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Americans have no idea how much water we use — or how to conserve it

by dtynpwb Posted on March 6, 2014

Americans have no idea how much water we use — or how to conserve it

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“I consider myself a fairly water-conscious person,” says the average American, sipping on a venti iced coffee while dipping his toes in an Olympic-sized pool, spritzing himself with Evian. “I probably just use a few gallons a day,” he continues, stepping out of a 45-minute shower. “By the way — have I told you about my toilet that flushes automatically every 20 minutes, just to make sure it’s consistently pristine?”

Just kidding — it’s not quite that bad. But, according to a recent study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the average American consumes twice as much water as she thinks she does. Furthermore, we Americans are not quite sure which practices are the most water-intensive. As it turns out, the Olympic-sized pool isn’t the biggest concern — 70 percent of personal water use occurs within the home, according to a 2005 EPA study. And the biggest culprit under the roof? Toilet-flushing, accounting for 27 percent of all indoor water use.

Perhaps most troubling, Americans overwhelmingly believe that changing their habits, as opposed to improving the efficiency of their plumbing, is the most effective way to cut down on water consumption. Seventy-six percent of those surveyed said curtailment methods, such as flushing less frequently, are the best way to reduce water use. Only 10 percent chose more preventative measures, such as installing new toilets that use just 1.6 gallons per flush in lieu of old toilets that use five to six gallons.

The concept of “embodied water” — also known as virtual water, or the amount of water required to produce a certain quantity of food — was also relatively unknown to the study subjects. A pound of coffee, for example, has a water footprint of 2,264 gallons.

Study author Shahzeen Attari, an assistant professor at Indiana University, reminds us that, contrary to popular belief, we can’t count on the unlimited availability of freshwater. “Most Americans assume that water supply is both reliable and plentiful. However, research has shown that with climate change water supply will become more variable due to salinization of ground water and increased variability in precipitation.”

California’s certainly learning that the hard way right now.

To sum up: Water is involved in pretty much everything you do, and its supply is limited because the planet is being destroyed. Keep that in mind next time you’re in the bathroom.

Eve Andrews is a Grist fellow and new Seattle transplant via the mean streets of Chicago, Poughkeepsie, and Pittsburgh, respectively and in order of meanness. Follow her on Twitter.Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Cities

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Rising sea levels will drown your Western art history course

by Magdalynamez Posted on March 6, 2014

Rising sea levels will drown your Western art history course

By

Chris Chabot

At least Macchu Picchu is probably safe from sea level rise.

You know how we sometimes like movies in which famous world landmarks are dramatically destroyed? Climate change is about to bring those scenes to a museum near you, albeit with fewer meteors and more meteoric sea level rise.

According to a new report published Wednesday in Environmental Research Letters, everything you love is going to disappear, assuming you are the kind of person who loves old art and history and stuff. The researchers looked at UNESCO World Heritage sites, which, like humans, tend to cluster near the coasts. They simulated flooding the world with an average of 6.6 meters of sea level rise over a couple of centuries. The result was a very soggy situation: About 140 of 720 sites surveyed would be underwater, or at least in the kiddie pool — and that’s without even accounting for storm surge. As one of the researchers encouragingly clarified, these are the low-ball estimates.

Among the soon-to-be-amphibious landmarks are Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London, the Leaning Tower of Pisa (soon with extra leaning!), some old important-sounding German cities, downtown Bruges, and Naples (unless the volcano gets it first). If your tastes incline to the New World instead, you can focus your anxiety of impending loss on the Statue of Liberty and historic Havana. In any case, Atlantis is about to gain a whole bunch of cultural capital:

Ben Marzeion and Anders Levermann

The purple dots are in trouble even if the thermostat stays where it’s at; everything else up to yellow will drown with just 3 degrees C extra. Click to embiggen.

Though the study takes a slightly longer view than we in the climapocalyse business are used to fretting about — 2000 years — it’s not so long when you’re considering, say, Pompeii — also on the to-be-(re)submerged list. And in any case, the researchers assure us that serious problems will “definitely” arise sooner. From The Guardian:

“It’s relatively safe to say that we will see the first impacts at these sites in the 21st century,” lead author Prof. Ben Marzeion, of the University of Innsbruck in Austria, told the Guardian. “Typically when people talk about climate change it’s about the economic or environmental consequences, how much it’s going to cost. We wanted to take a look at the cultural implications.”

Venice is also on the list, because, duh. With high tides that turn San Marco into a swimming pool twice a day, the city is basically a poster child for the fragility of human accomplishments in the face of time and indifferent nature (shit just got real) as well as for how much rich people will pay to defy the forces of entropy.

While the residents of Kiribati probably wish someone would throw them a gala to save their low-lying island, or at least help them get off it, we’ll concede that artistic heritage is worth some protection. After all, if we’re not worried about staying in touch with past generations, why should we worry about leaving some nice things for the future generations? (Slip-’n-slide at the Doge’s Palace!)

But don’t panic! Luckily for everyone, I have some ideas about what we can do. So pour yourself a glass of Bordeaux to steady your nerves, maybe put on a nice aria — we’ll wait. OK, here goes:

Plan 1: Start spending a lot of money on expensive and questionably effective flood-control measures.

Plan 2: Just get it over with and convert all historical landmarks to water parks.

As far as the first goes, art lovers are on it. I don’t know of anyone working on the second, but changemakers, feel free to get in touch for my blueprints for the Leaning High Dive of Pisa. I guess it’s also worth mentioning the third plan, where we get serious about cutting carbon emissions and successfully restrict warming to a mere 2 degrees C, but even that doesn’t mean you won’t be wearing gaiters on your next stroll through the Accademia.

Amelia Urry is Grist’s intern. Follow her on Twitter.Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Climate & Energy

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Rising sea levels will drown your Western art history course

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Reasons For People To Save Environment

by Wanda Rosner Posted on March 5, 2014

According to research and proof from recent days, the world is undergoing serious environmental crisis. This is attributed to the poor lifestyles and machine usage, which have lead to increased emission of toxic waste. However, various people are currently concerned on how to help lessen these disasters. By exercising some of save environment practices, people can enjoy various benefits.

Water is beneficial to both people and other living organisms. This is for instance, the case with sea creatures that cannot survive without water. People also use water for drinking, cooking and performing important tasks that may otherwise not be achieved without using water. Therefore, it is essential to save water by decreasing the amount of industrial waste send into waster resources.

Releasing chlorofluorocarbons into the air breaks the ozone layer increasing the levels of global warming. Uncontrolled levels of ultraviolet rays can harm human life as it contributes to different skin and health problems. As such, reducing the amount of chlorofluorocarbons released to the air is essential to protect human health.

Despite the fact that herbicides, insecticides and pesticides are crucial in eradicating unwanted pests, herbs and bugs, inappropriate utilization of these substances can affect the atmosphere seriously. These chemicals can for example affect your heath and other living things. However, by practicing environmentally friendly techniques of removing unwanted bugs and pests, you can lessen the effects connected with these substances.

While burning fuels for electricity can be cheap and easy, the process generates a lot of toxic waste. This cannot only affect your health but also distress the performance of the ozone layer. Using renewable energy sources like solar panels can be an alternative cheap and ecologically friendly technique to cater for your electricity needs.

Accumulating huge heaps of waste materials to the landfills is quite perilous. Taking into consideration that, such matters would decompose to generate toxic emissions, this can be a great threat to your health and the ozone layer. If you are concerned on the amount of wastes sent into the landfills, you can however be safe from such dangers.

Keeping the environment safe is essential to ensure that plants grow well. A conducive environment ensures that plants have the appropriate humidity; temperature and carbon dioxide levels to guarantee growth and thus guarantee the production of oxygen. As such, this ensures reduced levels of carbon dioxide in the air as most of it is consumed by plants during their life circle.

By exercising these tips on how to save environment, you can reduce the amounts of wastes and toxic emissions released to the atmosphere each day. If the atmosphere is safe, you can be sure of increased levels of safety and health levels since people would not be exposed to various toxic wastes. It is for this reason that it is essential to consider knowing and practicing these tips for caring for the environment in order to improve the current life conditions as well as that of future generations.

Want to find out more about save water, then visit Wanda Rosner’s site on how to choose the best eco friendly for your needs.

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Low-lying islands are going to drown, so should we even bother trying to save their ecosystems?

by LannyRosensteng Posted on March 1, 2014

Low-lying islands are going to drown, so should we even bother trying to save their ecosystems?

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Islands are hot spots of biodiversity, often home to rich and unique ecosystems. Despite covering just 5 percent of the Earth’s land, the planet’s 180,000-odd islands contain a fifth of its plant and animal species. Around half of recorded extinctions have occurred on islands.

Unfortunately, many islands have been infested in recent centuries with ecosystem-wrecking rats and other invasive species. So scientists the world over have clamored to remove the destructive pests and protect the original inhabitants. More than 900 islands have been cleansed of rats and other animal invaders so far, often through the controversial use of poisoned baits.

But a new paper published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution asks an unsettling question: When it comes to low-lying islands that will eventually be swallowed by sea-level rise, why bother?

The authors of the paper studied 604 islands where animal pests were removed and concluded that 26 would be completely inundated with one meter of sea-level rise, which is expected within this century. An estimated 6 to 19 percent of the 4,500 islands in biodiversity hot spots studied are expected to eventually drown.

“It may be that eventually we will be faced with some tough decisions about whether we move species in order to save them or whether we do nothing and let them go extinct,” University of Auckland’s James Russell, one of the authors, told The New Zealand Herald.

The authors stop well short of calling on island conservationists to abandon their efforts. But they say much more consideration needs to be given to climate change when planning restoration projects.

“Despite clear and imminent risks, the consequences of sea-level rise for island biodiversity remain one of the least studied of all climate-change issues, both locally and globally,” the scientists write.


Source
Climate change, sea-level rise, and conservation: keeping island biodiversity afloat, Trends in Ecology and Evolution
Island sanctuaries could be swallowed by sea level rise – study, The New Zealand Herald

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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America’s first carbon-trading program can boast some impressive numbers

by Tanesha7957 Posted on February 27, 2014

America’s first carbon-trading program can boast some impressive numbers

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How do you turn $1 billion into $2 billion, all the while helping to slow down global warming? By capping carbon dioxide pollution and charging for emissions permits, then plowing the revenues into clean energy and energy-efficiency programs.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a carbon-trading program that covers nine Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, charged power plants about $1 billion for the right to pollute the climate from 2009 to 2012. Of that, $707 million has so far been invested into green programs, and $93 million has been transferred into states’ general funds, according to a new RGGI report.

Three-quarters of the investments have been used to help utility customers cut back on the amount of power that they use. Those efficiency improvements are eventually expected to save 800,000 households and 12,000 businesses more than $1.8 billion in energy bills.

Spending on clean energy programs, such as solar panel subsidies, are expected to save an additional $73 million. And $122 million has been handed back to utility customers in the form of direct rate relief.

Of course, carbon trading isn’t ultimately meant to be about turning a profit. It’s supposed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that end up in the atmosphere. And so far RGGI says it has reduced CO2 pollution by 8 million tons. That’s a difficult quantity to envision, so think about it this way: By 2012, power plants in the region were emitting 40 percent less CO2 than in 2005.

Here’s a graph from the report showing how RGGI is spending the proceeds of its carbon auctions:

RGGIClick to embiggen.


Source
Regional Investment of RGGI CO2 Allowance Proceeds, 2012, RGGI

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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America’s first carbon-trading program can boast some impressive numbers

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How You Can Use Various Save Environment Techniques To Conserve The Environment

by Alex D White Posted on February 27, 2014

Conserving the environment is not the work of environmentalists only but rather every individual should strive to use various save environment techniques to make the world a better place. Conservation of the surroundings is very important especially for the future generations. If people do not take the initiative and conserve it, then the future generations may not have much to live on due to the mistakes of their ancestors. There are different things that each individual can do in order to ensure that he or she preserves the environment.

It is important to save water. When having a shower, always make sure that while not using water the water, you turn it off. When you are done washing your hands, it is also vital that you make certain that you switch off the water. Furthermore, ensure that you do not have leaking taps that may lead to water wastage. You may even consider harvesting rainwater to make use of other sources of water.

It is always advisable to make use of eco friendly items. Always endeavor to use items that are biodegradable for instance if you are going shopping rather than using polythene bags; you can use your eco bags. Even as you wash your clothes using various detergents, ensure that you make use of detergents that do not have a negative impact on the environment.

It is also important to ensure that you save energy. You can do this by ensuring you make use of compact fluorescent bulbs that consume less energy as compared to the common bulbs. It is also advisable to make use of other forms of renewable energy like wind energy and solar energy.

Too much waste is collected all over the world. This may be due to people purchasing items that they may not necessarily need and then disposing them. It is important that you look for ways of reducing the amount of waste you produce. Additionally, any waste that is produced should also be recyclable to reduce the amount of wastes dumped in landfills.

If you do not live far away from workplace, you may consider walking or even cycling depending on how comfortable you may be. If you stay several miles away, you can then take a bus or the train. This is advantageous, because it will help reduce the carbon emissions greatly as it will reduce the number of cars on the road.

In case you have several clothes that you are not using, you should consider giving away these clothes rather than throwing them away. This is because the fabrics used to make certain clothes do not decay and thus if you throw them they will not decay and thus will pollute the environment. When you donate the clothes to a credible organization, you will be playing an important role in the conservation of the environment.

It is extremely crucial for every human being to play an active role in the conservation of the environment. It is important that people do not leave the work of environmental conservation to environmentalists since they are not in your homes to monitor your each move. When everyone plays an important role in conserving the environment by using various save environment techniques, then the world would be a better place and the livelihoods of the future generations would not be compromised.

Looking to find the best deal on energy saving tips, then visit my blog to find the best advice on electric energy for you.

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Bummer for anti-Keystoners: Report finds no conflict of interest, despite obvious conflicts of interest

by RubinkJoseph Posted on February 27, 2014

Bummer for anti-Keystoners: Report finds no conflict of interest, despite obvious conflicts of interest

By

Michael Fleshman

Environmental Resources Management, the consulting firm hired by the State Department to review the potential environmental effects of the Keystone XL pipeline, did all sorts of dodgy and deceptive stuff, but none of it amounted to serious rule breaking — at least according to the State Department’s inspector general.

The Office of Inspector General today published a report that found ERM did not violate the State Department’s conflict-of-interest rules as it bid for the Keystone contract and wrote its study. Climate activists and environmentalists had requested the investigation by the inspector general, and now they’re none too pleased with the results.

Last month, the State Department released the environmental impact study written by ERM. It found that Keystone would not have significant climate impacts, even though sections of the study actually contradict that top-level finding. Grist’s Ben Adler recently highlighted the top three flaws with the study.

Bloomberg has compiled a handy list of questionable behavior by ERM:

Beginning in June 2012, ERM failed:

• to disclose a possible conflict of interest to the State Department until two months after it won the contract, as reported by … Jim Snyder at Bloomberg News;

• to reconcile why ERM listed TransCanada as a client in its marketing materials the year before it began the Keystone contract, even though ERM and TransCanada had both told State that they had not worked together for at least five years;

• to acknowledge, until the summer of 2013, that one of its divisions (ERM West) was working alongside TransCanada on the Alaska Pipeline Project;

• to alert State, until it was already under scrutiny for conflicts of interest, that it was bidding on new contracts in western Canada that might include two new projects for TransCanada, first flagged by the Washington Post;

• to note, as Politico has, that as recently as 2010 it was part of a lobbying group, the International Carbon Black Association, that’s partly owned by TransCanada through a subsidiary (Cancarb), and that includes major Keystone XL proponents and potential beneficiaries;

• to mention that it’s listed as a member of several trade organizations that support Keystone XL, among them the Western Energy Alliance, the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, and the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association;

• to explain why ERM subcontractors who had worked on TransCanada projects in the past were suddenly removed roughly 24 hours after they were first posted (in a PDF) on the Web, a gaffe that led to a scoop for Mother Jones when the contractor names reappeared later with their affiliations redacted. …

Far more alarming than any of the above, ERM also relied on another firm to complete its Keystone assessment—and that company, as it happens, is owned outright by a tar sands developer.

As reported by Inside Climate News, critical analysis of greenhouse gas emissions in the Keystone XL EIS relies on research by Jacobs Consultancy, “a subsidiary of Jacobs Engineering, a giant natural resources development company with extensive operations in Alberta’s tar sands fields. The engineering company has worked on dozens of major projects in the region over the years. Its most recent contract, with Canadian oil sands leader Suncor, was announced in January.”

Apparently none of that bothered the inspector general.

Here’s what Jason Kowalski of activist group 350.org had to say about today’s report: “Far from exonerating the State Department of wrongdoing, the Inspector General report simply concludes that such dirty dealings are business as usual.”

Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) argued that the inspector general’s report was too narrow. It focused, he said, on “whether the State Department followed its own flawed process for selecting a third-party contractor. The fact that the answer is ‘yes’ doesn’t address any outstanding concerns about the integrity of ERM’s work, the State Department’s in-house ability to evaluate its quality or whether the process itself needs to be reformed.”

Just yesterday, Grijalva asked the Government Accountability Office to do a separate investigation into State’s process for vetting contractors, and he says the GAO is planning to act on his request.

Meanwhile, anti-Keystone activists are gearing up for yet another arrest-provoking protest in front of the White House on Sunday. More on that coming soon.

Lisa Hymas is senior editor at Grist. You can follow her on Twitter and Google+.Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Business & Technology

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Bummer for anti-Keystoners: Report finds no conflict of interest, despite obvious conflicts of interest

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Marcellus Energy Development Could Pave Over an Area Bigger Than the State of Delaware

by MichellWhitesid Posted on February 26, 2014

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

This story originally appeared on the Huffington Post website and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Development of natural gas and wind resources in the Marcellus shale region could cover up nearly 1.3 million acres of land, an area bigger than the state of Delaware, with cement, asphalt and other impervious surfaces, according to a paper published this month in the scientific journal PLOS One.

The study, conducted by two scientists from the conservation organization The Nature Conservancy, predicts that 106,004 new gas wells will be drilled in the Marcellus region, based on current trends in natural gas development. The region includes parts of New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Virginia.

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Marcellus Energy Development Could Pave Over an Area Bigger Than the State of Delaware

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L.A. and California lawmakers move to impose fracking moratoriums

by TarahFreeland Posted on February 26, 2014

L.A. and California lawmakers move to impose fracking moratoriums

By

Matt’ Johnson

Leaders in Los Angeles seem to have been paying attention to Hollywood. A little more than a year after the release of Promised Land, a movie about the dangers of fracking starring Matt Damon, members of L.A. City Council are trying to ban hydraulic fracturing.

“Fracking and other unconventional drilling is happening here in Los Angeles, and without the oversight and review to keep our neighborhoods safe,” Councilman Mike Bonin said during a committee hearing on Tuesday. Here’s more from the L.A. Times:

The council is slated to vote Friday to draft new rules that would prohibit hydraulic fracturing and other forms of “well stimulation” in Los Angeles until the council is sure they are safe. …

Several Angelenos complained [during Tuesday’s committee hearing] about vibrations and other problems that they blamed on oil extraction activities at nearby wells.

“Our walls are crumbling,” said Llewyn Fowlkes, part of the Harbor Gateway North Neighborhood Council, which backs a ban. “Our sidewalks are pulling apart and cracking.”

The move coincides with a renewed effort by California lawmakers to impose a moratorium on fracking across the state. A recently introduced bill, SB 1132, would expand the scope of a multi-agency review of the economic, environmental, and public health impacts of fracking — and bar the practice until the study is complete. Some state lawmakers tried to push a fracking moratorium last year, but all they managed to get was weak regulation of the fracking industry.

Environmentalists have been particularly critical of fracking in California recently because the practice uses a lot of water and the state is suffering through a record-breaking drought.

“We are currently allowing fracking operations to expand despite the potential consequences on our water supply, including availability and price of water, the potential for drinking water contamination and the generation of billions of barrels of polluted water,” State Sen. Mark Leno (D), cosponsor of the new bill, told Reuters.


Source
First step toward fracking ban in L.A. taken by land use panel, Los Angeles Times
California’s fracking opponents introduce new moratorium bill, Reuters

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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L.A. and California lawmakers move to impose fracking moratoriums

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Frack-happy Colorado clamps down on methane pollution

by Una6lnto Posted on February 25, 2014

Frack-happy Colorado clamps down on methane pollution

By

Rick Kimpel

Cutting back on methane leaks could help reduce Denver’s infamous smog.

Frackers and other companies that handle natural gas will have to start being at least a little bit neighborly in Colorado, where new rules will force them to clamp down on methane leaks from wells, tanks, and pipelines.

When methane (natural gas is pretty much just methane) escapes during drilling and transportation, it fuels ozone pollution and global warming. Methane concentrations in the atmosphere are rising, and methane leaks are a major problem in the U.S. By one recent estimate, the U.S. EPA has understated the problem by a half.

To start trying to tackle the problem, Colorado’s air quality commission voted 8-1 on Sunday to adopt the nation’s first state regulations dealing with methane leaks — regulations that the Natural Resources Defense Council had previously described as “common-sense measures to reduce harmful pollution.” Volatile organic compounds will also be regulated under the new rules. Reuters explains:

The regulations would require operators to perform frequent checks for leaks using infrared cameras and other technologies.

“This is a huge breakthrough for cleaner air and a safer climate. Getting to this point took serious resolve and a willingness to find common ground,” said Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund.

Cutting back on methane leaks doesn’t just make environmental sense — it also makes business sense. Any methane that escapes could have been sold and burned for energy. “This is the right thing to do for our business,” a manager with Noble Energy told Bloomberg.

Which could help explain why the not-so-ecofriendly natural gas industry was so willing to cooperate with Colorado rule-makers on this issue.


Source
Colorado approves limits on air pollution from oil, gas drilling, Reuters
Big step forward to tackle methane pollution from Colorado’s oil and gas industry, NRDC Switchboard
Colorado First State to Clamp Down on Fracking Methane Pollution, Bloomberg

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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Frack-happy Colorado clamps down on methane pollution

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