Energy, Transportation & Missouri News

ENERGY

Buyer of TVA Nuclear Plant Plans to Run It

We previously posted that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was auctioning an unfinished nuclear power plant near Hollywood, Alabama. The buyer, Nuclear Development LLC, announced its intention to complete the plant and put it into operation.

Before this can be done, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission must transfer the operating license from TVA to Nuclear Development. In addition, Nuclear Development must complete financing arrangements.

Nuclear Development bid $111 million for the plant. In addition to two nuclear reactors and supporting facilities, the property includes 1,600 acres of land.

Canada, Finland Plan to Phase Out Coal

Canadian officials announced plans to phase out coal-powered electric generation by 2030. They hope the country will be 90 percent powered by sustainable sources by that time.

Findland also proposes to phase out coal by 2030. The country plans to be carbon-neutral by 2050.

MISSOURI

Bill Would Make Sale of Municipal Utilities Easier

A bill filed in the Missouri General Assembly (HB 247), would lower the threshold of voter approval needed for a municipality to sell a utility. If passed, it would lower the requirement from a five-seventh majority to a simple majority. The Missouri House Local Government Committee has taken up the bill.

TRANSPORTATION

Bill Would Transfer Some Missouri Roads from State to Counties

Two bills in the Missouri Senate (SB 38 and SJR 3), propose pathway for the transfer of responsibility for certain road, letter routes, from the state to counties. About two-thirds of the current state funds for maintaining these roads will be distributed to counties, the remainder remaining with the state for other transportation needs.

County officials are opposed to the measure, saying it will shift much of the state’s burden for road maintenance to even more cash-strapped counties. These routes were maintained by counties until 1952, when the state took them over as part of a road improvement program.

A similar proposal failed to pass in the 2016 session. SJR 3 also includes a provision for raising fuel taxes. You can find out more about these bills here.

Noisy Electric Cars

New rules will require electric cars traveling slower than 19 miles per hour to produce a sound. This is to prevent accidents involving pedestrians who can’t hear the very quiet electric motors operating in these vehicles. The National Transportation Safety Administration anticipates this measure will prevent 2,400 injuries to pedestrians annually. New electric and hybrid cars must comply with the rule by September 2019.

USGS Evapotranspiration Maps Available

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists have mapped long-term average evapotranspiration rates across the continental United States.  It will be a useful tool for water managers and planners because of the huge role evapotranspiration plays in water availability.

Why are evapotranspiration rates important to know? The amount of water available for people and ecosystems is the amount of annual precipitation (snow or rain) minus the amount of annual evapotranspiration.  Evapotranspiration is the amount of water lost to the atmosphere from the ground surface.  Much of this loss is the result of the transpiration of water by plants.

Evapotranspiration has been difficult to measure accurately on a regional or continental scale.  To produce these maps, USGS scientists examined satellite imagery for climate and land-cover data and streamflow data for more than 800 watersheds.  This information allowed them to generate a mathematical equation that can be used to estimate long-term evapotranspiration in the continental United States.  

One interesting finding illustrated in the maps is that in certain regions, such as the High Plains and the Central Valley of California, evapotranspiration exceeds the amount of precipitation because water is imported from other regions.  The map also shows that the Pacific Northwest has many areas with low evapotranspiration to precipitation rates because of the area’s very high rainfall and low-to-moderate temperatures.  In contrast, counties in the arid Southwest have evapotranspiration rates that usually exceed 80 percent of precipitation.  

The research was published this week in the Journal of the American Water Resources Association.  To read the article and see the maps, click here.

You can find the original USGS news release here→.

Water Scarcity

Water scarcity is a growing issue worldwide.  There is a lot of water in the world, but issues of location, timing, quantity, quality, and use can lead to serious problems.  Here are links to some recent articles that highlight the issue.

As Drought Intensifies, 2 States Dig In Over Water War (Gerlock, G., NPR, Feb. 6, 2013)

Water Levels Hit Record Lows in Two Great Lakes, Wildlife Struggles to Cope with Changing Climate (Yeager-Kozacek, C., Circle of Blue, Feb. 8, 2013)

Worse Than Poisoned Water: Dwindling Water, in China’s North (Tatlow, D. K., International Herald Tribune Rendezvous blog, Feb. 5, 2013)

China Leads in Investing in Watersheds to Protect Drinking Water (Howard, B. C., National Geographic Water Currents, Jan. 18, 2013)

China’s Water Pollution Crisis (Economy, E. C., Diplomat, Jan. 22, 2013)

Davos 2013: water scarcity is “second most important world risk” (Confino, J., Guardian, Jan. 24, 2013)

Toxic Water: Across Much of China, Huge Harvests Irrigated with Industrial and Agricultural Runoff (Ivanova, N., Circle of Blue, Jan. 19, 2013)

Water agencies call for alternative to the $14B Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta tunnels (Wozniack, G., Bakersfield Now [Associated Press], Jan. 28, 2013)

World Water Scarcity (Infrastructure Watch, Jan. 9, 2013)

Cost of Increasing Droughts (Growing Blue)

Book Review: The Big Thirst by Charles Fishman

More than 1 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water.  Australia has suffered a decade-long, continent-wide drought.  Even seemingly water rich places, like Atlanta, Georgia, can’t get enough water.  Many are talking of a global water crisis.  Except, as Charles Fishman aptly states it in The Big Thirst, “There is no global water crisis, there are a thousand water crises, each distinct.”

I think the story of Atlanta and Lake Lanier, as told recounted by Fishman, is especially instructive.  Lake Lanier on the Chatahoochee River is the source of 75 percent of the water used by Atlanta, 5 million gallons a day.  A drought in 2007-2008 brought the level of the lake dangerously low, prompting downstream states to sue over the amount of water Atlanta was taking.  The federal court declared that Atlanta had been illegally receiving water from the lake and had to find another source.  Atlanta has a lot of resources, barely tapped conservation efforts, reuse, and alternative supplies, but with a lack of political will, leadership, and vision, it leaders threw up their hands in impotent defiance of the court and whined they must have Lake Lanier water.  When the lake was built, Atlanta passed on paying for a piece of it thinking it would never be needed, and now they think they can’t live without it.

Part of the point Fishman makes it that water crises are more often than not political crises.  There is a lack of political will and sense of necessity, even though the problems can be plain and the solutions within reach.  The Big Thirst includes examples from around the world (the United States, India, and especially Australia) where people are facing water problems.  Happily, many of them have taken a more realistic and reasonable approach than Atlanta.

Fishman is going for something deeper, though.  Our political and economic stumbling in the area of water management stems for our cultural relationship with water.  It is obviously necessary for life.  We also consider it beautiful, it is part of our landscape, and in some places it has important religious significance.  Even so, we have difficulty understanding the value of water, comparing one use to another, assigning responsibility for its distribution and quality, acknowledging the infrastructure needed to have water when and where it is needed.  It the West, where for the last century we have enjoyed incredible access to abundant water, we hardly ever think about water unless we have some professional connection to it.

We can’t continue to be mindless of water.  The systems of water abundance we built in the last century aren’t sustainable without major ongoing investment.  In light of climate change, they may be altogether unsustainable.  Even without climate change, much of our water policy dates to a time of unusual water abundance.

Fishman encourages water mindfulness.  We need to reconnect to water.  In part, this reconnecting means understanding what it means to have water in our homes and in our streams.  It is also connecting to how critical water is to food, energy, commerce, health, and almost every aspect of life.  Our decisions about water need to be rooted in reality.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

Blue Revolution by Cynthia Barnett

Elixir by Brian Fagan

Water by Marq de Villiers

Water by Steven Solomon

When the Rivers Run Dry by Fred Pearce

I’ve also written about Atlanta and Lake Lanier at Infrastructure Watch:

Courts Could Affect Uses of Lake Lanier

Georgia Appeals Lake Lanier Decision

Georgia Loses Lake Lanier Battle

Judge Winnows Down Central Question in Lake Lanier Case

Fishman, Charles.  The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water.  New York: Free Press, 2011.

This review of The Big Thirst by Charles Fishman appears courtesy of Keenan’s Book Reviews, were you can find more books about water.

World Water Scarcity

Water scarcity is a growing issue worldwide.  There is a lot of water in the world, but issues of location, timing, quantity, quality, and use can lead to serious problems.  Here are links to some recent articles that highlight the issue.

Water supply to Chinese city cut off due to pollution in river (NDTV, Jan. 6, 2013)

How will climate change impact on fresh water security? (Mcintyre, N., & Clark, D., Guardian, Nov. 30, 2012)

Scarcity of Water and Land Shifts Geography of Food Production and Irrigation Networks to China’s Northeast (Schneider, K., Circle of Blue, Nov. 9, 2012)

Water conflicts come to the Andes as glaciers melt (Mahnke, E., DW, Nov. 13, 2012)

Water Supply in a Warming World (Gillis, J., New York Times Green blog, Nov. 12, 2012)

Demand for Water Will Outstrip Supply by 2030, Oracle Says (Environmental Leader, Oct. 22, 2012)

Water Scarcity (Infrastructure Watch, Oct. 23, 2012)

The Growing Water Scarcity Problem (Parker, T., Infozine, Sept. 22, 2012)

Freshwater Crisis (National Geographic, n.d.)

How Does Lack of Water Affect Women and Children? (Good, n.d.)

Revisit: Colorado River, Missouri River

Colorado River

I complained that the new Bureau of Reclamation plan for the Colorado River hinted the remote possibility of bringing water in from the Missouri River, which is insane.  Others are looking at the plan, too.  Here are some links.

HIGH GOOD, LOW BAD: MEAD IN DECEMBER 2012 (Green, M., Chance of Rain, Dec. 30, 2012)

Major Federal Study Sets Foundation for Colorado River Basin’s Future (Walton, B., Circle of Blue, Dec. 14, 2012)

The Water Gap: Interior Department Warns Of Water Shortages In The Colorado River Basin Due To Climate Change (Valentine, K., Think Progress, Dec. 17, 2012)

Las Vegas' New Waterboarding Game: Pipe Dreams and Other Fantasies! (Campana, M. E., WaterWired, Jan. 2, 2013)

Will the Missouri River be the Next Colorado River? (Infrastructure Watch, Dec. 14, 2012)

Missouri River

Back in December, we posted about the low levels in the Mississippi River and how it threatens barge traffic.  Here are some links to more articles about this issue.

As Water Level Falls, Concerns About Mississippi River's Barge Traffic Rise(Memmot, M., NPR, The Two-Way, Dec. 28, 2012)

Barge Traffic Threatened on Missouri & Mississippi Rivers (Infrastructure Watch, Dec. 21, 2012)

Low water may halt Mississippi River transport next week (Polansek, T., Reuters, Dec. 27, 2012)

Mississippi river faces shipping freeze as water levels drop (Goldenberg, S., Guardian, Dec. 14, 2012)

Don’t Fear the Nexus

Our infrastructure for water, energy, transportation, and food is all interconnected.  Changes to one has consequences in the others.  Below are links to several articles that explore these interconnections.

Energy & Water

2013: Year of the Water-Energy Nexus? (Tweed, K., Greentechmedia.com, Dec. 18, 2012)

A startup that squeezes electricity out of city water (Wang, U., Washington Post, Nov. 28, 2012)

Waste Wattage: Cities Aim to Flush Heat Energy Out of Sewers (Kaufman, R., National Geographic, Dec. 11, 2012)

North America leads shift in global energy balance, IEA says in latest World Energy Outlook (International Energy Agency, Nov. 12, 2012)

US drought could trigger repeat of global food crisis, experts warn (Goldenberg, S., Guardian, July 23, 2012)

What’s on the Mind of Utilities? Water (Kanellos, M., Greentechmedia.com, June 13, 2011)

Food & Water

Drought expands, concerns mount about wheat and rivers (Gillam, C., Reuters, Dec. 6, 2012)

Water Pollution and the Farm Economy (Gillis, G., New York Times Green blog, Dec. 11, 2012)

365 Trillion Gallons of Water Thrown Away With Our Food Every Year (Ichenseher, T., National Geographic, Sept.  9, 2010)

Other

It's All Connected (Infrastructure Watch, Nov. 29, 2012)

Barge Traffic Threatened on Missouri & Mississippi Rivers

Levels on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers continue to drop.  One of the consequences of low river levels is the dangers it poses to navigation, especially to barge traffic.  Low levels have exposed rocks and sand bars on both rivers.

Barges on these rivers transport a lot of goods, especially commodities.  This is a significant part of the economy of states along these rivers, especially those on the lower Mississippi River.  For instance, in Missouri the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center estimated that nearly $3 billion in Missouri commodities, mostly agricultural products, are shipped on water.  Water freight generates an estimated $388 million annually in gross state product (GSP) in Missouri.

To some degree, flow in these rivers is controlled by dams operated by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.  Officials and businesses along the Mississippi River have asked the Corp to release more water.  The Corp agreed, and on December 15 began releasing water Carlyle Lake (a little more than 50 miles east of St. Louis) on the Kaskaskia River, which flows into the Mississippi River a few a few miles downstream of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri.

The Corp has tried to tame these rivers for more than a century, managing them for navigation, flood control, and other purposes.  It may not get any easier.  Many are predicting that climate change will result in more droughts and flooding along with more frequent extreme high and low levels of water in the rivers.

A couple of days ago, IW was quick to draw knives on a proposal to pump water from the Missouri River to the Colorado River through a pipeline that would run from Leavenworth, Kansas, to Denver, Colorado.  Recently Interior Secretary Ken Salazar admitted that this was not a practicable plan and that western states need to seek solutions elsewhere.

Related articles and posts

Climate Change Pits Sioux Against Barges for Scarce Water (Bjerga, A., Bloomberg, Dec. 17, 2012)

Drought expands, concerns mount about wheat and rivers (Gillam, C., Reuters, Dec. 6, 2012)

Four stories to keep an eye on in 2013 (Miller, M., Southeast Missourian, Dec. 18, 2012)

In Two Weeks, the Mississippi River Could Shut Down (Goldenberg, S., The Atlantic, Dec. 14, 2012)

Officials meet to tackle drought-ravaged Mississippi River, shipping concerns (Currier, J., St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dec. 17, 2012)

Pump water from Leavenworth to Denver? Highly unlikely, U.S. concludes (Helling, D., Kansas City Star, Dec. 13, 2012)

Will the Missouri River be the Next Colorado River? (Infrastructure Watch, Dec. 14, 2012)

Extreme Weather Hard on Infrastructure

Hurricane Sandy highlighted the vulnerability of our infrastructure to extreme weather.  New York’s subways were severely damaged and travel to and from New England by train or airplane was delayed or cancelled.  People were without power for days, weeks for some.

This is only one example we could draw from 2012.  Extreme heat and drought troubled much of the nation this summer.

It is time to start thinking about how we live with our environment in new ways.  This is not simply a matter of climate change and the effects of human activity on climate and weather.  It is about what kind of lives we want to live, what kind of infrastructure we need to live it, what we consider acceptable in terms of infrastructure reliability, water and air quality, transportation methods and routes, locus of control, and the complex of manmade and natural systems we live in on local, regional, national and global scales.  Some are even seeing opportunities in what others are seeing as blunt problems needing heaving engineering answers.

Related posts and articles

And the Lord (Mayor) Said: Climate Change Is Real (Elliot, D., Conde Nast Traveler The Daily Traveler, June 8, 2012)

Extreme weather tough on transportation system (CBS News [Associated Press], Nov. 22, 2012)

It's not just Sandy: U.S. hit by record droughts, fires, and heatwaves in 2012 (Hance, J., Mongabay.com, Nov. 5, 2012)

US roads, airports unready for extreme weather (Lowy, J., Associated Press, Nov. 21, 2012)

Heat Hard on Infrastructure

The extended hot dry weather in much of the United States is taking its toll on our infrastructure.  Roads are buckling, barge traffic is limited, water supplies are under watch, electrical supplies are strained by demand.  A US Airways jet even got stuck in a melting runway.  Links to several articles on this subject are listed below.

Global Warming Imperils Nation’s Energy System (National Wildlife Federation)

Heat is Making Roads Crack (Essley, L., Washington Examiner, July 6, 2012)

Mississippi River Low-Water Mark is a Concern for Shippers (Belz, A., Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 31, 2012)

Mississippi River Runs Low as Drought Grips St. Louis Region (Gustin, G., St. Louis Post Dispatch, July 17, 2012)

Mississippi Rivers So Low, Cargo Barges Rund Aground (Sainz, A., & Mohr, H., Associated Press on NBCNew.com, July 16, 2012)

The Not So Mighty Mississippi: How the River’s Low Water Levels are Impacting the Economy (Sanburn, J., Time, July 30, 2012)

So, How Hot Was It? (Wald, M. L., Green blog at New York Times, July 17, 2012)

State Works Quickly to Patch U.S. 50 (Thompson, C., Baltimore Sun, July 9, 2012)*

U. S. Infrastructure in Disarray Due to Extreme Weather, Climate Change (Common Dreams, July 26, 2012)

Weather Extremes Expose Flaws in America’s Crumbling Infrastructure (Nisen, M., Business Insider, July 26, 2012)

Weather Extremes Leave Parts of U.S. Grid Buckling (Wald, M. L., & Scwartz, J., New York Times, July 25, 2012)

*Incidentally, Infrastructure Watch is close to U.S. 50, though a very long drive from Baltimore.

Book Review: The Essential Engineer by Henry Petroski

Petroski, Henry. The Essential Engineer: Why Science Alone Will Not Solve Our Global Problems. New York: Vintage, 2010.

Policy makers seem to love science. I can see why. Science provides a sense of specificity, certainty and consensus. It contrasts with the vagueness, variability and competition that policy makers usually have to deal with. That is more like the world engineering.

This interrelation of policy-making, science and engineering, especially the latter two, is the subject of Henry Petroski’s book, The Essential Engineer. In particular, Petroski emphasizes the important, and often overlooked, role of engineering is solving pressing problems.

I doesn’t help that people conflate science and engineering, especially by thinking of engineering as branch or application of science. Petroski is clear about the differences. Science is about increasing knowledge. Engineering is about invention. Sometimes scientists do engineering, especially when they create a devise or process to help them in their work of discovery. Sometimes engineers do science, especially when their engage in research and experimentation to gain a better understanding or problems that are not well understood.

The movement of knowledge from science to engineering practice is well understood. Petroski describes how this became ingrained in American research and development policy. Engineering often precedes science and engineers often must invent solutions in areas that are not well understood by science. Galileo’s improvements to the telescope made possible his advancements in astronomy. The science of thermodynamics grew almost entirely out of the desire to understand steam engines, which engineers had been building and improving in the absence of scientific understanding.

This misunderstanding exacerbated by our culture and education. Policy elites and scientist generally have no education in engineering. As an undergraduate studying engineering, I took science classes with students majoring in the sciences. I took classes in political science, economics and other social science and business-oriented classes with students majoring in those fields. I would have been greatly surprised to find in one of my engineering classes a student who wasn’t majoring in engineering.*

Petroski does not try to bring down science. He’s a civil engineering professor at a sizeable university, so he has probably spent quite a bit of time doing science. He does distinguish how science is helpful, mainly as a warning. Science can help us identify and define problems and assess the risks involve. When we begin to devise solutions to those problems, especially when there is no definitive solution and judgment is needed to way the pros and cons of multiple possible answers, we are moving into engineering.



The Essential Engineer is not a technical book. It for anyone who may have an interest in the role of technology in addressing our problems, especially larger societal problems. Petroski draws illustrations from current events and history (he is a professor of history as well as engineering). The book is enlivened with a storytelling feel.

* There were exceptions. I took a course in food processing that was dual-listed in agricultural engineering and food science. It was a required course for both disciplines. Electrical engineering students almost automatically minored in math, and some clever and ambitious students double-majored in those subjects. With a little better planning, I could have swung a minor in agricultural economics, and I almost wish I had. When I got into wastewater engineering, I wished I had taken more microbiology. My pursuit of additional education lead to a graduate degree in public administration. Government agencies have been employers or clients most of my career. It is common for engineers to get a masters degree in business, especially as they become managers.

Henry Petroski also wrote Paperboy.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
The Ancient Engineers by L. Sprague de Camp
The Big Necessity by Rose George
Newton and the Counterfeiter by Thomas Levenson

This review appears courtesy of Keenan’s Book Reviews, where you can find reviews of other books on engineering and science.

In Congress

The Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2011 (H.R. 1079) has been referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) and the Ways and Means Committee. The bill would extend the Airport and Airway Trust Fund and related taxes and programs.

The Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011 (H.R. 910) has been ordered reported out of committee. The bill would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from issuing rules to relating to the emission of greenhouse gases to address climate change.

The TIFIA Expansion Act of 2011 (H.R. 1123) has been referred to the House T&I Committee. The act would change provisions of the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act and extend authorization to 2015.

The Hill is reporting that Sen. John Kerry (MA) plans to introduce the BUILD Act to create a national infrastructure bank. The bill would create an authority to oversee a $10 billion fund and make loans and guarantees for large infrastructure projects.

Related posts and articles
Bill Watch - 112th Congress
Bill Would Require Public Employee Inspection of Federally-Funded Transportation Projects
BUILD Act
Energy Bills Introduced
Kerry, Hutchison Propose National Infrastructure Bank
Kerry to Introduce Bipartisan Infrastructure Bank Bill

Infrastructure in the Obama Budget

In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama emphasized infrastructure funding. His budget proposal includes increases for transportation, especially for high-speed rail, but cuts other infrastructure programs.

Unfortunately, Infrastructure Watch doesn’t have the time to dig through the budget and analyze it. Fortunately, professional journalists, paid bloggers, and big stakeholders do. Here is a compilation of some articles from these diligent folks.

Education, Infrastructure Win in Obama Budget (Gramlich, J., Stateline, Feb. 15, 2011)

EPA Budget Proposal Focuses on Air and Climate, Cuts Water Grants (Nelson, G., & Chemnick, J., New York Times, Feb. 14, 2011)

Geithner: Infrastructure Bank Would End Bridges to Nowhere (Wall Street Journal, Feb. 9, 2011)

Grading Obama’s Budget Proposal for Food, Water and Fish (Food and Water Watch, Feb., 16, 2011)

Obama Budget has $5 Billion for Infrastructure Bank (Lambert, L., Reuters UK, Feb. 17, 2011)

Obama Budget has $556 Billion , Six-Year Transporation Plan (Crawley, J., & Lambert, L., Reuters, Feb. 14, 2011)

Obama Budget Hikes Transportation But Cuts Other Construction Programs (Ichniowski, T., & Hunter, P., Engineering News-Record, Feb. 16, 2011)

Obama’s $3.7 Trillion Budget Sets Fight in Congress (Runningen, R., & Faler, B., Bloomberg, Feb. 14, 2011)

Reconnecting America Releases Analysis of Obama Budget Proposal

Tax Hikes May Outweigh Obama Budget (Hoover, K., Portland Business Journal, Feb. 16, 2011)

Jefferson City, MO, Part of Greening America’s Capitals Program

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected Jefferson City, MO, (home of Infrastructure Watch) for green design assistance that includes cleaning up and recycling vacant lands, providing greater housing and transportation choices, reducing energy costs and improving waterways. Through its new Greening America’s Capitals program, EPA will fund private sector experts to provide sustainable design assistance to Jefferson City, Boston, MA; Hartford, CT; Charleston, WV.; and Little Rock, AR.

Greening Americas Capitals is a new project of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, an agreement between EPA, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to coordinate federal housing, transportation, and environmental investments; protect public health and the environment; promote equitable development; and help address the challenges of climate change. HUD and DOT were involved in the review and selection process and will provide technical expertise on relevant portions of each project.

Jefferson City and the four other state capitals were selected from a total of 38 cities that responded to a solicitation of interest. EPA will now organize teams of urban planners and landscape architects to provide direct, customized technical assistance as requested by Jefferson City officials. Greening America’s Capitals provides direct technical assistance to communities by working with private sector experts and leveraging partnerships, such as with HUD and DOT, to consider implementation options.

Jefferson City’s primary area of focus is bounded on the west by U.S. Highways 63/54, on the north by the Missouri River, on the south by U.S. Highways 50/63, and by the Capitol Building on the east. Wears Creek and vacant properties within the area provide the greatest opportunity for reconnecting nearby residents in the Southside neighborhood to the riverfront. Wears Creek can serve as an important connection to planned bike and pedestrian greenways.

EPA‘s support of the Jefferson City project is also undertaken to advance EPA’s Urban Waters focus, which seeks to support communities in their efforts to access, improve, and benefit from their urban waters and surrounding lands. EPA’s Urban Waters efforts place particular emphasis on engaging underserved neighborhoods and on providing equitable access to urban waters through well-planned community revitalization leading to improved urban water quality. EPA’s assistance to Jefferson City will integrate the goals of both the agency’s urban waters and livability efforts.

Partners on this project include: Governor Jay “Boondoggle Bridge” Nixon, State Senator Carl Vogel, Jefferson City Mayor John Landwehr, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Missouri Department of Transportation, Missouri State Office of Administration Jefferson City Council, Jefferson City Housing Authority & Land Clearance Authority, Jefferson City Environmental Quality Commission, Jefferson City Planning & Zoning Commission, Jefferson City Parks & Recreation Department (tangentially, they have an adult kickball league), Historic Jefferson City, Old Town Revitalization Company, Downtown Association, Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce.

Climate Change Legislation

GovTrack has a nice summary of the major climate change bills and where they stand. You can find it here.

Related articles and posts:
Clean Energy and Drinking Water Bills Working Way through Congress
Environmental, Energy Bills Introduced in Congress

Environmental, Energy Bills Introduced in Congress

H.R. 3727 - Drinking Water Adaptation, Technology, Education, and Research (WATER) Act
This bill would support research of the effects of climate change on drinking water systems.

S. 1711 - Water Efficiency and Conservation Investment Act of 2009
This bill would create tax incentives to support water conservation improvements in residences and public works.

S. 1713 - Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration (WECHAR) Act of 2009
This bill would support the development of markets for biochar and the assessment of feedstock for biochar production from federal lands. Biochar is charcoal.

Clean Energy and Drinking Water Bills Working Way through Congress

Sen. John Kerry’s (MA) conglomerate climate bill (S. 1733) is working is one of the contenders for reducing carbon emissions, pumping money into energy technologies and helping drinking water systems adapt to a drier climate. Sen. Harry Reid (NV) has introduced bill to fund water system adaptations to climate change (S. 1712), which fellow Nevadan Rep. Shelley Berkley has introduced in the House of Representatives (H.R. 3747).

Related articles and posts:
Bill Watch—111th Congress

Book Review: Water by Marq de Villiers

de Villiers, Marq. Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource. 1999. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000.

Marq de Villiers serves as a guide on a tour of water problems, conflicts and occasional solutions around the world. Though he is not an alarmist, his book seems to indicate that the problems have so far greatly outpaced the solutions.

There are several aspects of water problems and conflicts that de Villiers considers: natural, technological and political. In each area, he provides specific examples of water in or nearing crisis.

The natural distribution of fresh water in the world is uneven. That may be the fundamental aspect of water problems: even where it’s seemingly abundant, it doesn’t occur where and when people want it to make use of it. In parts of the world, this is a dire situation.

The technological solutions people have applied to correct this distribution have resulted in some amazing works of engineering since early in human history. It has also had many unintended consequences. Irrigation that made marginal land productive has made some of that land useless, even desert, through increased salinity. Dams, drainage and transfers have created ill effects in regional climates. Water mining, pollution and other human activity are also threatening the quantity and quality of water even in developed nations. There is hope in the technological area in that much of this harm may be reversible and the human ingenuity that created these technologies might also create sustainable solutions to our water needs.

Political considerations are very important to water issues, particularly when considering the possibility of conflict, even outright war, because of water scarcity. The Middle East and North Africa come to mind as hot spots where water is a critical issue; de Villiers enlightens both the current situation and history of these regions. Though mistrust runs deep between the nations in this region, even seemingly friendly ones, there is hope for solutions to their water problems. North America has its water problems to, and the problems on the Colorado River are surprisingly similar to those on the Nile. The differences in water availability in the United States, Mexico and Canada also makes for interesting relations between these close and usually friendly neighbors. China may present the largest political problems related to water and it’s food production and population that threatens to push it into crisis.



The book closes with four general strategies for dealing with the world’s water problems. First, get more water by either bringing it in from elsewhere or making it (i.e. desalination). Next is conservation and pricing to reduce demand and encourage using water in the most valuable ways. Third is population control; de Villiers seems relieved that world populations have been growing more slowly without major intervention. Finally, you can steal water from others. Since 40 percent people worldwide live in watersheds that cross national boundaries, it becomes a complicated matter of who has what right to the water and this is a potential source of water conflict, though not insurmountable.

Bill Would Limit Greenhouse Gas Considerations in Endangered Species Decisions

Sen. John Barrasso (Wyo.) has introduced a bill (S. 724) modifying the Endangered Species Act. The bill would prohibit the Secretary of Interior from considering global climate change as a natural or manmade factor affection decisions about whether species are endangered or threatened until the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency confirms that all major emitters of greenhouse gases have signed an international agreement to limit carbon emissions. Major emitters of greenhouse gases includes China, India and the United States.

President-Elect Obama Announces Environmental Nominations

President-elect Barack Obama has been announcing a string of nominations, including those in agencies that have environmental and infrastructure responsibilities. He has nominated Lisa Jackson to serve as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Jackson currently serves as chief of staff for New Jersey Governor John Corzine and previously lead that state’s Department of Environmental Protection.

He named Nancy Sutley to head the Council on Environmental Quality. Sutley is deputy mayor of Los Angeles and formerly worked at EPA during the Clinton administration.

Former EPA Administrator Carol Browner will serve as a “climate czar.” This is a new position that will oversee climate change policy across the entire federal government.

Obama has nominated Steven Chu to serve as Secretary of Energy. Che presently leads the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Related articles and posts:
Obama names environmental team
Obama names choices for key environment and energy posts
Obama Announces Energy, Environmental Team