Critics and a state lawmaker say they want more explanations on who’s paying for a proposed $16 billion water project backed by Gov. Jerry Brown, after a leading California water district said Brown’s administration was offering government funding to finish the planning for the two giant water tunnels.
San Diego’s two largest utilities are at odds over power, both literal and figurative.The San Diego County Water Authority hopes to save millions in coming years by generating hydroelectric power for itself and by buying electricity from sources other than San Diego Gas & Electric, the local power monopoly. The Water Authority, however, says SDG&E is standing in the way of its plans.The two agencies are, respectively, the region’s major suppliers of power and water. And their dispute echoes struggles both utilities are already having within their respective industries.
A bipartisan group of California mayors is urging lawmakers to approve legislation from Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) that would extend the state’s targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The measure, SB 32, would set a goal of 40% below 1990 levels by 2030, an increase from the current target of hitting 1990 levels by 2020. “Our cities continue to bear witness to the consequences of a changing climate,” the mayors wrote. “From record heat and fire to the continued water quality and availability challenges fo the drought, we are increasingly challenged by the consequences of climate change.”
The Salton Sea is in big trouble and plodding state officials are to blame, local authorities and environmentalists say. The California Legislature appropriated money to start designing projects to restore wildlife habitat and control dust at the steadily receding salt lake in 2010. But lawmakers did not approve funding to actually begin construction on those conservation efforts until June of this year, when they included $80.5 million in the state budget for a few modest habitat projects scheduled for sometime next year, state officials said.
The Salton Sea is in big trouble and plodding state officials are to blame, local authorities and environmentalists say. The California Legislature appropriated money to start designing projects to restore wildlife habitat and control dust at the steadily receding salt lake in 2010. But lawmakers did not approve funding to actually begin construction on those conservation efforts until June of this year, when they included $80.5 million in the state budget for a few modest habitat projects scheduled for sometime next year, state officials said.
Climatologists are backing away from a full-blown La Nina that could replace last winter’s El Nino. The Climate Prediction Center says current conditions are neutral between the two Pacific Ocean opposites. Forecast models suggest La Nina will set-in between now and October with only a 60 percent chance it will persist through the winter.
Last winter, El Nino gave Northern California above-normal rain and snow but overlooked Southern California and failed to end the state’s 5-year drought. La Nina is known for its cooler, drier weather. The coastal waters off Southern California may still be recovering from El Nino. Sea surface temperatures in late July hit 78 degrees along Orange County beaches.
According to a new forecast from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center, it’s likely that the La Niña weather pattern will show up this winter. The likelihood that it will show up this winter is the same as last month: a 55 to 60 percent probability. That’s a downgrade from June, when it was 75 percent. While El Niño is associated with warmer waters in the equatorial Pacific and warm, wet winters in Southern California, La Niña can be tied to cooling waters, and is better known for keeping things drier in the southern part of the state.
In the end, it will be state and local officials, not scientists, who put forward the ways Southern California deals with the effects of both the drought and man-made climate change. But we expect policy-makers, even when they are not exactly brainiacs themselves, to keep up with the science on these subjects in order to make informed decisions. It’s scientists who discovered global warming and who now are studying its effects on the planet, as well as offering diverse ways to respond to the crises that will come with sea-level rise, dangerous weather patterns, disruption of agriculture and other problems.
With students heading back to classes this month, we want to ask a little favor of teachers, principals and other educators at public and private elementary, middle and high schools alike: Please spend some time this school year teaching our children about water conservation, if you are not already. Because despite some mixed signals from water regulators lately, a severe drought continues in Southern California, and water education is more important than ever.
Critics of Gov. Jerry Brown’s nearly $16 billion plan to bore two massive tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta won a state audit of its ongoing costs on Wednesday, though state officials don’t expect the audit to delay the project. The Joint Legislative Audit Committee also voted to have California’s state auditor investigate prison suicides, University of California spending and certain charter schools.
