For almost a century, the United States has been collecting and processing
data about the state of the nation’s surface water. Lakes, rivers, streams,
and ponds are observed, measured and sampled to check for water quality,
contamination and water levels. From this data, a fairly robust picture of the
nation’s surface water can be had. Satellite imagery has made this task more
efficient enabling seasonal changes in water levels to be observed on a grand
scale. Without diminishing the value of these efforts, one critical area of water
monitoring has been left behind.

Read More

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ‘09 - H2bid’s Overview

A great deal of publicity has been focused on the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 or the “Stimulus” bill as it is more popularly known.
Chief among its priorities, the stimulus was aimed at jump starting an economic
recovery in the United States; similar to other government efforts worldwide,
the plan aimed to begin work on a number of domestic initiatives that could put
large numbers of people to work. Among the spending priorities was water and
sewer infrastructure. This article will examine the funding allocated in the stimulus
plan targeted at water and sewer system upgrades, repairs and new construction,
seeking to understand how much of the total program will go toward these projects,
when it is likely to be spent and how.

Read More

President Obama Provides Economic Stimulus Money for Important
Western Water Projects

California and indeed the entire western region of the United States, face
chronic issues with respect to water use management. As reported in a
December 2008 article on this site, California faces special problems
intensified by cycles of drought; additionally, budget shortfalls are compounding
the problems by limiting what the State can accomplish. Some relief may be in
sight, though; in April 2009, Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, met with
California’s Governor to offer help in the form of economic stimulus money aimed
at helping to take some stress off of the water supply of the western United States.

Read More

Every large city needs a constant supply of fresh water to satisfy its
citizens; Beijing is no different. Beijing, which recently hosted the Olympic
and Para-Olympic Games, is a city of approximately 16 million people and growing
rapidly; current projections estimate that by 2010 there will be over 17 million
residents. While normally news about a city expanding is met with enthusiasm,
Beijing’s water supply can only support about 14 million. Complicating the matter is
the fact that Beijing is in the dry north and the surrounding province of Hebei has
been locked in a drought since 1999; since that time, the region has only received
about 75 percent of the anticipated precipitation.
Read More

The third edition of the United Nations World Water Development
Report (WWDR) was presented at the World Water Forum in Istanbul,
Turkey on March 16, 2009. Taking a more in-depth approach than the
two previous reports, the WWDR focuses on four major elements: the
drivers of change, the use of water for humans and for ecosystems,
the state of the water in the world, and options for responding to a changing
world.
Read More

In this, the last of H2Bid’s series on the effects of climate change, the options
for action will continue to be explored. As mentioned in the third article,
surprisingly little effort has gone into preparing for climate change even
though most scientists agree that even the aggressive greenhouse gas
emission targets proposed for the Copenhagen Climate Conference in 2009
will have little, if any, measurable effect on the current global warming trend.
The last article suggested some general preparations that could minimize
potential negative outcomes of climate change; this article will discuss specific
actions that water planners, hydrologists and regional managers could take to
protect the water resources in their areas
Read More

What We Can Expect

In the first of these articles on climate change, some of the current and
predicted temperature trends were discussed. In this, the third in the series,
a look at the trends on the ground and their effects will be discussed. What
will climate change mean for our planet? For us? In the second article we
ound that historic cultures both benefited and became imperiled as a result
of the climate changes they experienced. It will likely be a similar mixed result
for our time; some may find their way of life challenged while others may actually
find that their opportunities improve in the changing times.
Read More

Global Climate Change - Part II Previous Climate Changes

In the first of these articles on the effects of climate change, several
exaggerated scenarios were offered as ‘worst case’ climate change outcomes.
For the most part, the scientific community dismisses these as hype and
propaganda; at the same time, some experts offer us insight into the real,
probable outcomes of climate change. How does the community of experts
go about separating the hype and hysteria from the probable and predicable?
In a word, history.

Read More

Global Climate Change Part I - An introduction

As the Earth’s climate changes, new stresses will be placed on the planet’s
resources and those who are tasked with managing them. The available data
indicates that the global climate has warmed by approximately 0.74 °C (1.3 °F)
over the past hundred years, from 1906-2005 . Furthermore, many scientists
predict that the Earth’s average temperature could rise an additional
1.4 °C (2.5 °F) or more in the coming century. A great deal of attention has
been paid to what contributing role human activities may be playing in this
temperature rise; greenhouse gases, most specifically carbon dioxide (CO2),
produced as fossil fuels such as oil and coal are burned are cited as the major
drivers behind this temperature rise. In an effort to counter the trend, nations
began to propose reductions in greenhouse gases; at the Kyoto conference of
1992, specific greenhouse gas reduction targets were set for many
industrialized nations aimed at an overall reduction of 5.2% by 2010. The
Copenhagen conference, planned for 2009, is expected to push these target
reductions even further.

Read On…

Imagine that you were on the adventure of a lifetime, exploring outer space
and – literally – going where no one has gone before. Oh, and there’s just one
catch; you’ll need to recycle your own urine into drinking water. That’s now
reality for the astronauts aboard the International Space Station. In November,
the space shuttle Endeavor delivered NASA’s Water Recovery System (WRS) and
after a few initial glitches, it appears to be functioning well.
More