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I’ve seen miracles happen. I’ve seen ordinary people do the most heroic things. When you’ve had the privilege of knowing so many great fighters and resisters, you can’t lay down the sword, even if things seem objectively hopeless. — The Guardian
The terminally-ill City of Quartz author sat down recently with The Guardian to discuss his waning health and look back at prescient early warnings of the state’s slow-motion social and ecological demise that has taken three decades to manifest. True to form, Davis was critical of... View full entry
California Governor Gavin Newsom has unveiled a new plan to enable the state to secure its water supply in the face of a hotter, drier climate. The strategy is in response to a prediction that California’s existing water supply could diminish by up to 10% by 2040, the equivalent of losing more... View full entry
It’s not necessarily that conservatives rip out their lawns for economic reasons and liberals do so for environmental ones. Fresno is located in one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world, so living here brings a consciousness of water issues, as well as a pride in the region’s miles of fields. “My Job Depends on Ag” is a common bumper sticker about town. — City Lab
The EPA estimates that a third of the water used by American households goes to watering lawns and gardens, and Californians have long made up a significant portion of that statistic. State-wide aridity lends California a unique thirst for water, especially after several droughts within the last... View full entry
A new study by researchers at the University of Southern California found that replacing all lawns with drought-tolerant vegetation would have a net cooling effect of 0.2°C — but the science is less obvious than you might think. In fact, converting lawns has resulted in daytime warming of up... View full entry
In a surprising new study, Stanford researchers have found that drought-ravaged California is sitting on top of a vast and previously unrecognized water resource, in the form of deep groundwater, residing at depths between 1,000 and nearly 10,000 feet below the surface of the state’s always thirsty Central Valley.
[...] new research could prove controversial among scientists trying to interpret what it means for a state that has battled over water, and its distribution, going back many decades.
— washingtonpost.com
Other drought-related stories in the Archinect news:California eases some drought restrictions but makes others permanentHow is water used in California?"Grassroots Cactivism," 1st place winner in Dry Futures Speculative category"Liquifying Aquifer", 1st place winner in Dry Futures Pragmatic... View full entry
Gov. Jerry Brown [...] laid out a revised game plan for dealing with California’s persistent drought, making some conservation rules permanent while also moving to give communities more of a say in deciding how much water they must save.
Brown issued an executive order enshrining a conservation ethic in state regulations — banning permanently some wasteful water practices and ordering regulators to develop new water-efficiency standards designed to drive down long-term urban use.
— latimes.com
Previous Archinect stories covering the drought crisis in California and the Southwest U.S.:Have these heavy rains alleviated the California drought?Gov. Brown issues order to reduce California's greenhouse gas emissionsHow is water used in California?"Grassroots Cactivism," 1st place winner in... View full entry
Scott Slater has a plan. It is not a popular plan, but he wants to pump 814bn gallons of water from under the Mojave desert to Los Angeles and other drought-stricken communities in southern California, and make more than $2bn doing so...In addition to environmental concerns, others object to a private company being able to make billions from water. Slater says they do not understand the law, which in California states no entity can own water but they can buy, sell and trade the right to use it. — The Guardian
America: The land where nothing is free, indeed.h/t New RepublicMore on Archinect:Have these heavy rains alleviated the California drought?Thirst-quenching as Los Angeles heats up: Next Wave @ UCLAIn face of drought, San Diego's desalination efforts won't stop thereMeet the architects behind the... View full entry
...this week's higher temperatures and sunny skies serve as a reminder that one watery week doesn't erase the years of hardcore drought that have dragged on in SoCal and all of California.
The record-breaking rains are a reason to be excited, certainly, but "Although this is a favorable start to the year, there are still 3-4 more critical months that will determine how much rain/snow will fall and accumulate during the wet season," [says] David Miskus, a meteorologist ...
— Curbed
Relevant:Drought reveals 16th century church beneath Mexican reservoirIn face of drought, San Diego's desalination efforts won't stop thereThirst-quenching as Los Angeles heats up: Next Wave @ UCLAFatal shores? Sea snakes wash up on Southern California beaches View full entry
Last week, UCLA’s Hammer Museum hosted the final iteration of its 2015 program "Next Wave: Quality, Quantity, and Accessibility of Water in the 21st Century," a robust discussion series that has gathered experts in various fields to explicate and consider the most pressing issues surrounding... View full entry
Among the many writers of disasters and crisis – from Barthes to Blanchot to Ballard – there is a strain of thinking that rejects the normative and reductive assumption that a disaster must be met with an austere temper or melancholic pragmatism. Rather, disasters can breed their own wild... View full entry
In the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics, there was a flurry of news about the Chinese government's attempt to seed clouds in order to engineer the weather. In fact, the technology – while largely considered imperfect – both exists and has been implemented. The SEEDING MICRO-CLOUDS. Power... View full entry
In the face of events that exceed our capacity for comprehension, humans tend to invent myths and stories that render things palatable. The passage of the sun across the firmament, the surge of the oceans in a storm, the crash of thunder that follows the flash of lightning – these all have been... View full entry
Consuming disproportionately-vast quantities of water for the recreational pleasure of a small (typically elite) group of people, golf courses often become a first line of attack during droughts. But what if they could be appropriated in order to help mitigate the effects of a water shortage?... View full entry
While the current drought is likely linked to larger issues like climate change, California has always had cycles of dry and wet seasons, as well as regular drought periods. But, for thousands of years, the inhabitants of the region were (for the most part) able to survive times of water scarcity... View full entry
Long abandoned to the shadows of architectural thinking, the proverbial "throne" of the house – the toilet – is beginning to make a bit of a comeback, taking a central role in last year's Venice Biennial, and making an occasional appearance in Archinect features. While it may upset our... View full entry
