Drinking water from the sea? Ocean water desaUnation (desal) sounds like a great idea. JFK once said that it would be a greater achievement than putting a man on the moon. Most polls have shown a 70 percent acceptance rate of the idea. But do we need it? Can we afford it? And what wouLd its envi- ronmental impacts be?
Join the Centennial Committee and help plan the Angeles Chapter's 100th Birthday bash. This is a big deal! Fun! Exciting! Glamorous! Good times! Volunteers from all across the Angeles Chapter are invited to participate in planning the activities associated with this gala celebration (1911-2011) we're planning a celebration for November 5th and can use a helping hand!
An oil spilt that contaminated a storm drain pool and the Rio Hondo River in Southern California is under investigation by California Fish and Wildlife detetmine if the oil field operator violated water pollution laws. The investigation was triggered after members of the Sierra Club's Save the Montebello Hills Task Force. provided evidence to the media that this was not the first spill in the same location.
Now in its fourth year, this water-focused edition of the Southern Sierran launches the rollout of our most ambitious prolect to date: our scorecard for water conservation measures throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. Two years in the making, our scorecard ranks cities based on their mandatory or voluntary Water conservation measures To learn about the water where you live and work. see How Green is Your Water of this issue.
As water reaources become increasingly scarce in California, attention has turned to ways to make the best use of the water that we have. One such method of stretching our water supply is direct potabte reuse. Direct potable reuse as the introduction of highly treated recycled water either directly into the potable water distribution downstream of a water treatment plant (i.e., pipe-to-pipe), or into a raw water supply immediately upstream of a water treatment plant.
Most Californians. know of our state's budget deficit but did you. know that we have been running a 'water deficit' in the Delta?
Right now, the amount of water exported to Southern California from the San'Francisco Bay Delta Estuary is unsustainabe. With the health of this rich estuary in danger of collapsing, California has been trying to address the problem through a habitat conservation planning process called the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP).
The ocean is our friend. It supplies us with food and recreation, helps regulate our climate and is the livelihood for millions of people. But our seas are not the infinite bounty they appear to be. For many years worldwide fishing practices have been damaging the oceans by depleting fish populations, destroying habitats and polluting the water. According to Marine Conservation Biologist Callum Roberts, the author of 'The Unnatural History of the Sea', intensive fishing since medieval times has caused a gradual decline over the centuries, so that a fish-deprived sea now seems normal to us.
One of my reasons for joining the Angeles Chapters Water Committee has to do with a strong interest in water Since Southern California is at best a semi-arid region, I hold water conservation to be highly important. I have lived my life only in the South Bay, Santa Barbara and Las Vegas. Therefore, all I know is a near (or outright) desert environment, and places that have a habit of importing and wasting water. In the Water Committee, the lesson preached is conservation is the best way to go, since our imported water is not guaranteed. An.
Hersh Kelley responds to ExComm Highlights.
Our Financial Gurus Deserve A Round of Applause
ExComm Chair Hersh Kelley doesn't have enough atta-boys and -girls for all of the group and entity treasurers, Mark Caylor, Doris Cerna, Jane MacFarlane. Says the Chair, 'Getting everything done on time is practically unheard of.'
Cast a Wide Net When Nominating for ExComm At-Large Positions
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| Graph reprinted with permission from Sierra Club's Global Population and the Environment Program. To view in its original context, download the factsheet. |
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