Below The Surface on CBS 13 in Sacramento Via Skype!!

Kristian and Jared had the pleasure of testing a new approach to news reporting - skyping with reporters! 

Check out the broadcast at

http://cbs13.com/video/?id=67306@kovr.dayport.com

Below The Surface Expedition in Louisiana - T-7 Days!

We are off on a great new expedition with John Ruskey, a local legend in the Lower Mississippi River Watershed, Steve Chapple and Erika Larsen will be joing us to write about and photograph the trip!  Come follow us and see how the Atchafalaya River, an offshoot of the Mississippi River is actually gaining coastline in a state that loses the equivalent of 1 football field of land every day!

You can follow us on the Water News Network by signing up for Daily Updates via Feedburner.  Look on the left side of the page to subscribe for that and daily updates on water throughout the world!



Thanks,

Jared, Kristian and the BTS Team

Climate Rage : Rolling Stone

Climate Rage : Rolling Stone

Delta Science Panel Witness List Raises Questions About Commitment to Real Science : Indybay

Delta Science Panel Witness List Raises Questions About Commitment to Real Science : Indybay

#delta #sacramento #panel

The facts about food and farming - latimes.com

The facts about food and farming - latimes.com

Posted using ShareThis

Rain on their parade, please - SignOnSanDiego.com

* Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.       The rule of thumb is that residents can catch 600 gallons per inch of rain for every 1,000 square feet of roof surface they?re draining.             Click the following to access the sent link:       Rain on their parade, please - SignOnSanDiego.com*                 Get your EMAIL THIS Browser Button and use it to email content from any Web site. Click here for more information.   *This article can also be accessed if you copy and paste the entire address below into your web browser. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jan/27/rain-their-parade-please

Monty's Plumbing - San Diego's Green Plumber installs a rainwater harvest system

KC Montgomery walks you through a rain water harvesting system that he recently installed at a home in San Diego. KC is the founder of Monty's Plumbing - San Diego's Green Plumber and he emphasizes real solutions for your home. Gray or greywater reuse, rainwater harvesting, Solatubes, and Solar Water heating are all upgrades that Monty's recommends. For more information, please visit www.montysplumbing.com

SoCal needs to get smarter about handling stormwater

http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_14282385?IADID=Search-www.dailynews.com-www.dailynews.com

Carlsbad desal plant project authorized to issue tax exempt state bonds

Desalination plant receives go ahead to issue bonds to help balance risk using public funds.  Poseidon Resources will use the funds to build the 50 million gallon per day desalination plant in Carlsbad.

http://www.nctimes.com/business/article_f3acb5a4-135a-50b2-9c18-af55b215cffd.html

#desalination #desal #poseidon

California Reservoirs are up, but still below historic average...

This data updates daily and can be accessed via the Interactive California Reservoir Tool and is a great new visual representation of the data.  Although, I'd like to see it be all inclusive of all California Reservoirs.

#california #reservoir #level

State of the Basin (Atchafalaya)

A few miles up the canal, we saw a motorboat approaching. It was Dean Wilson, the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper. He had come out to check on us and see how were faring. We gathered around his boat as Drew asked him questions. “What do you think are the biggest problems facing the Basin right now?” asked Drew. “Right now, I would say that siltation is the biggest problem. Every year we are losing waterways to siltation. And the problem is very solvable,” said Dean. “Where do we go from here?” Dean replied, “We can build sediment traps in areas where water flows from the Atchafalaya into the smaller waterways that feed the sloughs and swamps. By trapping most of this sediment, I feel we will greatly reduce the pace at which the waterways are silting up.”

 

For the rest of the story, http://www.theind.com/content/view/5561/1/

 

#atchafalaya #river #basin

 

WaterWired

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836 Plastic Bottles: A Water-Shed Moment Posted: 28 Jan 2010 12:10 AM PST Dorian Roffe-Hammond, who has sent me many worthwhile items, just sent me this 10-minute video that he wrote and produced. Sean Boyd directed it. The blurb: A documentary about the growing amount of plastic water bottles in the world and why the problem is only getting worse. The point is exemplified in a piece of artwork using 836 bottles, formed to look like an archway. Why did I use 836 bottles to build the archway? Because, this is the average number of containers of bottled water that the typical American family of four consumes in a single year. Here is the YouTube link. It's definitely worth seeing. "Friends don't let friends drink from plastic." -- Unknown

Civility in NorCal, or Three Days of the Smelt: The NAS Bay-Delta Committee Meeting Posted: 27 Jan 2010 12:26 AM PST I was going to title this 'My Take on the NAS Bay-Delta Committee Meeting,'  but decided to avoid the word 'take.' I have nothing 'exciting' to report from the first meeting of the NAS Committee on Sustainable Water and Environmental Management in the California Bay-Delta [on which I serve] here in Davis on the UC campus. Compared to what transpired in Los Angeles on 25 January (from Emily Green's post) we had a quiet affair: The easiest way to accomplish that when describing yesterday's Los Angeles field hearing of the US House Sub-Committee on Water and Power is to thank the chair, Congresswoman Grace Napolitano, who proved a model of efficiency and civility. From there, it gets difficult. Sounds like they had quite an event down there. By contrast, the meeting here was a model of decorum. No fireworks, no name-calling - just information, and LOTS of it. It was a meeting designed to provide the committee with information, although we had already received over 1,500 pages (electronically) over material to review. And plenty more was on its way. I'm guesssing that we had no more than about 25o people each day. We had planned for about 500 each day. It was interesting to note that two NAS media relations officers were there, plus the Congressional liaison. And for a real reporter's perspective, here's Matt Weiser's story in the Sacramento Bee. The San Francisco Chronicle also has a story from the AP. Day 1 On the afternoon of 24 January we heard from Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA) who represents the 20th District in the Central Valley - all of Kings and parts of Kern and Fresno Counties. All of these counties are in the Top 10 among U.S. counties in agriculture production. He spoke of the current hardships of his constituents and naturally referred to the reduction in water exports from the Bay-Delta system to farmers in his district. He likened the Bay-Delta water situation to flying a plane but having only the altitude control at your disposal. He was very gracious, and thanked the commitee for its time and effort. Rep. Costa was also part of the House Subcommittee meeting reported upon by Emily Green. The second speaker was Dr. Jeff Mount of the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC-Davis. Jeff had earlier raised some eyebrows by questioning the use of the NAS committee in this instance: It's not a wise use of the National Academy of Sciences, in my opinion," said Mount, who served on a prior academy panel that examined Klamath River issues. "It will become a sideshow. We are setting a bad precedent that will stretch well beyond the Delta." Despite the above, he welcomed the committee, and noted that we have a wonderful opportunity to have a lasting impact on water management in California. Here is his entire statement: Download NRC_Testimony_Mount_January_2010 Day 2 This was a full day, devoted to presentations from the agencies involved in the Biological Opinions (BiOps): USBR; NOAA; FWS; CDFG; and NOAA-NMFS. The committee was able to ask questions of the presenters. The last 90 minutes or so were devoted to an open microphone session, where anyone could speak for 3 minutes, with no more than three people from any one organization. Fifteen people spoke. Day 3 This day had the same format as Day 2. We heard presentations from agency people, but not those directly involved in the BiOps. We first were welcomed by UCD Chancellor Linda Katehi, who also pitched her new university. We heard from CA DFG; CA DWR; and the CALFED Bay-Delta Program. After the above we heard presentatons from invited outside experts: Christina Swanson (The Bay Institute); Peter B. Moyle (UCD); Rick Deriso (Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission); Greg Gartrell (Contra Costa Water District); David Fullerton (MWD); B.J. Miller (consultant); Scott Hamilton and a biologist (Coalition for a Sustainable Delta).   The open microhone then followed, with 16 speakers. We also heard from DeeDee D'Adamo, representing Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA). I picked up some new abbreviations/acronyms: OCAP, CVPIA, HABS, POD, PEI, RFA, OMR, X2, VAMP, HOR, PTM, FTWM, HORB, NPB, CPUE, CCFB, DSM2, D-1641, D2. I am sure I left out a dozen or two. And I now know how complicated the Bay-Delta system is, far more than I had imagined.  Now the fun part starts - for the next two days, the committee will meet in private and begin its work on preparing a report on the two BiOps, due about 15 March 2010. I'm tired now, but feel good about what I've seen and heard. Thanks to all the participants and kudos to chair Bob Huggett, who kept things running on time. Time to sleep. "Fish think about two things: food and sex. They're like teenaged boys, only better." -- Jerry Johns, Deputy Director CA DWR "The Bay-Delta situation is like an airplane being flown by three pilots in the cockpit, each with a set of controls. And the cabin is full of angry passengers who bought tickets to different destinations." -- Dr. Steve Lindley, NMFS

 

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Gray water's grass roots

http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2010/0126/Gray-water-s-grass-roots

Havesting rainwater: the next green thing

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/opinions/ci_14273915

iPad takes blogworld by storm, over 25% of Diggs contained iPad

Will putting iPad help my business gain popularity?

#ipad

Subscribe to Water News Network

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#water #news #network #bts #below the surface

Find a CSA Program at Local Harvest

We recently posted an entry regarding the importance of locally grown produce for helping create a more sustainable and resilient food distribution model.  A great resource to find locally ground food is found at Local Harvest:

 

http://www.localharvest.org

 

Great News! TJ River Cleanup is still a Go!

WILDCOAST said...

Friends,

WiLDCOAST volunteers will go forward with the efforts to conserve the Tijuana River and south San Diego beaches impacted by its pollution on January 30th with a Tijuana River mouth beach cleanup.

New Location: End of South Seacoast Dr Imperial Beach, CA 91932
Time: 3pm-5pm
(We will no longer be meeting at 301 Caspian way at 9am as previously scheduled.)

Conditions may be hazardous for younger children as the latest storms have left a large amount of solid waste, trash and potentially harmful objects along the shoreline.

We ask anyone interested in joining us to wear closed toe shoes and long pants.

Sincerely,

WiLDCOAST
Coastal Conservation Team

January 26, 2010 12:13 PM

 

Be the Solution! Join a Community Supported Agriculture program (CSA)

Be the Solution Alert!  Certified Organic Farms – Buy Local, Buy Organic, and join a CSA or start one of your own!

Join a CSA program today to help Be the Solution to water, energy, and environmental issues.  As a consumer, flex your dollars and support a local business with emphasis on Organic farming practices.  This supports local economies, creates shipping efficiencies, and reduces oil dependency.  Fewer herbicides and pesticides in runoff will also ensure a healthier ecosystem.

If there is not a CSA in your area, perhaps there should be… a trucker strike in Britain caused a run on the supermarkets and in 3 days they were bare.  Ensuring a local supply limits the dependency on oil consumption and vast distribution networks. 

Dedicating local properties to Organic gardens ensures a more balanced environment, cleaner, more oxygen enriched air, and natural habitat for wildlife. 

For more information, you can look at www.bewiseranch.com/joinCSA.htm .  Below the Surface is not sponsored or affiliated with this CSA, but thinks they provide a useful website and in principle with Community Supported Agriculture they provide seasonal, locally grown organic produce.  Weekly or Bi-weekly, full or half box orders are typical frequencies and prices vary by region and availability.

The good news is we have plenty of farms in the U.S., but there is plenty of room for improved agricultural methods.  For instance, using the following maps, overlay your local neighborhood and examine the Organic thumbprint of your region.  If there aren’t enough dots in your region to assess, maybe you should consider stocking up now to beat the rush.

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2009/05/03/business/03metrics.graf01.ready.html

Tijuana River Cleanup Cancelled Due to Health Concerns?

Rumor has it that a cleanup effort for the Tijuana River Estuary was recently postponed due to health concerns.  Kind of frightening to think that the answer is just letting it wash out into the ocean.  Not really a solution.  Pollution is not cured by dilution.

Cancer Corridor, the Dead Zone, and Industry

Water conservation? The sky's the limit - latimes.com

Water conservation? The sky's the limit - latimes.com

Sacramento River Outfall Pipes

Rusty discharge on spillway leading directly into the Sacramento River.

Click here for Bing Map of outfall pipe location