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Technology Stocks : The *NEW* Frank Coluccio Technology Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (26282)	4/22/2008 5:13:27 PM
From: axial	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 46821

Hi Frank - It's worse than we think. We've had our heads in the sand. It's not just water for cooling in power generation (nuclear or otherwise), it's water for injection to recover fossil fuels. It's clean water for increased population. Water for agriculure. It's water that just isn't falling in some places, or isn't being captured in others. It isn't just energy costs, it's the synergy of cost escalation for required inputs on new infrastructure. It was years ago when we discussed this - how we'd be wise to begin construction immediately, given anticipated demands, and (then) low energy costs, and a strong economy. Lead time was an important consideration, too. One of the factors discussed at the time was the availability of capital. Recalled, my statement was that infrastructure capex requirements (in the face of synergistic escalation of input costs) would strain global resources. Then, the effects of warming were poorly understood. Now, we're starting to see those effects - and it's not pretty. Cyprus is experiencing drought sufficient to require water from Greece, carried in tankers. Yes, they can install additional desalinization plants - but that has a cost - in energy, and in dollars. OK, solar has very low energy cost, but there's still the dollar cost. In other places, we're getting colossal rainfalls, precipitating floods. Such events can't capture water; neither nature nor man-made infrastructure can retain catastrophic flows. So mostly, it escapes - unused, and unusable. There are answers, but they cost - and costs are only going to go up. As they do, they'll continue to marginalize larger segments of the economy and the population. Nature was so cost-effective, so cheap. Now, the New Math of Environmental Cost and declining resources is dictating what we can do. The good news is that the world will probably be a much healthier place in a century or two, when a new equilibrium is found. The interim won't be much fun. Jim

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (26282)	4/23/2008 6:25:03 AM
From: axial	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 46821

Experts fear nation's waterways need rescuing _ from us ALONG THE SANTA FE RIVER, N.M. (AP) - Rosemary Lowe scoops up a shovel of dirt and dumps it into a hole around the base of a slender cottonwood tree. One down, thousands more to go. Lowe and dozens of volunteers spent a recent day planting native trees along a half-mile stretch of the Santa Fe River that has been reduced to a dry, sandy wash. "We've got to do something and this is one little place we can do it," Lowe says, wiping sweat from her brow. "And if we multiply that by thousands of other places around the world, think of what we can do." Federal agencies, states, tribes and concerned citizens are spending millions of dollars and thousands of hours on waterway restoration projects to reverse decades of poor management and combat the mounting threats of population and climate change. Nationally, there are more than 37,000 river restoration projects underway, costing more than $1 billion annually, according to a study released this month by Colorado College. Andrew Fahlund, vice president for conservation for American Rivers, said every region of the country will eventually be affected either by water pollution or overconsumption. "Look at the southeastern United States right now and you would think you were in the midst of the Colorado River basin," he said. "They're having good old fashion water wars in Georgia and most people associate Georgia with verdant hills and full streams." The Bureau of Land Management has spent close to $15 million in the last couple of years on its Restore New Mexico program, which includes oilfield restoration as well as work on the rivers and streams that flow through BLM land. The U.S. Forest Service spent about $500,000 on watershed work in New Mexico and Arizona last year and plans to spend just as much this year, said Penny Luehring, watershed improvement program manager for the agency's southwest region. Just weeks ago, the agency and its partners finished planting willow trees along the Centerfire Creek in western New Mexico as part of a comprehensive plan that included removing cattle and building culverts for a road that crosses the creek. Land managers agree that cooperation has been essential in trying to treat entire river systems rather than just a stretch at a time. "We've been very successful in telling the story to all different kinds of groups—industry groups, conservation groups, other agencies—and they've all been very willing to join with us to try and fix some of these past mistakes," said Linda Rundell, state director for the Bureau of Land Management in New Mexico. The work has resulted in more wildlife habitat, fewer invasive species, less erosion and the recharging of the aquifer in many areas. And managers say those benefits can't be realized soon enough. Federal researchers at Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque predict that the fresh water supplies of more than half of the nations in the world will be stressed in less than 20 years, and that by 2050 three quarters of the world could face fresh water scarcity. The U.S. is no exception, said Michael Hightower of the lab's Energy Systems Analysis Department. Groundwater pumping will likely have to be reduced in the next 5 to 10 years to prevent the depletion of many of the nation's aquifers, he said. "We've been overpumping those aquifers for the last 50 years and it's beginning to catch up with us," Hightower said. John Horning, the executive director of WildEarth Guardians, the environmental group sponsoring the recent Santa Fe River planting day, said that rivers throughout the Southwest need to be made resilient so they can withstand reduced flows. "Most rivers in the Southwest have been damaged in one way or another. This one," he said, standing in the middle of the sandy Santa Fe, "has had a dam on it for over 100 years so we don't have the perennial flows that we used to have. As a result, what was once a pretty lush, rich corridor for wildlife and for humans isn't that anymore." "It's pretty much an open wound and we're trying to heal it," he said. breitbart.com Jim

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (26282)	5/2/2008 2:41:15 PM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Respond to of 46821

Water Wars and Infrastructure Funding Water Supply Challenges and Mounting Needs Loom Large for U.S. Water and Sewer Utilities Kathy Shandling \| UIM \| Apr 01, 2008 uimonline.com -- UIM = Underground Infrastructure Management Magazine, an interesting site uimonline.com from which I'll likely be citing more over time. Other stories from the April 2008 issue: uimonline.com Doing More with Less Apr 01, 2008 The County of Okaloosa, Fla., saved money on the relocation of a sewage treatment plant by using a combination of design-build and crew-performed work. more >> -- Ensuring a Sustainable Future Apr 01, 2008 The Town of Prescott Valley, Ariz., developed a novel market-based approach to securing water by auctioning its effluent. By doing so, it was able to address its long-term water needs. more >> -- Shining Light on the Underground Apr 01, 2008 Penn State Public Broadcasting is developing a documentary that showcases the importance of water and sewer infrastructure. The 90-minute film is scheduled for release in October of this year. more >> ------