In California water news today, Silicon Valley Is One of the Most Polluted Places in the Country; The next big effort in AI: keeping L.A.’s water flowing post-earthquake; New $100M Innovation Hub to Accelerate R&D for a Secure Water Future; Calif. rep to bring dead giant swamp rat to Congress; The Klamath River now has the legal rights of a person; and more …
On the calendar today …
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In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
Silicon Valley Is One of the Most Polluted Places in the Country: “Sometimes it feels hard to remember that Silicon Valley is an actual place, a collage of parched suburbs, and not just the collective noun for information-technology companies. But before it was the idea center of the internet, it was a group of factory towns, the blinking heart of “clean” manufacturing, the hallmark of the Information Age. Silicon Valley was a major industrial center for much of the 20th century. Semiconductors and microprocessors rolled out of factories scattered all over the area (known on maps as Santa Clara County) from the 1950s to the early 1990s—AMD, Apple, Atari, Fairchild, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, and Xerox, to name just a few. ... ” Read more from The Atlantic here: Silicon Valley Is One of the Most Polluted Places in the Country
The next big effort in AI: keeping L.A.’s water flowing post-earthquake: “Can artificial intelligence save the L.A. water supply from a big earthquake? USC researchers have embarked on an innovative project to prove that it can. Using federal funds, experts at the USC Center for Artificial Intelligence in Society (CAIS) are working with Los Angeles city officials to find solutions for vulnerable plumbing. The goal is to make surgical improvements to strategic pipelines to keep water flowing after shaking stops. “L.A.’s water pipes are highly susceptible to earthquakes,” said Bistra Dilkina, assistant professor of computer science at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and associate director of the CAIS. “The infrastructure is aging, and when the shaking starts, pipes break and damage propagates throughout the system. It’s a problem we’re trying to solve.” … ” Read more from USC News here: The next big effort in AI: keeping L.A.’s water flowing post-earthquake
New $100M Innovation Hub to Accelerate R&D for a Secure Water Future: “The National Alliance for Water Innovation, which is led by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), has been awarded a five-year, $100-million Energy-Water Desalination Hub by DOE (pending appropriations) to address water security issues in the United States. The Hub will focus on early-stage research and development for energy-efficient and cost-competitive desalination technologies and for treating nontraditional water sources for various end uses. … ” Read more from Berkeley News here: New $100M Innovation Hub to Accelerate R&D for a Secure Water Future
Calif. rep to bring dead giant swamp rat to Congress: “A Turlock lawmaker plans to bring a giant swamp rat to Congress to drum up support for eradicating the pest from California’s Central Valley. Rep. Josh Harder, a rookie Democratic congressman, wants his colleagues to award $7 million to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife over five years to combat the spread of nutria, large semi-aquatic rodents wreaking havoc on wetlands in his district. … ” Read more from SF Gate here: Calif. rep to bring dead giant swamp rat to Congress
California Wildfires Pose Drinking Water Contaminant Challenge: “To illustrate the pervasiveness of damage caused by California’s rising epidemic of wildfires, researchers are now connecting the problem to an influx of dangerous contaminants in drinking water delivery systems. Due to increasingly dry conditions, California’s forests are becoming highly susceptible to rampant wildfires, a trend highlighted by the so-called “Camp Fire” in November 2018, the state’s most destructive wildfire on record. In addition to damaging property and jeopardizing lives, this most recent catastrophe presented massive obstacles for drinking water treatment operations. … ” Read more from Water Online here: California Wildfires Pose Drinking Water Contaminant Challenge
Californians Support Actions to Address Climate Change: “Today, world leaders converge in New York City for the United Nations Climate Action Summit. The summit comes at a time when the federal government is moving in a different direction than California in the area of climate change and energy policy. Just last week, the Trump administration announced it would rescind the state’s authority to set its own vehicle emission standards—a decision challenged on Friday in a lawsuit filed by California and 22 other states. Over the past two decades, California has taken a multifaceted approach to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and Californians have consistently shown strong support for the state’s recent actions. ... ” Read more from the PPIC here: Californians Support Actions to Address Climate Change
California, China to team up on climate research institute: “As tensions between China and the United States ratchet up, former California Gov. Jerry Brown sees a way to bring together the world’s largest carbon emitter and a U.S. state that’s leading the way in energy standards: climate change. Brown and Xie Zhenhua, China’s top climate official, announced a new university partnership focused on climate research and policy on Monday as part of the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York. While it may seem like an unlikely pairing, Brown has been building a partnership with China for years. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune here: California, China to team up on climate research institute
In regional news and commentary today …
The Klamath River now has the legal rights of a person: “This summer, the Yurok Tribe declared rights of personhood for the Klamath River — likely the first to do so for a river in North America. A concept previously restricted to humans (and corporations), “rights of personhood” means, most simply, that an individual or entity has rights, and they’re now being extended to nonhumans. The Yurok’s resolution, passed by the tribal council in May, comes during another difficult season for the Klamath; over the past few years, low water flows have caused high rates of disease in salmon, and cancelled fishing seasons. … ” Read more from the High Country News here: The Klamath River now has the legal rights of a person
Paiute Cutthroat Trout Reintroduced to Native Habitat in High Sierra Wilderness: “California’s native Paiute cutthroat trout, the rarest trout in North America, swims once again in its high Sierra home waters for the first time in more than 100 years. California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham and representatives from the USDA Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Golden Gate Chapter of Trout Unlimited and Little Antelope Pack Station joined biologists to release 30 Paiute cutthroat trout of varying sizes into Silver King Creek in Alpine County, Calif., Sept. 18, 2019. … ” Read more from CDFW here: Paiute Cutthroat Trout Reintroduced to Native Habitat in High Sierra Wilderness
Bay Area marshes could help slow global warming: “The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta was once one of the lushest marshlands in the state. The peat-rich soil made it an ideal place for some of the state’s first farms to pop up. Today, scientists are hacking their way through thick brush to see if restoring these marshes is a way to reduce carbon dioxide in the air. CO2 is what scientists believe is responsible for global warming. Sensitive instruments here monitor this wetland as it breathes and absorbs carbon dioxide. … ” Read more from KGO here: Bay Area marshes could help slow global warming
Commentary: The latest battle to save San Francisco Bay — Cargill salt ponds: Robert Redford writes, “John Muir came to San Francisco in l868. He stayed just a day. He wanted to go “somewhere wild,” and he took a couple of weeks and walked from the city to Yosemite. He fell in love with what he called California’s “range of light.” About a hundred years later, when I was a young actor, I took a couple of weeks and walked from San Francisco to Big Sur. I fell in love with California’s nature, too. I’ve tried to be an environmental activist ever since. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: Commentary: The latest battle to save San Francisco Bay — Cargill salt ponds
Mid-Santa Cruz County groundwater protection planning winds down: “A group of policymakers planning for the long-term water supply sustainability of Santa Cruz County’s mid-county region are in their final leg of a multi-year process. The Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Agency staff members are in the process of generally responding to a handful of public comments on its state-mandated 20-year plan to revive and secure regional groundwater supplies, the Groundwater Sustainability Plan. The 60-day deadline for comment closed last week after two open houses with nine general public comments, three public agencies — Soquel Creek Water District, National Marine Fisheries Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife — and the Nature Conservancy and a consortium of other non-governmental environmental organizations. … ” Read more from the Santa Cruz Sentinel here: Mid-Santa Cruz County groundwater protection planning winds down
Merced Irrigation District workshops continue to discuss groundwater sustainability: “The Merced Irrigation District (MID) Board of Directors met recently to discuss and receive an update during a public workshop on the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Established by the state legislature in 2015, the law requires communities with overdrafted groundwater basins become sustainable by 2040. This means that a community is not taking more water than can be replenished back into the local groundwater basin. All groundwater pumpers in the basin are expected to cooperate and provide the best outcome. … ” Read more from the Merced County Times here: Merced Irrigation District workshops continue to discuss groundwater sustainability
Final Comprehensive Monitoring Report of Malibu Lagoon Indicates Proven Success Towards Project Goals: “The Bay Foundation (TBF) and California State Parks have released the Malibu Lagoon Restoration and Enhancement Project Final Comprehensive Monitoring Report (Year 6), indicating that the restoration project has been determined to be wholly successful as assessed against project goals and success criteria. When compared to pre-restoration data, post-restoration results show improved water quality, improved circulation, removal of dead zones and excess sedimentation issues, and a diverse native ecosystem resilient to impacts. … ” Read more from the Santa Monica Daily Press here: Final Comprehensive Monitoring Report of Malibu Lagoon Indicates Proven Success Towards Project Goals
Newport Beach: Coastal Commission OKs Big Canyon Restoration: “The California Coastal Commission recently approved the second phase of Newport Beach’s four-phase plan to restore Big Canyon Nature Park. Newport Beach city staffers plan to restore an 11.3-acre portion of the park between Jamboree Road and Back Bay Drive that’s home to a six-acre grove of invasive Brazilian pepper trees. … ” Read more from the Newport Beach Independent here: Coastal Commission OKs Big Canyon Restoration
Along the Colorado River …
Trump repeal of enviro rule will open way for massive AZ project, developer says: “For now, the sloping grasslands at the base of the Whetstone Mountains are dotted with mesquite trees, cactuses and grazing cattle. But as he looked out over the property from a rocky knoll, developer Mike Reinbold said he’s optimistic the land will soon be transformed into a Tuscan-themed development called Villages at Vigneto, with thousands of homes, a resort and golf courses. Reinbold said even though environmental groups are suing to challenge a federal dredge-and-fill permit, he’s confident their suit will fail now that the Trump administration has announced the repeal of a 2015 clean water regulation. … ” Read more from Arizona Central here: Trump repeal of enviro rule will open way for massive AZ project, developer says
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
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About the Daily Digest: The Daily Digest is a collection of selected news articles, commentaries and editorials appearing in the mainstream press. Items are generally selected to follow the focus of the Notebook blog. The Daily Digest is published every weekday with a weekend edition posting on Sundays.
