Depleted Groundwater Could Be Refilled by Borrowing a Trick from Solar Power by Erica Gies of Scientific American
Read this quick discussion on how slowing excess water can help refill underground aquifers, by taking inspiration from how solar power is added and stored in the grid.
Crack open a fresh can of depression with these headlines from around the country.
A Fracker in Pennsylvania Wants to Take 1.5 Million Gallons a Day From a Small, Biodiverse Creek. Should the State Approve a Permit? by Jake Bolster of Inside Climate News
Why waste water on drinking when you can use it to irrigate your own oil well? /s
The EPA removes federal protections for most of the country's wetlands by James Doubek of OPB
It's cool, folks, we'll just do better on Earth 2.0. /s
Artificial intelligence technology behind ChatGPT was built in Iowa — with a lot of water by Matt O'Brien and Hannah Fingerhut of the Associated Press
Learn about the devastating effects of the latest ubiquitous buzzword: AI.
America Is Draining Its Groundwater Like There’s No Tomorrow by Mira Rojanasakul, Christopher Flavelle, Blacki Migliozzi, and Eli Murray of the New York Times
Drill, baby, drill. /s
Sustainable September: Keep up to date with the latest news about dry farming, water and sustainable agriculture.
Brooks Wine Named #28 of the World’s Best Vineyards
One of our members in the news!
Dry farm researchers’ new mapping project will give Oregon growers a resource by Brian Bull for KLCC/NPR
Read about the new dry farm mapping project helmed by Lucas Nebert of OSU and the Dry Farming Institute.
The next pandemic could strike crops, not people by Saima Sidik for Grist
Learn how our modern commodity farming could be devastated by the next pandemic.
These five cities could be one natural disaster away from a catastrophic water crisis by Rachel Ramirez and Eric Levenson of CNN
The drinking water crisis in the USA explored.
When Drought Gripped Minnesota in 2021, Farmers Increased Water Usage by Dionne Searcey and Mira Rojanasakul of the NYT
This article explores how irrigation was overused in response to the 2021 drought in Minnesota, threatening local drinking water supplies, and how this crisis is likely to be repeated.
Start your Monday off with some fresh off the press news!
Earth Has Tilted 31.5 Inches. That Shouldn't Happen. by Tim Newcomb of Popular Mechanics
Check out this primer by Popular Mechanics explaining the recently published study showing how groundwater extraction has shifted the tilt of the Earth. A must-read.
The NY Times and LA Times recently published articles on water and climate change.
LA Times article “Audit finds California water agency not adequately considering climate change in forecasts” by staff writer Ian James gives a deep dive state auditor released a report critical of the agency’s inclusion of climate data in predicting future water needs for Southern California. James’ reporting offering a deeper look into problems addressed by the auditor.
NY Times article “Pumping Groundwater Has Changed Earth’s Spin, Study Finds” by Raymond Zhong provides a look at the groundbreaking (ground shifting?) realization by scientists that ground water extraction has altered the rotation of the earth. Story shared by member. Article is behind a paywall.
Start your Monday off with some fresh off the press news! Check out these recently published articles discussing the dry farming and climate-mitigation practices in California.
Mendocino Winegrowers Inc.: A dry farmer and a new executive director by Karen Rifkin of the Ukiah Daily Journal
Karen Rifkin talks with Lorenzo Pacini, third generation owner of the Pacini Vineyard and dry farmer in the Mendocino AVA of California.
California wants to store floodwaters underground. It's harder than it sounds by Nathan Rott & Claire Harbage of NPR
This report looks into efforts by California to restore underground aquifers using floodwaters and rain from winter storms.
Mangoes and agave in the Central Valley: California farmers try new crops to cope with climate change by Alastair Bland of CalMatters
Bland talks with farmers experimenting with different crops to find more sustainable and adaptive options for the changing climate in their regions. This includes discussion of obscure tropical fruits, pest mitigation in established orchards, and adapting plants for heat tolerance.
Oregon’s water governance is overseen by multiple agencies. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) publishes a bi-annual report on groundwater protection. The 2021-2022 report was just published. You can read the easy to navigate report here (hop to page 6 for the table of contents).
The report includes “the status of groundwater in Oregon, efforts made in the preceding two years to protect, conserve and restore Oregon’s groundwater” as well as an illuminating history of groundwater protection efforts by the DEQ dating back to the 1980s. It touches on threats to the system, such as wildfires and increases in nitrate contamination from farm run-off. Want to learn more from the DEQ? Visit their Reports to the Legislature site here.
