about the dredging process.
Maerl is a calcified seaweed that exists in only a few coastal areas. It acts as a nursery for commercial fish stocks.
Harbour bosses said the dredging trials showed that, after 44 weeks, the maerl habitat had been re-colonised.
Falmouth harbour bosses said dredging was needed because cruise ship visits could be under threat as the port was becoming too shallow for bigger ships.
Harbourmaster Mark Sampson said: "Ships are getting larger and ports can outlive their usefulness unless they can improve."
He said the data would be passed on to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to consider whether to allow full scale dredging.
Mr Sampson said: "This trial does give very useful data around maerl in this case."
However, critics said other concerns still had to be addressed.
Dr Miles Hoskin, a marine biological consultant and part-time commercial fisherman, said: "There are still unresolved issues about what's going to happen to this huge amount of material that would be dredged.
"That could settle and smother habitats elsewhere."
Those campaigning for dredging say it could bring an extra 800 jobs to Falmouth.
Those against it said the risks to the environment were just too great.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-26756354
I've mentioned before that until a few years ago a couple of local vessels used to dredge up the Calcareous Maerl to be sold as fertiliser! (This was before 'The Environment' was invented!) One of these vessels, Diction, is now laid up in Truro: pic near the bottom of this page
http://cornwalltidesreach.weebly.com/truro.html
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Somerset floods: River dredging begins on Parrett and Tone
[Video: John Maguire speaks to the Environment Agency's Craig Woolhouse as dredging work begins]
River dredging on the Somerset Levels has started as part of a package of measures aimed at preventing a repeat of the winter floods.
Many have blamed a lack of dredging for the flooding, but the Environment Agency has maintained it would not have prevented it.
Work is beginning on five miles (8km) of the rivers Parrett and Tone.
Other measures recommended in a £100m, 20-year Flood Action Plan include a tidal barrage and extra pumping sites.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said "money is no object" in sorting out the problems which led to large swathes of the Levels spending much of the winter under water.
At the peak of the crisis, some 11,500 hectares (28,420 acres) was inundated.
Bryony Sadler, from the Flooding on the Levels Action Group (Flag), said dredging was only part of the solution.
"It's a fantastic start, but this is a 20-year plan and beyond," she said.
"Hopefully there will be things like the upper catchment work to stop the water coming so quickly and a barrage in Bridgwater to stop the silt coming in in the first place.
[The net movement of silt is always towards the sea. Closing the barrage at low tide creates a catchment area upstream into which the river waters can continue to flow, instead of being backed up by the tide. ryn.]
"We had about 2ft (60cm) of water in [our home] - we all know flooding will happen - but if this work had been done last year the homes probably would have been saved.
"We can deal with gardens and farmland if we have to, but the length of time and the duration of the floods is massively reduced if they dredge the rivers," she said.
Craig Woolhouse from the Environment Agency said 400,000 tonnes of silt had to be dredged from the rivers over the next six or seven months.
"We're going to have more machines working in more locations in the coming months to get that work done before next winter and give people more confidence that the sort of flooding they had this year - if we have the same rainfall again - we wouldn't have the same degree of flooding," he said.
"Dredging's part of the answer. It's certainly going to help those communities on North Moor, like Moorlands, that flooded and reduce the flood risks for them.
"There is a tidal influence in the Levels as well... that tidal influence with climate change is only going to become more significant and hence the idea of a barrier at Bridgwater to exclude the tidal effects.
"It's going to have to be a range of options to give flood protection in the area on a comprehensive level," Mr Woolhouse said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-26808840
In the video, the diggers put the spoil into caterpillar-track trucks, but there's no mention of what happens to the spoil.
A tidal barrier at Bridgwater should help - the Thames barrage kept London flood-free this winter. But something more modest should be approriate for Bridgwater, perhaps something like the floodgates at Truro: pic near bottom of this page:
http://cornwalltidesreach.weebly.com/truro.html
[Video: John Maguire speaks to the Environment Agency's Craig Woolhouse as dredging work begins]
River dredging on the Somerset Levels has started as part of a package of measures aimed at preventing a repeat of the winter floods.
Many have blamed a lack of dredging for the flooding, but the Environment Agency has maintained it would not have prevented it.
Work is beginning on five miles (8km) of the rivers Parrett and Tone.
Other measures recommended in a £100m, 20-year Flood Action Plan include a tidal barrage and extra pumping sites.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said "money is no object" in sorting out the problems which led to large swathes of the Levels spending much of the winter under water.
At the peak of the crisis, some 11,500 hectares (28,420 acres) was inundated.
Bryony Sadler, from the Flooding on the Levels Action Group (Flag), said dredging was only part of the solution.
"It's a fantastic start, but this is a 20-year plan and beyond," she said.
"Hopefully there will be things like the upper catchment work to stop the water coming so quickly and a barrage in Bridgwater to stop the silt coming in in the first place.
[The net movement of silt is always towards the sea. Closing the barrage at low tide creates a catchment area upstream into which the river waters can continue to flow, instead of being backed up by the tide. ryn.]
"We had about 2ft (60cm) of water in [our home] - we all know flooding will happen - but if this work had been done last year the homes probably would have been saved.
"We can deal with gardens and farmland if we have to, but the length of time and the duration of the floods is massively reduced if they dredge the rivers," she said.
Craig Woolhouse from the Environment Agency said 400,000 tonnes of silt had to be dredged from the rivers over the next six or seven months.
"We're going to have more machines working in more locations in the coming months to get that work done before next winter and give people more confidence that the sort of flooding they had this year - if we have the same rainfall again - we wouldn't have the same degree of flooding," he said.
"Dredging's part of the answer. It's certainly going to help those communities on North Moor, like Moorlands, that flooded and reduce the flood risks for them.
"There is a tidal influence in the Levels as well... that tidal influence with climate change is only going to become more significant and hence the idea of a barrier at Bridgwater to exclude the tidal effects.
"It's going to have to be a range of options to give flood protection in the area on a comprehensive level," Mr Woolhouse said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-26808840
In the video, the diggers put the spoil into caterpillar-track trucks, but there's no mention of what happens to the spoil.
A tidal barrier at Bridgwater should help - the Thames barrage kept London flood-free this winter. But something more modest should be approriate for Bridgwater, perhaps something like the floodgates at Truro: pic near bottom of this page:
http://cornwalltidesreach.weebly.com/truro.html
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- Aug 7, 2001
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- 54,631
I heard something about this on the radio this morning, but that report doesn't seem to be online yet. But I did find this earlier piece which covers some of it:
The Odyssey of the Eel
15 Oct 2008
The migration of the Eel is one of natural history's great mysteries - it is assumed that they migrate between the UK and the Sargasso Sea off Bermuda but beyond that we know very little.
The Environment Agency is using micro-cameras to unravel some of the secrets surrounding the life of the baby Eel on one of England’s best known Elver rivers – the River Parrett in Somerset. Elvers – juvenile Eels (or “glass Eels” when unpigmented) - have already been making their way over a new Elver pass built by the Environment Agency during refurbishment of a flood defence structure at Oath Lock on the River Parrett.
The peak period when Elvers migrate upstream is usually March to May – since then, CCTV cameras installed above the lock have filmed baby Eels wriggling up the pass giving them access to the network of rhynes and ditches on the Somerset levels and moors.
A recently commissioned report revealed the Eel populations have been in decline nationally and internationally. The report used data collected by the Wessex ecological appraisal and fisheries teams, who are now investigating other barriers which may prevent eels from migrating upstream and where further elver passes could be built.
The camera is capable of recording the images at night when most Elvers are running.
‘These images will enable us to collect data on the numbers and size of migrating Elvers, the seasonality of their migrations and how environmental factors such as tide, moon-phase, rainfall and water temperature affect their movement,’ said Andy Don for the Environment Agency.
The camera installation forms part of a wider investigation into the status of the Eel population across the Somerset, and Bristol Avon catchments. Oath Lock marks the tidal limit of the River Parrett. Each spring Elvers (juvenile Eels) migrate upstream into freshwater.
‘The findings showed Eel stocks across the catchment have declined and the escapement of adult Eels back to sea is probably below the 40% European target but the population is relatively stable since the mid 1990’s with no evidence of imminent collapse,’ said Pete Sibley, who managed the investigation for the Environment Agency.
‘Eels have a fascinating and unique life-cycle, in which our rivers in the South West play an important role. Without them, there would be a serious impact on river ecology. They are also an important source of food for species such as the Bittern and Otter.’
All European Eels start life in the only known spawning ground in an area of the Sargasso sea, south of Bermuda. The larvae follow the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift to return to Europe metamorphosing into glass Eels when they reach the continental shelf. Glass Eels are attracted to freshwater and enter British rivers in the spring. Glass Eels become pigmented and metamorphose into Elvers, spending a number of years in rivers and lakes, feeding and growing.
After an average of six years for males and nine years for females, Eels begin to mature, stop feeding and turn silver. Silver Eels swim downstream towards the sea to begin the long migration of 5,500 km back to the Sargasso Sea, where they will spawn and die.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/worldonthem ... f-the-eel/
But apparently the Spring Tides this year have brought in HUGE numbrs of eels! The EA is helping them over the obstacles to the higher reaches of the river system.
The Odyssey of the Eel
15 Oct 2008
The migration of the Eel is one of natural history's great mysteries - it is assumed that they migrate between the UK and the Sargasso Sea off Bermuda but beyond that we know very little.
The Environment Agency is using micro-cameras to unravel some of the secrets surrounding the life of the baby Eel on one of England’s best known Elver rivers – the River Parrett in Somerset. Elvers – juvenile Eels (or “glass Eels” when unpigmented) - have already been making their way over a new Elver pass built by the Environment Agency during refurbishment of a flood defence structure at Oath Lock on the River Parrett.
The peak period when Elvers migrate upstream is usually March to May – since then, CCTV cameras installed above the lock have filmed baby Eels wriggling up the pass giving them access to the network of rhynes and ditches on the Somerset levels and moors.
A recently commissioned report revealed the Eel populations have been in decline nationally and internationally. The report used data collected by the Wessex ecological appraisal and fisheries teams, who are now investigating other barriers which may prevent eels from migrating upstream and where further elver passes could be built.
The camera is capable of recording the images at night when most Elvers are running.
‘These images will enable us to collect data on the numbers and size of migrating Elvers, the seasonality of their migrations and how environmental factors such as tide, moon-phase, rainfall and water temperature affect their movement,’ said Andy Don for the Environment Agency.
The camera installation forms part of a wider investigation into the status of the Eel population across the Somerset, and Bristol Avon catchments. Oath Lock marks the tidal limit of the River Parrett. Each spring Elvers (juvenile Eels) migrate upstream into freshwater.
‘The findings showed Eel stocks across the catchment have declined and the escapement of adult Eels back to sea is probably below the 40% European target but the population is relatively stable since the mid 1990’s with no evidence of imminent collapse,’ said Pete Sibley, who managed the investigation for the Environment Agency.
‘Eels have a fascinating and unique life-cycle, in which our rivers in the South West play an important role. Without them, there would be a serious impact on river ecology. They are also an important source of food for species such as the Bittern and Otter.’
All European Eels start life in the only known spawning ground in an area of the Sargasso sea, south of Bermuda. The larvae follow the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift to return to Europe metamorphosing into glass Eels when they reach the continental shelf. Glass Eels are attracted to freshwater and enter British rivers in the spring. Glass Eels become pigmented and metamorphose into Elvers, spending a number of years in rivers and lakes, feeding and growing.
After an average of six years for males and nine years for females, Eels begin to mature, stop feeding and turn silver. Silver Eels swim downstream towards the sea to begin the long migration of 5,500 km back to the Sargasso Sea, where they will spawn and die.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/worldonthem ... f-the-eel/
But apparently the Spring Tides this year have brought in HUGE numbrs of eels! The EA is helping them over the obstacles to the higher reaches of the river system.
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Final berth at Hayle's Wave Hub is filled
8:55am Tuesday 1st April 2014
The final berth at the Wave Hub offshore renewable energy test facility in Hayle has been filled.
Carnegie Wave Energy has signed a commitment agreement to secure the final berth to demonstrate its next generation wave technology.
Carnegie's UK arm, CETO Wave Energy UK (CWE UK) plans to deploy a 3MW array of its next generation 1MW CETO 6 technology in 2016, with the option to expand to 10MW. It is the third customer to commit to Wave Hub in the last four months.
Carnegie’s plans will strengthen Wave Hub’s position at the forefront of pre-commercial array testing of wave energy devices in the world, with up to 30MW of installed capacity in the pipeline.
CETO, named after a Greek sea goddess, is a fully-submerged technology that produces high pressure water from the power of waves and uses it to generate clean electricity. It can also produce desalinated clean water.
Carnegie is currently building a grid connected three unit wave energy array in Western Australia using its CETO 5 device. CETO 6 will have four times more generating capacity and the company said the Wave Hub site provided more energetic sea conditions.
Carnegie’s Executive Director of European Business Development, Kieran O’Brien, said “Securing a berth at Wave Hub provides Carnegie with a pre-developed site and installed grid connected infrastructure to test its CETO 6 commercial generation technology whilst leveraging off UK technical and commercial supply chain expertise in the heart of the marine renewables industry”.
Claire Gibson, managing director of Wave Hub, said: “We have seen an increase in demand from companies with advanced wave energy technology and have had to consider each of them carefully given we only had one berth remaining. Carnegie has an impressive track record, successfully developing their CETO technology from concept to a pre-commercial array in just 10 years.
“The company expects CETO 6 to be a commercial breakthrough and we are delighted they have decided to come to Wave Hub and benefit from the local expertise that is available in Cornwall. This brings to three the number of customers planning an array deployment at Wave Hub in the next few years with a potential generating capacity of 30MW.”
Cornwall Council Leader John Pollard, who is the local member for Wave Hub’s home port of Hayle and also a board member of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "It is fantastic news that CETO 6 will be part of the Hayle operation. I congratulate Wave Hub on securing this contract and fulfilling the intentions of the wave energy test facility which will now be fully utilised. This latest development is very significant for the whole region and Cornwall Council’s pioneering approach to developing energy from the sea.
Carnegie will occupy the last remaining berth at Wave Hub. Others have been reserved by UK-based Seatricity which plans to install a device this spring prior to building out a 10MW array in the next two years, and Finnish multi-national utilities firm Fortum which has reserved a berth for an array of up to 10MW and will shortly be confirming the wave technology they have selected.
Wave Hub is also the preferred location for the UK’s first offshore floating wind demonstrator project, which is being promoted by the Energy Technologies Institute working with The Glosten Associates, and could see installation start on site as early as next year.
Regen SW director Johnny Gowdy, who also programme manages the South West Marine Energy Park (SW MEP), highlighted the future opportunity for the marine energy sector in Cornwall and the south west: “Carnegie is exactly the sort of company that we hoped would come to Wave Hub, so today’s announcement is a tremendous step forward. It is critical now that we continue to invest in new infrastructure, innovation and our local industry in order to exploit this opportunity. We also need to look forward with a clear strategy to support further offshore demonstration areas and to enable future commercial projects.”
http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/11 ... ed/?ref=la
8:55am Tuesday 1st April 2014
The final berth at the Wave Hub offshore renewable energy test facility in Hayle has been filled.
Carnegie Wave Energy has signed a commitment agreement to secure the final berth to demonstrate its next generation wave technology.
Carnegie's UK arm, CETO Wave Energy UK (CWE UK) plans to deploy a 3MW array of its next generation 1MW CETO 6 technology in 2016, with the option to expand to 10MW. It is the third customer to commit to Wave Hub in the last four months.
Carnegie’s plans will strengthen Wave Hub’s position at the forefront of pre-commercial array testing of wave energy devices in the world, with up to 30MW of installed capacity in the pipeline.
CETO, named after a Greek sea goddess, is a fully-submerged technology that produces high pressure water from the power of waves and uses it to generate clean electricity. It can also produce desalinated clean water.
Carnegie is currently building a grid connected three unit wave energy array in Western Australia using its CETO 5 device. CETO 6 will have four times more generating capacity and the company said the Wave Hub site provided more energetic sea conditions.
Carnegie’s Executive Director of European Business Development, Kieran O’Brien, said “Securing a berth at Wave Hub provides Carnegie with a pre-developed site and installed grid connected infrastructure to test its CETO 6 commercial generation technology whilst leveraging off UK technical and commercial supply chain expertise in the heart of the marine renewables industry”.
Claire Gibson, managing director of Wave Hub, said: “We have seen an increase in demand from companies with advanced wave energy technology and have had to consider each of them carefully given we only had one berth remaining. Carnegie has an impressive track record, successfully developing their CETO technology from concept to a pre-commercial array in just 10 years.
“The company expects CETO 6 to be a commercial breakthrough and we are delighted they have decided to come to Wave Hub and benefit from the local expertise that is available in Cornwall. This brings to three the number of customers planning an array deployment at Wave Hub in the next few years with a potential generating capacity of 30MW.”
Cornwall Council Leader John Pollard, who is the local member for Wave Hub’s home port of Hayle and also a board member of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "It is fantastic news that CETO 6 will be part of the Hayle operation. I congratulate Wave Hub on securing this contract and fulfilling the intentions of the wave energy test facility which will now be fully utilised. This latest development is very significant for the whole region and Cornwall Council’s pioneering approach to developing energy from the sea.
Carnegie will occupy the last remaining berth at Wave Hub. Others have been reserved by UK-based Seatricity which plans to install a device this spring prior to building out a 10MW array in the next two years, and Finnish multi-national utilities firm Fortum which has reserved a berth for an array of up to 10MW and will shortly be confirming the wave technology they have selected.
Wave Hub is also the preferred location for the UK’s first offshore floating wind demonstrator project, which is being promoted by the Energy Technologies Institute working with The Glosten Associates, and could see installation start on site as early as next year.
Regen SW director Johnny Gowdy, who also programme manages the South West Marine Energy Park (SW MEP), highlighted the future opportunity for the marine energy sector in Cornwall and the south west: “Carnegie is exactly the sort of company that we hoped would come to Wave Hub, so today’s announcement is a tremendous step forward. It is critical now that we continue to invest in new infrastructure, innovation and our local industry in order to exploit this opportunity. We also need to look forward with a clear strategy to support further offshore demonstration areas and to enable future commercial projects.”
http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/11 ... ed/?ref=la
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- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
River Clyde foam investigated by environment agency
[Video: Sepa is investigating what caused the foam to form on the river]
Experts are trying to establish why a large expanse of foam has appeared on the River Clyde in Glasgow.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said it had received a number of calls.
It is believed that the foam is coming from an overflow pipe located near the Tradeston Bridge, known locally as the Squiggly Bridge.
The foam stretches from the Broomielaw in the city centre to the Clyde Arc, known locally as the Squinty Bridge.
A statement from Sepa said: "Sepa currently has a number of officers committed to investigating the pollution incident in the River Clyde and samples will be taken for testing to determine any potential impact of the substance on the local environment.
"Efforts are also ongoing to determine the source of the pollution."
Plus several photos.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-g ... t-26882630
[Video: Sepa is investigating what caused the foam to form on the river]
Experts are trying to establish why a large expanse of foam has appeared on the River Clyde in Glasgow.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said it had received a number of calls.
It is believed that the foam is coming from an overflow pipe located near the Tradeston Bridge, known locally as the Squiggly Bridge.
The foam stretches from the Broomielaw in the city centre to the Clyde Arc, known locally as the Squinty Bridge.
A statement from Sepa said: "Sepa currently has a number of officers committed to investigating the pollution incident in the River Clyde and samples will be taken for testing to determine any potential impact of the substance on the local environment.
"Efforts are also ongoing to determine the source of the pollution."
Plus several photos.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-g ... t-26882630
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- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Flooded Britain: how can Holland help?
The Dutch are experts at holding back flooding with dikes, muskrat traps, and now an elaborate surf-flattening 'sand engine'. But what good is all this to water-logged Britain?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/ ... -help.html
A very, VERY long article, but interesting and important as well. Worth a read. (I've commented elsewhere about Dutch schemes like the Oosterscheldt barrage.)
The Dutch are experts at holding back flooding with dikes, muskrat traps, and now an elaborate surf-flattening 'sand engine'. But what good is all this to water-logged Britain?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/ ... -help.html
A very, VERY long article, but interesting and important as well. Worth a read. (I've commented elsewhere about Dutch schemes like the Oosterscheldt barrage.)
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
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- 54,631
Tropical storms migrate toward poles
By Roger Harrabin, BBC environment analyst
Tropical storms have been migrating northwards and southwards towards the poles for the past 30 years, a paper in Nature says.
People are becoming less likely to face the worst of a hurricane or typhoon if they live close to the Equator, and more likely if they live on the edges of the tropics.
The storms are reaching their maximum intensity 52-63km further north and south every decade.
The paper, led by the US agency Noaa, underlines a previous finding that the area defined as the Tropics is clearly expanding.
The researchers believe humans are influencing the changes - with climate change, ozone depletion and aerosols playing a part. They cannot yet be certain which factor is most significant.
The lead author, James Kossin from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (Noaa) National Climatic Data Center, says the research is based on observations of the point of maximum intensity of the storm.
He told BBC News: "By the time a serious storm reaches maximum intensity, someone has picked it up and is monitoring it, so we can be pretty confident of this data.
"What we can't be sure of yet is exactly what's causing the trend. There is compelling evidence that the expansion of the tropics is attributable to a combination of human activities, but we don't know which is the primary factor.
"If ozone depletion is mainly to blame, then the situation is likely to stabilise by the middle of the century after ozone-depleting chemicals are phased out. But if climate change is the main factor then there's no end in sight to this phenomenon."
etc...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27408964
By Roger Harrabin, BBC environment analyst
Tropical storms have been migrating northwards and southwards towards the poles for the past 30 years, a paper in Nature says.
People are becoming less likely to face the worst of a hurricane or typhoon if they live close to the Equator, and more likely if they live on the edges of the tropics.
The storms are reaching their maximum intensity 52-63km further north and south every decade.
The paper, led by the US agency Noaa, underlines a previous finding that the area defined as the Tropics is clearly expanding.
The researchers believe humans are influencing the changes - with climate change, ozone depletion and aerosols playing a part. They cannot yet be certain which factor is most significant.
The lead author, James Kossin from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (Noaa) National Climatic Data Center, says the research is based on observations of the point of maximum intensity of the storm.
He told BBC News: "By the time a serious storm reaches maximum intensity, someone has picked it up and is monitoring it, so we can be pretty confident of this data.
"What we can't be sure of yet is exactly what's causing the trend. There is compelling evidence that the expansion of the tropics is attributable to a combination of human activities, but we don't know which is the primary factor.
"If ozone depletion is mainly to blame, then the situation is likely to stabilise by the middle of the century after ozone-depleting chemicals are phased out. But if climate change is the main factor then there's no end in sight to this phenomenon."
etc...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27408964
tastyintestines
Justified & Ancient
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2002
- Messages
- 1,610
A lot of buts and ifs. Great science!
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Whale killed by cruise ship near New York amid upsurge in cetacean strikes
theguardian.com, Saturday 24 May 2014 14.13 BST
A cruise ship heading for New York this month struck and killed a whale and dragged it into the Hudson River, part of a higher-than-usual rate of strikes along the eastern seaboard for this time of year, a federal agency said.
There were three whale strikes recently, including one in which a cruise ship hit a sei whale and did not discover it until it reached port, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
In a similar case, a sei whale was found dead and attached to a container ship that was docking near Philadelphia, NOAA said.
The whales may be following food sources closer to shore, NOAA said. An increased food supply has recently been cited for a large increase in the number of humpback whales off Massachusetts.
The agency issued a reminder to mariners of measures already in place to protect whales, including speed limits and distances.
"Nobody wants to hit a whale," said Marjorie Mooney-Seus, a spokeswoman. "So we want people to have a greater awareness that they're out there now."
The usual rate of whale strikes by ships is about one every few weeks, she said, compared with the three in the past few weeks.
NOAA said it counted 28 whale strikes in north-eastern waters between 2006 and 2010. Worldwide, a National Marine Fisheries Service survey covering 1975 through 2002 found 292 records of confirmed or possible ship strikes to large whales.
Rob DiGiovanni, who heads a marine mammal rescue group on Long Island, said he was seeing "more evidence of ship strikes and that's definitely a concern". In the past, his Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation would go a couple of years without seeing a large whale that had been hit by a ship.
"Now we get a couple a year," he said.
The New York cruise ship incident was discovered on 4 May and the Philadelphia case on 7 May, Mooney-Seus said. She did not have details about the third recent strike except that it involved a fin whale; NOAA is investigating.
A necropsy on the New York whale found it was killed by blunt force, confirming that it was killed by the ship, Mooney-Seus said. The other two whales were not retrieved.
NOAA said there have been no recent reported strikes of endangered North Atlantic right whales.
DiGiovanni said his group hopes to study whether the numbers are up because there are more whales, more ships or a change in a food source, as suggested by NOAA.
In the coastal waters off Boston, large numbers of a fish called the sea lance have turned the mouth of Massachusetts Bay into a "whale feeding ground", said Laura Howes of Boston Harbor Cruises.
Twenty to 30 whales are being spotted on every whale-watching excursion, 10 times the usual number.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... p-new-york
theguardian.com, Saturday 24 May 2014 14.13 BST
A cruise ship heading for New York this month struck and killed a whale and dragged it into the Hudson River, part of a higher-than-usual rate of strikes along the eastern seaboard for this time of year, a federal agency said.
There were three whale strikes recently, including one in which a cruise ship hit a sei whale and did not discover it until it reached port, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
In a similar case, a sei whale was found dead and attached to a container ship that was docking near Philadelphia, NOAA said.
The whales may be following food sources closer to shore, NOAA said. An increased food supply has recently been cited for a large increase in the number of humpback whales off Massachusetts.
The agency issued a reminder to mariners of measures already in place to protect whales, including speed limits and distances.
"Nobody wants to hit a whale," said Marjorie Mooney-Seus, a spokeswoman. "So we want people to have a greater awareness that they're out there now."
The usual rate of whale strikes by ships is about one every few weeks, she said, compared with the three in the past few weeks.
NOAA said it counted 28 whale strikes in north-eastern waters between 2006 and 2010. Worldwide, a National Marine Fisheries Service survey covering 1975 through 2002 found 292 records of confirmed or possible ship strikes to large whales.
Rob DiGiovanni, who heads a marine mammal rescue group on Long Island, said he was seeing "more evidence of ship strikes and that's definitely a concern". In the past, his Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation would go a couple of years without seeing a large whale that had been hit by a ship.
"Now we get a couple a year," he said.
The New York cruise ship incident was discovered on 4 May and the Philadelphia case on 7 May, Mooney-Seus said. She did not have details about the third recent strike except that it involved a fin whale; NOAA is investigating.
A necropsy on the New York whale found it was killed by blunt force, confirming that it was killed by the ship, Mooney-Seus said. The other two whales were not retrieved.
NOAA said there have been no recent reported strikes of endangered North Atlantic right whales.
DiGiovanni said his group hopes to study whether the numbers are up because there are more whales, more ships or a change in a food source, as suggested by NOAA.
In the coastal waters off Boston, large numbers of a fish called the sea lance have turned the mouth of Massachusetts Bay into a "whale feeding ground", said Laura Howes of Boston Harbor Cruises.
Twenty to 30 whales are being spotted on every whale-watching excursion, 10 times the usual number.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... p-new-york
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
How much energy does a web search use?
A typical web search would, on average, produce around 0.2g of CO2, says Rick Maybury
7:00AM BST 31 May 2014
Like many good urban myths there is a grain of truth and if nothing else it helps raise awareness of the energy consumption and environmental impact of our gadgets and gizmos.
While we are on the subject, Google has also been blamed for wasting large amounts of energy through the design of its home and search return pages. PC monitors, LCD screens and so on consume more power when displaying bright white pages and it is fair to say that used to be quite significant on old style CRT monitors but even though modern screens consume much less power it all adds up.
If you want to help ease the burden, continue using Google and maybe even extend the running time of battery powered devices there are several energy-saving Google-powered Search engines and browser add-ons that switch off the white background.
Try Blackle, (http://goo.gl/jWDO). Blackl (http://goo.gl/TIYfP) , Go! Black! (http://goo.gl/PN95lW), Jabago (http://goo.gl/P4Zh) or the Firefox add-on Black Google Theme (http://goo.gl/tNOkhb).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/a ... h-use.html
A typical web search would, on average, produce around 0.2g of CO2, says Rick Maybury
7:00AM BST 31 May 2014
Stories like this have been doing the rounds for a quite while but tend not to hold up well under close scrutiny. This one, which first appeared a couple of years ago, was based on some rather pessimistic assumptions about how long a typical web search took, and the power consumed by the Internet’s infrastructure as search requests and returned data bounce around the web. Nevertheless, it prompted Google to publish energy consumption figures for its own network of server farms. Based on those figures further analysis suggested that a typical web search would, on average, produce around 0.2g of CO2, compared with the 7g of CO2 generated by a boiling a kettle.
Like many good urban myths there is a grain of truth and if nothing else it helps raise awareness of the energy consumption and environmental impact of our gadgets and gizmos.
While we are on the subject, Google has also been blamed for wasting large amounts of energy through the design of its home and search return pages. PC monitors, LCD screens and so on consume more power when displaying bright white pages and it is fair to say that used to be quite significant on old style CRT monitors but even though modern screens consume much less power it all adds up.
If you want to help ease the burden, continue using Google and maybe even extend the running time of battery powered devices there are several energy-saving Google-powered Search engines and browser add-ons that switch off the white background.
Try Blackle, (http://goo.gl/jWDO). Blackl (http://goo.gl/TIYfP) , Go! Black! (http://goo.gl/PN95lW), Jabago (http://goo.gl/P4Zh) or the Firefox add-on Black Google Theme (http://goo.gl/tNOkhb).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/a ... h-use.html
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Pumping the polluted water from mines
By Jonathan Morris, BBC News, Plymouth
Water contaminated with metals and chemicals still sits in dozens of disused mines across England, Scotland and Wales. But how do you ensure those millions of litres are kept out of rivers and streams?
A twisting array of pipes emerges Hydra-like from the depths of the disused Wheal Jane mine, near Truro in Cornwall.
Contaminated water, laden with iron, zinc, cadmium and arsenic, is pumped out of the mine at the rate of at least 110 litres a second out of a maximum of nine pumps, depending on the rainfall at the time.
All nine were called on to deal with last winter's floods.
There is no sound - the pumps are 63m (207ft) below the surface where miners once dug for arsenic, copper, tin, iron and zinc.
Pumps at Wheal Jane work round-the-clock, sending contaminated water for treatment where it is mixed with lime to neutralise its acidity, mixed with a chemical to bond the metal particles together or into a settling tank.
The remaining sludge is pumped into clay-lined impermeable lagoons and clean water is ejected into a stream which emerges into the River Fal.
"After a mine closes, you are no longer pumping water out so the water rises within the mine," said Jeremy Crooks, the Coal Authority's principal contracts manager
"It absorbs metals and minerals from the surface of the workings and when they come to the surface they can be released and you can have a highly-polluted water."
The authority's job is to make sure the residues from Britain's mining past are treated in 51 processing plants.
Coal mines produce less acidic iron-polluted water, which can coat river beds, choking plants and killing fish by getting in their gills.
The Wheal Jane plant was built after a catastrophic release of contaminated water in 1992, a year after the mine was closed and its pumps turned off.
A drainage tunnel, or adit, near the surface had collapsed and more than 45m litres of acidic mine water poured into the Carnon River and the Fal Estuary.
Former Cornish miner Mark Kaczmarek said: "When I first saw the pictures on TV I could not believe it.
"You can still see the marks on the river bank near the Pandora Inn on the river.
"Cornwall is used to mining effluent, the Red River at Godrevy is named after the iron from the mines, but it was shocking seeing the Fal stained red."
Mr Kaczmarek, now a Cornwall councillor, campaigns to maintain adits from former mines in the county.
There have been no other incidents of such widespread pollution since, but the Coal Authority deals with about three "blow-outs" a year across England, Scotland and Wales.
They happen when the collapse of a shaft leads to a build-up of water pressure and contaminated water is released
etc...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-26573994
The Wheal Jane incident occurred soon after I came to live in Cornwall, and it was only then that I began to fully realise the extent of the former mining industry. Although I'd known Cornwall for years, it was mostly its coasts and harbours I knew - inland, and underground, had been a closed book to me until 1992...
By Jonathan Morris, BBC News, Plymouth
Water contaminated with metals and chemicals still sits in dozens of disused mines across England, Scotland and Wales. But how do you ensure those millions of litres are kept out of rivers and streams?
A twisting array of pipes emerges Hydra-like from the depths of the disused Wheal Jane mine, near Truro in Cornwall.
Contaminated water, laden with iron, zinc, cadmium and arsenic, is pumped out of the mine at the rate of at least 110 litres a second out of a maximum of nine pumps, depending on the rainfall at the time.
All nine were called on to deal with last winter's floods.
There is no sound - the pumps are 63m (207ft) below the surface where miners once dug for arsenic, copper, tin, iron and zinc.
Pumps at Wheal Jane work round-the-clock, sending contaminated water for treatment where it is mixed with lime to neutralise its acidity, mixed with a chemical to bond the metal particles together or into a settling tank.
The remaining sludge is pumped into clay-lined impermeable lagoons and clean water is ejected into a stream which emerges into the River Fal.
"After a mine closes, you are no longer pumping water out so the water rises within the mine," said Jeremy Crooks, the Coal Authority's principal contracts manager
"It absorbs metals and minerals from the surface of the workings and when they come to the surface they can be released and you can have a highly-polluted water."
The authority's job is to make sure the residues from Britain's mining past are treated in 51 processing plants.
Coal mines produce less acidic iron-polluted water, which can coat river beds, choking plants and killing fish by getting in their gills.
The Wheal Jane plant was built after a catastrophic release of contaminated water in 1992, a year after the mine was closed and its pumps turned off.
A drainage tunnel, or adit, near the surface had collapsed and more than 45m litres of acidic mine water poured into the Carnon River and the Fal Estuary.
Former Cornish miner Mark Kaczmarek said: "When I first saw the pictures on TV I could not believe it.
"You can still see the marks on the river bank near the Pandora Inn on the river.
"Cornwall is used to mining effluent, the Red River at Godrevy is named after the iron from the mines, but it was shocking seeing the Fal stained red."
Mr Kaczmarek, now a Cornwall councillor, campaigns to maintain adits from former mines in the county.
There have been no other incidents of such widespread pollution since, but the Coal Authority deals with about three "blow-outs" a year across England, Scotland and Wales.
They happen when the collapse of a shaft leads to a build-up of water pressure and contaminated water is released
etc...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-26573994
The Wheal Jane incident occurred soon after I came to live in Cornwall, and it was only then that I began to fully realise the extent of the former mining industry. Although I'd known Cornwall for years, it was mostly its coasts and harbours I knew - inland, and underground, had been a closed book to me until 1992...
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
There's more than an undertone of Population Growth here too...
Risk posed by China mountain removal
By Rebecca Morelle, Science correspondent, BBC News
China's campaign to bulldoze mountains to create land to build on could cause extensive environmental problems, scientists say.
Researchers from Chang'an University in China have warned that dozens of mountains have already been flattened - and this is causing air and water pollution, soil erosion and flooding.
They say that this activity is happening on an unprecedented scale.
They report their concerns in the journal Nature.
Prof Peiyue Li, from Chang'an University's School of Environmental Science and Engineering, said: "Because there have been no land creation projects like this before in the world, there are no guidelines."
China's cities are expanding rapidly as its economy grows, and moving mountains is one way to supply more land for development.
About one-fifth of the country's population lives in mountainous areas.
Around the country, in cities such as Chongqing, Shiyan, Yichang, Lanzhou and Yan'an, dozens of hilltops have been levelled.
The soil and rock is then used to fill in valleys, and overall this has so far created hundreds of square kilometres of flat terrain.
Prof Li said: "Mountainous cities such as Yan'an are mostly located in relatively flat valleys.
"The valleys are narrow and limit the development of the cities - and huge population density is also a factor."
While mountaintop removal is sometimes used by the mining industry, particularly in the US, researchers say the scale of this in China is unparalleled.
They warn that turning hills into plains is throwing dust particles into the atmosphere, polluting waterways, causing landslides and flooding and endangering plants and animals.
They add that the flattened land could also be unsuitable to build on.
Prof Li explained: "The most concerning issue is the safety of constructing cities on the newly created land.
"Yan'an, for example, is the largest project ever attempted on land that is composed of thick windblown silt.
"Such soft soils can subside when wet, causing structural collapse and land subsidence. Building on such soils is quite dangerous and it would take a very long time for the ground base to become stable."
etc...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27702401
Risk posed by China mountain removal
By Rebecca Morelle, Science correspondent, BBC News
China's campaign to bulldoze mountains to create land to build on could cause extensive environmental problems, scientists say.
Researchers from Chang'an University in China have warned that dozens of mountains have already been flattened - and this is causing air and water pollution, soil erosion and flooding.
They say that this activity is happening on an unprecedented scale.
They report their concerns in the journal Nature.
Prof Peiyue Li, from Chang'an University's School of Environmental Science and Engineering, said: "Because there have been no land creation projects like this before in the world, there are no guidelines."
China's cities are expanding rapidly as its economy grows, and moving mountains is one way to supply more land for development.
About one-fifth of the country's population lives in mountainous areas.
Around the country, in cities such as Chongqing, Shiyan, Yichang, Lanzhou and Yan'an, dozens of hilltops have been levelled.
The soil and rock is then used to fill in valleys, and overall this has so far created hundreds of square kilometres of flat terrain.
Prof Li said: "Mountainous cities such as Yan'an are mostly located in relatively flat valleys.
"The valleys are narrow and limit the development of the cities - and huge population density is also a factor."
While mountaintop removal is sometimes used by the mining industry, particularly in the US, researchers say the scale of this in China is unparalleled.
They warn that turning hills into plains is throwing dust particles into the atmosphere, polluting waterways, causing landslides and flooding and endangering plants and animals.
They add that the flattened land could also be unsuitable to build on.
Prof Li explained: "The most concerning issue is the safety of constructing cities on the newly created land.
"Yan'an, for example, is the largest project ever attempted on land that is composed of thick windblown silt.
"Such soft soils can subside when wet, causing structural collapse and land subsidence. Building on such soils is quite dangerous and it would take a very long time for the ground base to become stable."
etc...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27702401
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Expansion of US marine protected zone could double world reserves
By Matt McGrath, Environment correspondent, BBC News
The US plans to create the world's biggest marine protected area (MPA) in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
The White House will extend an existing protected area, known as the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.
Fishing and drilling would be banned from an area that could eventually cover two million sq km.
The extended zone would double the world's fully protected marine reserves.
The Pacific Remote Islands Area is controlled by the US and consists of seven scattered islands, atolls and reefs that lie between Hawaii and American Samoa.
Essentially uninhabited, the waters that surround these remote islands are home to a wide range of species including corals, seabirds, sharks and vegetation not found anywhere else in the world.
In 2009, President Bush declared the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, giving the islands the same level of protection as statues or cultural sites.
Now President Obama has signalled that he will extend the area that will be off limits to fishing and mineral exploitation to the limit of US economic control - some 200 nautical miles around the islands.
The White House said the final size of the protected zone would depend on consultations with scientists, fishing and conservation organisations.
The Washington Post reported that this would eventually cover up two million sq km.
"This area contains some of the most pristine tropical marine environment in the world," said White House senior counsel John Podesta, who made the announcement.
"These tropical coral reefs and associated ecosystems are among the marine environments facing the most serious threat from climate change and ocean acidification."
Speaking ahead of the announcement, President Obama said that protecting marine areas wasn't just a good idea for the environment, it made good economic sense as well.
"If we ignore these problems, if we drain our oceans of their resources, we won't just be squandering one of humanity's greatest treasures, we will be cutting off one of the worlds major sources of food and economic growth," he said.
Last year, attempts to create huge marine reserves in Antarctica failed when Russia blocked plans by the US and others for a third time.
Ocean campaigners have welcomed the new US plan as an important step.
"This is incredibly significant and shows global leadership from the US on this issue" said Karen Sack from the Pew Charitable Trusts.
"There is an amazing array of biodiversity around these islands, there are sea mount systems with a lot of deep sea species, all types of marine mammals."
Marine Protected Areas currently make up around 2.8% of the world's oceans - but Karen Sack says the areas that have a full ban on fishing, drilling and other activities are much smaller, which increases the significance of the US move.
"Less than 1% of the global ocean is fully protected," she said.
"While this area may be far away from anywhere the designation adds to the part of the ocean that is protected in this way which is critical."
Conserving marine species isn't just the preserve of large nations like the US.
In recent days the tiny Republic of Kiribati announced that the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, will close to all commercial fishing by the end of 2014.
This fishing zone, which is close to the newly extended US MPA, is within a region that is home to the largest remaining stocks of tuna on Earth.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27890072
By Matt McGrath, Environment correspondent, BBC News
The US plans to create the world's biggest marine protected area (MPA) in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
The White House will extend an existing protected area, known as the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.
Fishing and drilling would be banned from an area that could eventually cover two million sq km.
The extended zone would double the world's fully protected marine reserves.
The Pacific Remote Islands Area is controlled by the US and consists of seven scattered islands, atolls and reefs that lie between Hawaii and American Samoa.
Essentially uninhabited, the waters that surround these remote islands are home to a wide range of species including corals, seabirds, sharks and vegetation not found anywhere else in the world.
In 2009, President Bush declared the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, giving the islands the same level of protection as statues or cultural sites.
Now President Obama has signalled that he will extend the area that will be off limits to fishing and mineral exploitation to the limit of US economic control - some 200 nautical miles around the islands.
The White House said the final size of the protected zone would depend on consultations with scientists, fishing and conservation organisations.
The Washington Post reported that this would eventually cover up two million sq km.
"This area contains some of the most pristine tropical marine environment in the world," said White House senior counsel John Podesta, who made the announcement.
"These tropical coral reefs and associated ecosystems are among the marine environments facing the most serious threat from climate change and ocean acidification."
Speaking ahead of the announcement, President Obama said that protecting marine areas wasn't just a good idea for the environment, it made good economic sense as well.
"If we ignore these problems, if we drain our oceans of their resources, we won't just be squandering one of humanity's greatest treasures, we will be cutting off one of the worlds major sources of food and economic growth," he said.
Last year, attempts to create huge marine reserves in Antarctica failed when Russia blocked plans by the US and others for a third time.
Ocean campaigners have welcomed the new US plan as an important step.
"This is incredibly significant and shows global leadership from the US on this issue" said Karen Sack from the Pew Charitable Trusts.
"There is an amazing array of biodiversity around these islands, there are sea mount systems with a lot of deep sea species, all types of marine mammals."
Marine Protected Areas currently make up around 2.8% of the world's oceans - but Karen Sack says the areas that have a full ban on fishing, drilling and other activities are much smaller, which increases the significance of the US move.
"Less than 1% of the global ocean is fully protected," she said.
"While this area may be far away from anywhere the designation adds to the part of the ocean that is protected in this way which is critical."
Conserving marine species isn't just the preserve of large nations like the US.
In recent days the tiny Republic of Kiribati announced that the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, will close to all commercial fishing by the end of 2014.
This fishing zone, which is close to the newly extended US MPA, is within a region that is home to the largest remaining stocks of tuna on Earth.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27890072
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
I'm putting this here rather than in weird weather because to keep building in Vegas is enviro-mental!
The race to stop Las Vegas from running dry
Amid a brutal drought the reservoir that supplies 90 per cent of Las Vegas’s water is fast disappearing and desperate attempts to save Sin City are under way
By Nick Allen, Las Vegas
4:11PM BST 28 Jun 2014
Outside Las Vegas’s Bellagio hotel tourists gasp in amazement as fountains shoot 500ft into the air, performing a spectacular dance in time to the music of Frank Sinatra.
Gondolas ferry honeymooners around canals modelled on those of Venice, Roman-themed swimming pools stretch for acres, and thousands of sprinklers keep golf courses lush in the middle of the desert.
But, as with many things in Sin City, the apparently endless supply of water is an illusion. America’s most decadent destination has been engaged in a potentially catastrophic gamble with nature and now, 14 years into a devastating drought, it is on the verge of losing it all.
“The situation is as bad as you can imagine,” said Tim Barnett, a climate scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “It’s just going to be screwed. And relatively quickly. Unless it can find a way to get more water from somewhere Las Vegas is out of business. Yet they’re still building, which is stupid.”
The crisis stems from the Las Vegas’s complete reliance on Lake Mead, America’s largest reservoir, which was created by the Hoover Dam in 1936 - after which it took six years to fill completely.
It is located 25 miles outside the city and supplies 90 per cent of its water. But over the last decade, as Las Vegas’s population has grown by 400,000 to two million, Lake Mead has slowly been drained of four trillion gallons of water and is now well under half full. Mr Barnett predicts it may be a “dead pool” that provides no water by about 2036.
The lake currently looks as if someone has removed a giant plug from it.
Around its edges a strip of bleached rock known locally as the “bath tub ring” towers like the White Cliffs of Dover, showing where the water level used to be. Pyramid-shaped mountains rise from the shallow waters.
Tying up his 15ft boat at the water’s edge Tom Merrit, 51, who has fished on the lake for years, pointed to the top of a faraway hill and said: “My boat used to be right up there. We’ve had to keep moving down and down as the water recedes.”
“That rock never used to be there,” he added, gesturing to a newly-emerging island several hundred feet long. “It’s really sad because this used to be a great lake. But if they don’t do something soon it’ll be gone.”
Lake Mead’s water level is currently at 1,087ft above sea level. There are two pipes, known as “straws”, that take water from it to Las Vegas.
The first extracts water at an elevation of 1,050ft and is likely to be sucking at air, rather than water, soon. The second straw is at 1,000ft.
Lake Mead is expected to fall another 20ft towards that critical point by the end of this year.
Beneath the ground a mammoth effort is already under way to complete a new, lower straw which will be able to draw the last of the water from the lake. :shock:
But it is a painfully slow process as a giant drill the size of two football pitches advances at a rate of one inch per day.
That rescue project is costing $817 million and is currently expected to be complete by late 2015, but it is not viewed as a long-term solution.
Las Vegas also wants to build a separate $15.5 billion pipeline that would pump 27 billion gallons of groundwater a year from an aquifer 260 miles away in rural Nevada.
But a judge has refused permission after environmentalists sued on the basis that it would adversely affect 5,500 acres of meadows, 33 miles of trout streams, and 130,000 acres of habitat used by sage grouse, mule deer, elk and pronghorn, an antelope-like creature that is endangered in the region. The court heard that 25 species of Great Basin springsnails would be pushed toward extinction.
Rob Mrowka, a Las Vegas-based scientist at the Centre for Biological Diversity, which brought the legal case against the pipeline, said: “It’s a really dumb-headed proposition. It would provide a false sense of security that there’s plenty of water and it would delay the inevitable decisions that have to be taken about water conservation and restricting growth.
“The drought is like a slow spreading cancer across the desert. It’s not like a tornado or a tsunami, bang. The effects are playing out over decades. And as the water situation becomes more dire we are going to start having to talk about the removal of people (from Las Vegas).”
Mr Mrowka cited Lake Las Vegas, a mega-resort where stars including Celine Dion live, as one of the “most egregious examples” of wasting water.
He said: “It’s a community for the rich and famous and it has a 320-acre lake filled with three billion gallons of water from Lake Mead. That’s three billion gallons of drinking water, and each year they take millions more to keep it from stagnating and smelling.”
Las Vegas gets just four inches of rain in a good year, and in the first four months of 2014 there was just 0.31 of an inch.
The Southern Nevada Water Authority, which has the task of keeping the city from running dry, has described the effects of the drought as “every bit as serious as a Hurricane Katrina or a Superstorm Sandy”.
But spokesman JC Davis said water-hogging developments like Lake Las Vegas were “artifacts from an earlier time that wouldn’t be allowed today.”
He said: “The days of having things like a shopping centre lined with grass are over.”
Even environmentalists acknowledge that the glitzy hotels on the Las Vegas Strip have made big strides toward using water wisely.
The Strip now uses only seven per cent of the city’s water while accounting for 70 per cent of its economy.
All the water from sinks and showers in hotel rooms is recycled, and even water from some lavatories ends up treated and back in Lake Mead.
Some hotels automatically only wash bedroom linen once every two days, and restaurants have stopped serving glasses of water unless requested to do so.
While it may look extravagant the Bellagio fountain does not in fact use water from Lake Mead, instead being filled from an underground lake on the hotel’s land which is undrinkable anyway.
However, Las Vegas still uses 219 gallons of water per person per day, one of the highest figures in the US. In San Francisco the figure is just 49 gallons.
Most of that water is used to sprinkle golf courses, parks and lawns so the water authority has declared war on grass, paying homeowners to remove it from their gardens at the rate of $1.50 per square foot.
So far 165 million square feet of turf has been destroyed. Laid end to end in an 18-inch strip it would stretch 90 per cent of the way around the Earth.
“I’ve lost count of how much grass I’ve ripped up,” said Matt Baroudi, 53, an award-winning British landscape designer who moved to Las Vegas 15 years ago and installs eco-friendly gardens and back yards.
“Today I’ve just taken out a lawn that will save 20,000 gallons of water a year. People are changing but I think ultimately they will have to made it illegal to sell grass seeds. :shock:
“I go boating on Lake Mead and I’ve watched it dry up. It’s just astonishing. You see a rock poking out and then three weeks later it’s 15ft high. I don’t know what they are going to do.”
There is pressure on the neighbouring state of California to take pity on Las Vegas and give it water. But California is dealing with its own three-year drought, possibly its worst in half a millennium, which Governor Jerry Brown has described as “epochal”.
100 per cent of California is now classified as in “severe drought” and rivers are so low 27 million young migrating salmon are having to be taken to the ocean in trucks.
...
But Mr Mrowka said: “The Colorado is essentially a dying river. Ultimately, Las Vegas and our civilisation in the American South West is going to disappear, like the Indians did before us.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... g-dry.html
The race to stop Las Vegas from running dry
Amid a brutal drought the reservoir that supplies 90 per cent of Las Vegas’s water is fast disappearing and desperate attempts to save Sin City are under way
By Nick Allen, Las Vegas
4:11PM BST 28 Jun 2014
Outside Las Vegas’s Bellagio hotel tourists gasp in amazement as fountains shoot 500ft into the air, performing a spectacular dance in time to the music of Frank Sinatra.
Gondolas ferry honeymooners around canals modelled on those of Venice, Roman-themed swimming pools stretch for acres, and thousands of sprinklers keep golf courses lush in the middle of the desert.
But, as with many things in Sin City, the apparently endless supply of water is an illusion. America’s most decadent destination has been engaged in a potentially catastrophic gamble with nature and now, 14 years into a devastating drought, it is on the verge of losing it all.
“The situation is as bad as you can imagine,” said Tim Barnett, a climate scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “It’s just going to be screwed. And relatively quickly. Unless it can find a way to get more water from somewhere Las Vegas is out of business. Yet they’re still building, which is stupid.”
The crisis stems from the Las Vegas’s complete reliance on Lake Mead, America’s largest reservoir, which was created by the Hoover Dam in 1936 - after which it took six years to fill completely.
It is located 25 miles outside the city and supplies 90 per cent of its water. But over the last decade, as Las Vegas’s population has grown by 400,000 to two million, Lake Mead has slowly been drained of four trillion gallons of water and is now well under half full. Mr Barnett predicts it may be a “dead pool” that provides no water by about 2036.
The lake currently looks as if someone has removed a giant plug from it.
Around its edges a strip of bleached rock known locally as the “bath tub ring” towers like the White Cliffs of Dover, showing where the water level used to be. Pyramid-shaped mountains rise from the shallow waters.
Tying up his 15ft boat at the water’s edge Tom Merrit, 51, who has fished on the lake for years, pointed to the top of a faraway hill and said: “My boat used to be right up there. We’ve had to keep moving down and down as the water recedes.”
“That rock never used to be there,” he added, gesturing to a newly-emerging island several hundred feet long. “It’s really sad because this used to be a great lake. But if they don’t do something soon it’ll be gone.”
Lake Mead’s water level is currently at 1,087ft above sea level. There are two pipes, known as “straws”, that take water from it to Las Vegas.
The first extracts water at an elevation of 1,050ft and is likely to be sucking at air, rather than water, soon. The second straw is at 1,000ft.
Lake Mead is expected to fall another 20ft towards that critical point by the end of this year.
Beneath the ground a mammoth effort is already under way to complete a new, lower straw which will be able to draw the last of the water from the lake. :shock:
But it is a painfully slow process as a giant drill the size of two football pitches advances at a rate of one inch per day.
That rescue project is costing $817 million and is currently expected to be complete by late 2015, but it is not viewed as a long-term solution.
Las Vegas also wants to build a separate $15.5 billion pipeline that would pump 27 billion gallons of groundwater a year from an aquifer 260 miles away in rural Nevada.
But a judge has refused permission after environmentalists sued on the basis that it would adversely affect 5,500 acres of meadows, 33 miles of trout streams, and 130,000 acres of habitat used by sage grouse, mule deer, elk and pronghorn, an antelope-like creature that is endangered in the region. The court heard that 25 species of Great Basin springsnails would be pushed toward extinction.
Rob Mrowka, a Las Vegas-based scientist at the Centre for Biological Diversity, which brought the legal case against the pipeline, said: “It’s a really dumb-headed proposition. It would provide a false sense of security that there’s plenty of water and it would delay the inevitable decisions that have to be taken about water conservation and restricting growth.
“The drought is like a slow spreading cancer across the desert. It’s not like a tornado or a tsunami, bang. The effects are playing out over decades. And as the water situation becomes more dire we are going to start having to talk about the removal of people (from Las Vegas).”
Mr Mrowka cited Lake Las Vegas, a mega-resort where stars including Celine Dion live, as one of the “most egregious examples” of wasting water.
He said: “It’s a community for the rich and famous and it has a 320-acre lake filled with three billion gallons of water from Lake Mead. That’s three billion gallons of drinking water, and each year they take millions more to keep it from stagnating and smelling.”
Las Vegas gets just four inches of rain in a good year, and in the first four months of 2014 there was just 0.31 of an inch.
The Southern Nevada Water Authority, which has the task of keeping the city from running dry, has described the effects of the drought as “every bit as serious as a Hurricane Katrina or a Superstorm Sandy”.
But spokesman JC Davis said water-hogging developments like Lake Las Vegas were “artifacts from an earlier time that wouldn’t be allowed today.”
He said: “The days of having things like a shopping centre lined with grass are over.”
Even environmentalists acknowledge that the glitzy hotels on the Las Vegas Strip have made big strides toward using water wisely.
The Strip now uses only seven per cent of the city’s water while accounting for 70 per cent of its economy.
All the water from sinks and showers in hotel rooms is recycled, and even water from some lavatories ends up treated and back in Lake Mead.
Some hotels automatically only wash bedroom linen once every two days, and restaurants have stopped serving glasses of water unless requested to do so.
While it may look extravagant the Bellagio fountain does not in fact use water from Lake Mead, instead being filled from an underground lake on the hotel’s land which is undrinkable anyway.
However, Las Vegas still uses 219 gallons of water per person per day, one of the highest figures in the US. In San Francisco the figure is just 49 gallons.
Most of that water is used to sprinkle golf courses, parks and lawns so the water authority has declared war on grass, paying homeowners to remove it from their gardens at the rate of $1.50 per square foot.
So far 165 million square feet of turf has been destroyed. Laid end to end in an 18-inch strip it would stretch 90 per cent of the way around the Earth.
“I’ve lost count of how much grass I’ve ripped up,” said Matt Baroudi, 53, an award-winning British landscape designer who moved to Las Vegas 15 years ago and installs eco-friendly gardens and back yards.
“Today I’ve just taken out a lawn that will save 20,000 gallons of water a year. People are changing but I think ultimately they will have to made it illegal to sell grass seeds. :shock:
“I go boating on Lake Mead and I’ve watched it dry up. It’s just astonishing. You see a rock poking out and then three weeks later it’s 15ft high. I don’t know what they are going to do.”
There is pressure on the neighbouring state of California to take pity on Las Vegas and give it water. But California is dealing with its own three-year drought, possibly its worst in half a millennium, which Governor Jerry Brown has described as “epochal”.
100 per cent of California is now classified as in “severe drought” and rivers are so low 27 million young migrating salmon are having to be taken to the ocean in trucks.
...
But Mr Mrowka said: “The Colorado is essentially a dying river. Ultimately, Las Vegas and our civilisation in the American South West is going to disappear, like the Indians did before us.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... g-dry.html
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Too much water can cause problems too...
Surfers evacuated from sea as raw sewage pumps into Gwithian and Godrevy
Updated 12:14pm Monday 30th June 2014
Beachgoers have spoke [sic] of their “disgust” after raw sewage was pumped into the sea on the north coast at the weekend, prompting the evacuation of the water.
Lifeguards were warned about the situation at Gwithian and Godrevy at lunchtime on Saturday.
They ordered the immediate evacuation of the sea by swimmers and surfers, effectively shutting down two of the county’s most popular beaches on a peak summer Saturday.
It also led to the cancellation of the 10 Board Challenge surfing competition, which was taking place at Godrevy.
Writing on its Facebook page, the Trelawney Alliance Campaign Group said: “This is not an isolated incident; it has happened twice so far this year and several times last summer.
Members claimed this was the result of heavy rain in the Camborne area forcing floodwater into the sewerage system, which was unable to cope, leading to the sluice gates at Kieve Mill having to be opened in order to release the overflow.
The group added: “We pay the highest water rates in the UK but it would appear that South West Water are doing very little to upgrade their inferior sewerage system presumably in order to appease their primary masters, the shareholders.
“It is a fact that the pumping station at Kieve Mill cannot cope; this is particularly alarming considering that there are another 4,000 new homes with planning consent in place for Camborne.
“This situation is totally unacceptable and we need to be asking South West Water what they are planning to do about it.”
Disgusted beachgoers also took to the page to complain about the state of the beaches.
Sheila Saunders wrote: “We were shocked when we went to Godrevy early afternoon. Looked like the red river pollution all over again! It's disgusting having this happen. What can we do about it?”
Paul St John agreed: “Absolutely disgusting, we were there yesterday. We were aware of the red flag when we got there. And what I thought was a sandbar turned out to be sewage. :shock:
“It’s a beautiful beach and area with lots of varied wildlife, such as seals. Now they have to hunt fish through that filth. I beg to question how a little rain overpowers drainage systems and runs off into the sewer system. Again a case of greed over common sense.”
A spokesperson for South West Water said: "We're sorry that organisers cancelled the surfing event at Godrevy at the weekend.
"The recent heavy rainfall led to a number of permitted overflows in line with our consents.
"We take proactive steps through our online BeachLive service to alert beach managers to these unfortunate situations so they can act accordingly and beach users can make informed decisions as to whether to swim or surf. We apologise for the inconvenience caused.
"More that £2billion has been spent helping to clean up Devon and Cornwall's bathing waters and an extra £20million is being invested this year.
"Unfortunately, during periods of intense rainfall, the system can sometimes become overloaded. We continue to work with our partners and regulators to ensure that public health is protected."
http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/co ... d_Godrevy/
Just a short distance downstream from the Kieve Mill sewage works is the Red River Valley Nature Reserve!
Surfers evacuated from sea as raw sewage pumps into Gwithian and Godrevy
Updated 12:14pm Monday 30th June 2014
Beachgoers have spoke [sic] of their “disgust” after raw sewage was pumped into the sea on the north coast at the weekend, prompting the evacuation of the water.
Lifeguards were warned about the situation at Gwithian and Godrevy at lunchtime on Saturday.
They ordered the immediate evacuation of the sea by swimmers and surfers, effectively shutting down two of the county’s most popular beaches on a peak summer Saturday.
It also led to the cancellation of the 10 Board Challenge surfing competition, which was taking place at Godrevy.
Writing on its Facebook page, the Trelawney Alliance Campaign Group said: “This is not an isolated incident; it has happened twice so far this year and several times last summer.
Members claimed this was the result of heavy rain in the Camborne area forcing floodwater into the sewerage system, which was unable to cope, leading to the sluice gates at Kieve Mill having to be opened in order to release the overflow.
The group added: “We pay the highest water rates in the UK but it would appear that South West Water are doing very little to upgrade their inferior sewerage system presumably in order to appease their primary masters, the shareholders.
“It is a fact that the pumping station at Kieve Mill cannot cope; this is particularly alarming considering that there are another 4,000 new homes with planning consent in place for Camborne.
“This situation is totally unacceptable and we need to be asking South West Water what they are planning to do about it.”
Disgusted beachgoers also took to the page to complain about the state of the beaches.
Sheila Saunders wrote: “We were shocked when we went to Godrevy early afternoon. Looked like the red river pollution all over again! It's disgusting having this happen. What can we do about it?”
Paul St John agreed: “Absolutely disgusting, we were there yesterday. We were aware of the red flag when we got there. And what I thought was a sandbar turned out to be sewage. :shock:
“It’s a beautiful beach and area with lots of varied wildlife, such as seals. Now they have to hunt fish through that filth. I beg to question how a little rain overpowers drainage systems and runs off into the sewer system. Again a case of greed over common sense.”
A spokesperson for South West Water said: "We're sorry that organisers cancelled the surfing event at Godrevy at the weekend.
"The recent heavy rainfall led to a number of permitted overflows in line with our consents.
"We take proactive steps through our online BeachLive service to alert beach managers to these unfortunate situations so they can act accordingly and beach users can make informed decisions as to whether to swim or surf. We apologise for the inconvenience caused.
"More that £2billion has been spent helping to clean up Devon and Cornwall's bathing waters and an extra £20million is being invested this year.
"Unfortunately, during periods of intense rainfall, the system can sometimes become overloaded. We continue to work with our partners and regulators to ensure that public health is protected."
http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/co ... d_Godrevy/
Just a short distance downstream from the Kieve Mill sewage works is the Red River Valley Nature Reserve!
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
[Video: worth watching]
Fly-tipping along Kent country lanes
1 July 2014 Last updated at 01:18 BST
People who repeatedly fly-tip can now be hit by tougher penalties, with new sentencing guidelines being brought in.
The maximum possible fine a court can issue to a large company will be £3m, while a "man and a van"-type company taking household waste and dumping it in the countryside could face a fine of up to £95,000 for causing serious harm.
Lower-level offending could attract fines of up to £10,000 and individuals who break the law could serve up to three years in jail.
One man - who was registered with the Environment Agency to carry and dispose of waste - was caught by BBC South East, dumping large amounts of rubbish in country lanes in Kent after dark, blocking roads and leaving the council needing to clear up the mess.
In a month-long investigation, some rubbish was fitted with a tracking device, allowing BBC reporters to see where it was being taken and when and where it had been dumped.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-28090511
I hope the BBC presented their evidence to the Police. Scumbags like the fly-tipper shown create nuisance and health hazards, while costing the rest of us higher council taxes.
Fly-tipping along Kent country lanes
1 July 2014 Last updated at 01:18 BST
People who repeatedly fly-tip can now be hit by tougher penalties, with new sentencing guidelines being brought in.
The maximum possible fine a court can issue to a large company will be £3m, while a "man and a van"-type company taking household waste and dumping it in the countryside could face a fine of up to £95,000 for causing serious harm.
Lower-level offending could attract fines of up to £10,000 and individuals who break the law could serve up to three years in jail.
One man - who was registered with the Environment Agency to carry and dispose of waste - was caught by BBC South East, dumping large amounts of rubbish in country lanes in Kent after dark, blocking roads and leaving the council needing to clear up the mess.
In a month-long investigation, some rubbish was fitted with a tracking device, allowing BBC reporters to see where it was being taken and when and where it had been dumped.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-28090511
I hope the BBC presented their evidence to the Police. Scumbags like the fly-tipper shown create nuisance and health hazards, while costing the rest of us higher council taxes.
sherbetbizarre
Special Branch
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2004
- Messages
- 5,241
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Anger as Swanpool 'polluted' by dumped garden waste
7:30am Saturday 19th July 2014
Swanpool Nature Reserve in Falmouth has “fallen victim to pollution from indiscriminate dumping of garden waste”, according to a group set up to manage it.
The Nature Reserve is protected by Natural England and hosts a variety of flora and fauna, however the “dumping of garden waste into the area behind the pool” has seen Japanese knotweed re-introduced to the pool, and it is “spreading at an alarming rate”.
Pete Lochrie from Swanpool Beach, chairman of the Swanpool Management Forum said: “Unfortunately we have witnessed the re-introduction of Japanese Knotweed through the dumping of garden waste into the pool.
The site is SSSI protected and it is a criminal offence to dump garden waste here; anyone caught doing so could face prosecution.
It’s such a shame that after years of working to eliminate knotweed we face this problem again. The nature reserve is protected by Natural England and very precious to the local people is the variety of wildlife it supports.
“While I’m sure the people who dumped the garden waste did not believe they |were doing anything destructive, we urge those who live around the pool to be vigilant and those responsible to cease from dumping grass cuttings and hedge trimmings into the Nature Reserve to protect the resident species.”
Japanese knotweed, is a large, herbaceous perennial plant native to the far east. Classified as an invasive species, it forms thick, dense colonies that completely crowd out any other herbaceous species and is resilient to cutting, vigorously sprouting from the roots.
It is an offence under section 14(2) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to "plant or otherwise cause to grow in the wild" any Japanese knotweed. It is also classed as controlled waste in Britain and requires disposal at licensed landfill sites.
http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/fp ... den_waste/
7:30am Saturday 19th July 2014
Swanpool Nature Reserve in Falmouth has “fallen victim to pollution from indiscriminate dumping of garden waste”, according to a group set up to manage it.
The Nature Reserve is protected by Natural England and hosts a variety of flora and fauna, however the “dumping of garden waste into the area behind the pool” has seen Japanese knotweed re-introduced to the pool, and it is “spreading at an alarming rate”.
Pete Lochrie from Swanpool Beach, chairman of the Swanpool Management Forum said: “Unfortunately we have witnessed the re-introduction of Japanese Knotweed through the dumping of garden waste into the pool.
The site is SSSI protected and it is a criminal offence to dump garden waste here; anyone caught doing so could face prosecution.
It’s such a shame that after years of working to eliminate knotweed we face this problem again. The nature reserve is protected by Natural England and very precious to the local people is the variety of wildlife it supports.
“While I’m sure the people who dumped the garden waste did not believe they |were doing anything destructive, we urge those who live around the pool to be vigilant and those responsible to cease from dumping grass cuttings and hedge trimmings into the Nature Reserve to protect the resident species.”
Japanese knotweed, is a large, herbaceous perennial plant native to the far east. Classified as an invasive species, it forms thick, dense colonies that completely crowd out any other herbaceous species and is resilient to cutting, vigorously sprouting from the roots.
It is an offence under section 14(2) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to "plant or otherwise cause to grow in the wild" any Japanese knotweed. It is also classed as controlled waste in Britain and requires disposal at licensed landfill sites.
http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/fp ... den_waste/