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The Most Powerful Renewable Energy

/in , , /by /BBCby Adrienne Bernhard

The world’s most relied-upon renewable energy source isn’t wind or sunlight, but water. Last year, the world’s hydropower capacity reached a record 1,308 gigawatts (to put this number in perspective, just one gigawatt is equivalent to the power produced by 1.3 million race horses or 2,000 speeding Corvettes). Utilities throughout the globe rely upon hydropower to generate electricity because it is cheap, easily stored and dispatched, and produced with no fuel combustion, meaning it won’t release carbon dioxide or pollutants the way power plants burning fossil fuels such as coal or natural gas do.

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Unusual Storm Leaves San Diego with Wettest June in 25 years

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby John Wilkens

A rare storm that dropped at least one-tenth of an inch of rain on much of the county Monday morning made this the wettest June in San Diego in at least 25 years.

“Did someone forget to call Mother Nature to let her know it’s almost July?” the local National Weather Service office asked on Twitter.

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Arizona Starts Talks on Addressing Dwindling Colorado River

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Felicia Fonseca

Arizona is getting a jump start on what will be a yearslong process to address a dwindling but key water source in the U.S. West.

Several states and Mexico rely on the Colorado River for drinking water and growing crops. But climate change, drought and demand have taken a toll on the river that no longer can deliver what was promised in the 1920s.

Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, California, Utah, Wyoming and Nevada have been operating under a set of guidelines approved in 2007. Those guidelines and an overlapping drought contingency plan will expire in 2026.

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Proposals to Watch in Democrats’ Infrastructure Behemoth

/in , , /by /E&E Newsby Jeremy Dillon and Geof Koss

House Democrats yesterday unveiled the details of a massive $1.5 trillion infrastructure package that has several sections focused on energy and environmental priorities. H.R. 2 and its 2,309 pages of provisions may become the most significant action taken by the House to promote a clean energy and climate-focused economic transformation this Congress.

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Opinion: A Social Justice Perspective of the Delta Tunnel Project

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Gary Kremen

As California confronts increasing water challenges, the most equitable statewide solution from a social justice perspective is the single-tunnel project proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, known as the Delta Conveyance Project.

More than 27 million Californians rely on imported drinking water conveyed through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This imported water also serves millions of acres of local agricultural lands and vital wildlife refuges.

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Unusually Warm May Contributes to Expanding Drought in the West

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Paul Duginski

The Western drought has continued to expand and intensify, according to U.S. Drought Monitor data released Thursday.

Wet late-spring weather resulted in a slight decrease in the area deemed to be in extreme drought in Northern California.

Severe drought receded a little in parts of northeastern Utah and southwestern Washington. Unseasonably heavy precipitation, including high-elevation snow, fell in northeastern Utah, the Drought Monitor reported

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The Past, Present and Future of California’s Groundwater

/in , , /by /Water in the West (Stanford University)by Michelle Horton

A century after the state began overseeing surface water, the California legislature enacted a set of three laws regulating water below the surface. The passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in 2014, granted the state official oversight authority of groundwater. However, its involvement existed long before SGMA and continues to influence current policies and regulation of the resource. A new paper published in Society and Natural Resources, examines how the state’s ongoing involvement helped shape current policies by looking at the 120-year history of California’s role in groundwater management and policy development.

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Unusual Santa Ana Winds Smash Heat Records Across San Diego County

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

Strong Santa Ana winds — weather that rarely occurs in June — sent temperatures soaring more than 20 degrees above normal Tuesday across San Diego County, smashing or tying records from the coast to the foothills.

“The numbers were amazing,” said Mark Moede, a forecaster at the National Weather Service.

San Diego International Airport hit 93 degrees, which is 24 degrees above normal. Chula Vista reached 92 and Encinitas hit 90.

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Study says Phoenix Reservoirs are Resilient to Warming, Scientists Warn Risks Remain

/in , /by /Arizona Republicby Ian James

Scientists have found that climate change is playing a big role in shrinking the flow of the Colorado River, but recent research suggests Arizona’s reservoirs on the Salt and Verde rivers could fare better as temperatures continue to rise.

The findings back the assurances of water managers at Salt River Project that their system of reservoirs appears to be relatively resilient in the face of climate change.

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Drought Fears Take Hold in a Four Corners Region Already Beset by the Coronavirus Pandemic

/in , , /by /InsideClimate Newsby Judy Fahys

The vintage train was chugchugchugging its usual route out of Durango that sunny morning as tourists marveled at the postcard-pretty canyon. Just a few miles closer to Silverton, a plume of smoke started rising from the steep hillside.

Within minutes, a Good Samaritan tried to douse the flames, state and federal court documents say. Three separate efforts by the scenic railroad company—including one involving a helicopter—tried to put out the flames, too. But the fire burned out of control within minutes. By the time wildland firefighters finally extinguished the fire six months later, 54,000 acres, an area larger than the nearby Mesa Verde National Park, had been charred and recorded as Colorado’s sixth worst wildfire.

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