INTRODUCTION
In California, 2013 marked the direst year on record. Rainfall precipitation statewide was 7 inches, while the previously recorded driest year dates back to 1898, with 11.6 inches. So it was no surprise that on January 27th 2014, Governor Brown declared California in a drought state of emergency and directed state officials to take action (DWR). The Department of Water Resources has reduced water allocations from the State Water Project to zero percent, affecting 29 public water agencies. Not only has the current drought impacted California on a political level, it has evoked panic in the public, especially farmers, who rely on a steady water supply to make their living. There is an urgent need for a solution, but little agreement on an action. Conservation approaches have always been in play, however another proposed solution involves the production of potable water through the process of desalination.
Desalination involves the removal of salt and other minerals from saline water to produce pure water. Specialized facilities, referred to as desalination plants, utilize this process to generate fresh water from seawater and brackish ground water. The water produced by these plants can then be used for human consumption and agricultural purposes. Therefore, the construction of desalination plants is being considered as an answer to the state’s current water crisis. Although desalination offers the significant benefit of an increased water supply, there are negative environmental impacts. The problem is its extreme energy demands resulting in high emission of greenhouse gases.
Background
Desalination is a not a new idea; President Kennedy opened the first desalination plant in 1961. Although interest began in 1952 ...
... middle of paper ...
...lifornia’s water future. Desalination offers a benefit like no other, especially during situations of drought such as the one California is currently experiencing. With a constant supply of fresh water through desalination, farmers will not be subjected to water cuts and thus a reduction in agricultural production. The output of 3 to 4 desalination plants will be large enough to provide water to both the agriculture and the people of California.
Conclusions
Like any political policy, limiting the number desalination plants in California has its benefits and its costs. The potential water supply produced by these plants will be cut in half. However this is an acceptable cost when you consider the lowered potential of environmental harm. Both sides of the debate will never be in harmony, although the proposed policy offers a compromise that should be considered.
The California water drought has been declared a crisis by the governor of California. 2013 was the driest year on record, and California could be running out of water. Californians should be water wise, and their use, or no use, of water will have an enormous impact on this drought. They can use the techniques published in a recent Time article called, 5 Ways to Bust California’s Drought, to reduce their water use. Landscape techniques, alternate water sources, and the personal conservation of water can reduce the use of water, and can have a positive change on this water crisis.
On the heart (center) of California is a flat area with miles and miles of farms and up to 230 different crops. The central valley agriculture is essential to the United States; it not only delivers almost half of the produce but also helps the economy by also giving more job opportunities (California Department of food and agriculture, 2014). Many families depend on the central valley agriculture to survive economically in the United States. It is a well-known fact that rain and snows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains are a very important element in the central valley. No rain in the central valley can cause many devastating issues to occur quickly. Recently in the year of 2013 California received less rainfall than years before. The small amount of water the central valley is receiving is harming not only to the land but humans and animals as well. It’s destroying the habitats of animals with forest fires caused from the dry spells occurring. The central valley is going through a drought, so much that around this time of year the central valley usually accumulates enough rain for the necessities in the valley, agriculture for example. This year, however, has been different, the central valley hasn’t received enough water and this has caused a drought in the valley. Water is an important element in this world for not only human life, but for the environment in general, a shortage of water supply can bring issues to the environment and those living in it. The central valley holds the largest percent of class one soil, not only that, the valley grows a third of all the produce being grown in the United States, that’s more than 230 crops that are being grown in the central valley. However, this drought isn’t only affecting the resident...
The purpose of this experiment is to investigate the effect of changing the concentration of sodium chloride solution on the rate of osmosis in tubes of potatoes. This was maintained using equal measurements of the potato tubes and applying them into the different concentrations of sodium chloride, 0%, 2%, 5%, 10%, 20% and 26%, in beakers then measuring the change in mass of the potato tubes afterwards. The time taken for all potato tubes to be placed in solution was 15 minutes. Can the concentration gradient of the sodium chloride solution influence on the rate of osmotic diffusion undergone by the potato tubes?
California is going through a water crisis. Some of the main problems that led to the water crisis
Vickers, A. (2002). Conserving our finite water supplies in an era of chronic drought: Practical steps. Electronic Green Journal Issue 17.
For about five years California has experienced above average temperatures and a lack of rain. This lack of rain and snowfall has caused California to become increasingly dry, starting arguments over whose right to water is more important and who needs to be more mindful with their use of water. Farming in California truly began during the gold rush when water was redirected to land where food was grown for those looking for gold (Siegler, 2015). The farmers that have stayed on that land now have senior water rights (“Water wars”, 2015). Farmers that settled their land before 1914 are those with senior water rights (Terrell, 2015). Governor Jerry Brown has called for a cut in water use by one-quarter percent to people living
Mercer, Dave. "Desal Or Not To Desal? The Desalination Debate In Australia." Geodate 21.2 (2008): 5-7. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Every individual should have access to free potable water; sadly it isn’t true for many. California suffered its worst drought in 1200 plus years in 2013, the mega food corporation was operating plants in the state and harvesting water during the driest year in California’s
Philosophies on Life How do you live your life? Do you follow in how major media portrays a normal life or do you have your own reservations on how one should live life? In ancient Greece, a “normal” traditional life is represented in Hesiod’s works, more notably his poem Works & Days. Protagoras was an early philosopher of the time and had his own opinions that differed from Hesiod’s traditional Greek views on life.
As many of you may know, 2013 has set the record for the driest year in California history and this drought has continued into 2014.
Before delving in to what is actually wrong with seawater desalination plants, it is important to establish that there are plenty of alternatives available. One of the best alternatives is to adopt more efficient practices, such as conservation of water, and recycling storm water and grey water (from washing machines and bathrooms...
Clean Water: “An under-appreciated liquid to Survive” Water is pure and transparent liquid that is vital for all humans, plants and animals on the planet. In the United States, people have access to clean drinking water and clean sanitation systems, not like in other parts of the world where clean, safe drinking water is getting scarce. A lot of people don’t have access to it, and many regions are suffering severe drought. Yet, when humans take it for granted, they don’t appreciate that a reliable, clean supply of water is essential to human health, economy and agricultural prosperity. Having clean and safe potable water is a right, and not a privilege.
There are many types of pollution. The main types of pollution are water, air, soil, thermal, radioactive, noise, and light. The topic for this experiment is Water Pollution. Water Pollution became a problem in the 1900’s when water started being treated like sewage. Earth Day was founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson on April 22, 1970 because of 1900’s pollution. Water Pollution also affects humans and animals. There was a Cholera outbreak in 1854, before water pollution became a problem, and a Typhoid outbreak in New York from 1900 to 1915. There are multiple possible causes to Water Pollution. Humans let out chemicals into the environment, and when some of those chemicals
...s is done by Singapore with their NEWater project. NEWater is recycled sewage water which is treated using advance technology like Microfiltration, Reverse Osmosis in a semi-permeable membrane and UV disinfection which makes the final product safe for drinking (PUB, 2013). Singapore also opened a Seawater Desalination plant in 2005 which hopes to explore the possibility of turning seawater into freshwater by biomimicry which is mimicking the biological processes of mangrove plants and euryhaline fish extract seawater using minimal energy since the current Reverse Osmosis technique of changing sea water to salt water is said to be energy consuming (Henley, 2013). We also can plan the water usage and use the water efficiently at home to contribute in sustaining the freshwater source of the globe so that the next generation will not have to suffer from water shortage.
No matter how advanced our technology is, we are still not capable of generating water. We must utilize the existing water supply more efficiently in order to be sustainable. Many states in the United States believe that they are sustainable. However, polluted water habitats, drained aquifers and rivers, floods, and the salt intrusion show the exact opposite of what we believe.