What type of effect will the removal of the O’Shaughnessy Dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley of Yosemite National Park have on the environment? The Raker Bill, which eventually became known as the “Raker Act”, authorized the city of San Francisco the right to build a dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley as a reservoir. It took about ten years to build the O’Shaughnessy Dam and it was completed in 1923. According to the Hetch Hetchy Restoration Study, the dam supplies water for 2.4 million people and approximately 85% of San Francisco’s water.…
Solar energy is a renewable energy source that harnesses the sun’s rays and is an affordable, safe alternative to fossil fuels. As stated in a scientific article discussing the issue of global warming, “Fracking is diverting money and attention from the real long-term solutions we need for a sustainable energy system, while adding to greenhouse gas pollution and environmental degradation” (“Fracking”). Hydraulic fracturing is using valuable resources and money, when there are numerous alternatives to solve this global problem. Renewable energy sources, such as wind energy, geothermal heat, hydroelectricity, and solar energy, are well developed systems for harnessing power without releasing deadly gasses into the atmosphere. Solar energy, along with numerous other methods, will be widely used if fracking is eliminated.…
If we didn’t have the lakes, we always had groundwater, which was annually replenished by the rain and snowmelt from the Sierras. However, as the earth’s temperature steadily climbs, and the state suffers through a massive dry spell, demand for water has reached an all-time high, and groundwater use has soared as a result. This has caused the water table, or the depth at which water is found below the surface, to plummet as water is pumped from the ground faster than the aquifers can rejuvenate. Once farmers needed only to drill 500 feet deep to reach water, now they have to drill down at least 1,000 feet. Scientists have also discovered that the more water is taken out from Central Valley, the more the land begins to sink- the San Joaquin Valley in particular…
Desalting is a endless and natural technique and a necessary portion of the hydrologic cycle. During the complete series water is evaporated through the solar energy along with it remains minerals behind, the vapor creates cloud then rain. The method of desalting had dated back to thousands of years(IDA, 2013, P.1). Examples include both French explorer Jean De Leary and James Cook using the method during Cook’ s circumnavigation of the planet and De Leary’s voyage to Brazil during the year of 1565 (IDA,2013, P.1). Common techniques included evaporation and distillation of desalting in the mid-1900’s.…
This unorthodox concept of water conservation has been tested since 2008. Due California’s arid conditions and evaporation trends, shade balls made their first appearance on a large scale in September of 2009. Nearly 3 million black shade balls were released into the Ivanhoe Reservoir in the Silver Lake region of L.A. to combat chemical reactions creating carcinogens. The plastic shade balls have been studied and proven to reduce evaporation by 85 to 90 percent, saving nearly 300 million gallons of water annually (providing approximately 8,100 L.A. residents with clean drinking water).…
This basically means that even though they are paying a lot of money for the plant, it is not giving us a lot of water for example in the article, the text states that “At a total output of 56,000 acre-feet, the plant will meet 7 percent of San Diego County’s annual water needs.” This means that even though this plant is very big, it is helping less than 10% of San Diego County’s needs. This is not a lot, considering that it is not helping 97% of their needs. This is the second reason why I don’t think that we should build the…
Most of us have all heard about the water crisis going on around the world, but have you ever thought of ways to fix this problem? Many people take our running water for granted, using more than necessary and not thinking of the consequences. One of the states with the biggest water problem is California, as they are faced with drought conditions. The purpose of this paper is to examine if the process of desalination is the answer to the water crisis going on in California. One of the main sections of this paper has to do with the advantages and disadvantages, look at the different desalination processes like reverse osmosis, renewable energy options, and analyzing current plants.…
California's groundwater is almost completely depleted. Now, instead of making rules and trying to preserve and replenish the amount we have left, we are just sitting back letting farmers/growers take as much water as they want as well as how much they need. With minimal rules and no fees, farmers are now using 1000-1200 feet well drillers, “Many people are concerned because we don't know how much groundwater we have left” state's expert Nathan Halverson. In order to conserve and replenish our groundwater, California needs to regulate the use of groundwater, harvest stormwater, and desalinate.…
Man-made Water Crisis Droughts have played a huge role throughout California’s history. Just as recently as two years ago, California’s record-breaking drought was declared the worst in the state’s history. However, this year, Governor Jerry Brown declared the drought emergency at an end. Many residents have referred to California’s issue as a “man made drought.”…
Twenty two million four hundred twenty two thousand six hundred fourteen people claim residency in Southern California. All of these millions of people have to survive off of two vital elements, food and water. Humans are able to survive two weeks without eating, but can only go for two days without water, before they die of dehydration. Southern California primarily receives its water from lakes and rivers from the North and from ground water that is pumped out. Currently, Southern California is in great need of water because of the drought that has consumed this section.…
Identify the problem: Water. W drink it. We cook with it. We wash with it. We are made of it.…
Salton Sea is the largest inland body of water in California, measuring at 35 miles long and 15 miles across. Its salt level is fifty percent saltier than the ocean itself. The Salton Sea is beneficial to more than four hundred and twenty different species of birds. The species range from “white and brown pelicans to eared grebes, curlews, ibis, avocets and snowy plovers. It also supports millions of fish and a host of invertebrates, important food sources for the birds.”…
The state of California is having major troubling with a water drought. California is running out of water and for that is it causing people to have to move away. There is no one trying to control water use. Anything that is grown or made with water with water, prices are going up for. For example, fruits, vegetables, eggs, milk, etc. used to be most, $1.29 now days are $2.49-3.…
1. Hi my name is Taylor and I chose to study the serve water crisis happening in California. This water crisis has a start date of 2012 but in reality has been going on for much longer than that.…
Water is constantly changing. According to Charles Fishman, the author of The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water, he states, “Water is unpredictable. Water is fickle. But that is water’s nature. The fickleness, the variability, is itself predictable” (319).…