Month: November 2016

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Bear River Dam

Wiesner, M. (2016, August 29). Bear River: The Biggest Dam Project You’ve Never Heard Of. Retrieved November 20th, 2016 from: https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2016/08/29/bear-river-the-biggest-dam-project-youve-never-heard-of

Bear River is very important, as it provides 60% of Salt Lake’s fresh water flow, and is also the largest river in the western hemisphere that doesn’t touch the ocean. That is why it is important to know that the state of Utah is spending 1.5 billion dollars to build seven new dams along the river in order to provide water for the rapidly growing population of Utah, however doing so would lower the water level of Salt Lake by four feet and jeopardize wildlife habitat in the lake, as well as threaten the 8 to 10 million birds that rely on the river to survive. Not only that, but it would also jeopardize the thriving mineral business in Salt Lake.

Situations like this show the troubling environmental dilemmas that arise when dealing with issues like “where will our water come from?”. While the residents of Utah need water, so does the environment and a lot of the residents’ jobs are reliant on that water not being displaced. There really isn’t a good solution here, and it really just goes to show how difficult being the person making decisions must be, and also how important it is that they’re environmentally educated and well aware of the consequences of their possible decisions. (I wonder who I’m referencing right now)

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Dam Removals

Howard, B. (2016, June 2). River Revives After Largest Dam Removal in U.S. History. Retrieved November 20th, 2016 from: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/06/largest-dam-removal-elwha-river-restoration-environment/

The Glines Canyon dam in Washington state was the subject of the biggest dam removal in 2014, which began in 2011. After the removal the river has begun to heal, with salmon already making a return to the river. The environment all around the dam has only shown signs of becoming much healthier sime the dam’s removal.

This project is an excellent example of the positive ecological impact that can be had when removing no-longer useful (or perhaps unsafe)dams. This process could be instrumental in healing many of America’s damaged habitats, and could perhaps even save a species or two.

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Dams may generate a lot more energy in the near future

Mooney, C (2016, July 26) The surprisingly bright future of America’s forgotten renewable energy source: water. Retrieved November 20th, 2016 from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/07/26/the-surprisingly-bright-future-of-americas-overlooked-renewable-energy-source-water/?utm_term=.ea9503691f07

Our nation’s dam power could grow by 50% by 2050, which is great news for the renewable energy front. Of our 80,000 + dams, only 2,000 have power production, so if the older dams were to be equipped with power production and the old ones updated, our dam power production could skyrocket.

The increase in power produced by dams really would be a win for everyone, because it would mean that we would have a smaller reliance on fossil fuels, and therefore a relatively smaller usage of them, so less greenhouse gasses, etc.. The best part is that we don’t have to disrupt any more bodies of water by building more dams, we just need to upgrade and update the ones we already have!

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Dam Failures

Association of State Dam Safety Officials (2016) Top Issues Facing the Dam Community. Retrieved November 20th, 2016 from: http://www.damsafety.org/news/?p=c0fdade4-ab98-4679-be22-e3d7f14e124f

Dam failure is becoming common and deadly, one such failure killed 7 people in Hawaii, and there have been over 100 reported dam failures between 2005 and 2009, and in a recent year there was over 50 million in repair costs for dams in 23 states. There are about 4,400 unsafe dams in the US, and there is at least one in every state, a problem that needs to be addressed.

While most dams are upheld by responsible people, 4,400 of them are not, and it is costing people their lives. There is a serious demand for more regulations and standards that need to be met by dams, and for more people to address the main five factors that result in dam failure.

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Dam Repairs

Williams, C.(2016, May 18) America’s Crumbling Dams Are A Disaster Waiting To Happen. Retrieved November 20th, 2016 from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/america-crumbling-dam-infrastructure_us_573a332be4b08f96c183deac

America’s dams are in bad shape, floods are looking to be a big problem in the future, massive amounts of government funds are being used to prevent this, as there has already been an incident in 2015 of a dam failing due to heavy rainfall. It looks like billions of dollars in property as well lives are at stake if action isn’t taken.

The poor aging of dams is extremely concerning, as it looks like an excessive amount of money that could reach the trillions is going to be spent to fix this problem, which just goes to show us how important it is going to be to really double down on designing dams with longevity in mind in the future.

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How Infrastructure Drives Growth in America’s Metropolis

Moser, J. (2016, October 25). Building Empire City: How Infrastructure Drives Growth in America’s Metropolis. Retrieved November 20, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ joelmoser/2016/10/25/building-empire-city-how-infrastructure-drives-growth-in- americas-metropolis/

In the past two decades, there has been a steady trend of people in more rural or suburban areas of the US movies into cities. This migration is fueled by good jobs and economies in cities like New York in addition to the establishment of urban parks and the revitalization of downtowns. New York City’s population has increased by 15% in about 15 years. Populations in the US are becoming more dense and compact in the 21st century. However, these highly populated cities result in environmental strains for energy and space.

As American cities continue to grow and increase in population, the demand for food and resources will grow as well. In addition, further industrialization will likely have negative effects on natural habitats and ecosystems. Practical city infrastructure must be built in conjunction with infrastructure intended to preserve natural habitats. Hopefully, resource needs can be met though urban farming and increased efficiency in the agriculture industry, and ecosystems can be preserved with parks and other infrastructure like the “ecological corridor.”

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Feeding 9 billion people by the year 2050

Ragan, K. (2016, November 19). Feeding 9 billion people by the year 2050: Greeley producers, students and educators feel the pressure. Retrieved November 19, 2016, from http:// www.greeleytribune.com/news/feeding-9-billion-people-by-the-year-2050-greeley- producers-students-and-educators-feel-the-pressure/#

The curriculums of schools in rural areas of the US have encouraged children to pursue careers at the intersection of agriculture and technology because there will be a large burden on American enterprises and farms to feed the help approximate 9 billion people in the world in 2050. The goal is to start developing technology in the US now in order to reduce future stress on production capabilities. Some current technologies include indoor and vertical farms that increase efficiency and lengthen growing seasons, but many more developments will need to be implemented to truly tackle such an immense challenge.

Schools focusing so much on innovation seems to be a necessity for a world that will need to discover solutions to feed two billion additional people in just thirty-five years. The US, which has often been at the forefront agricultural invention, will have to take a role as a leader in the decades to come. Increasing yield has always been a priority for farmers, however this level of increase is unprecedented, and increasing yield sustainably is a major environmental challenge.

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America’s First All-Renewable-Energy City

Woodard, B. C. (2016, November 17). America’s First All-Renewable-Energy City. Retrieved November 20, 2016, from http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/11/burlington- what-works-green-energy-214463

Recently, Burlington Vermont (population 42,000) has become the first city to be run on entirely renewable energy sources: Power from hydroelectric dams, solar panels, wind farms, and local, sustainably harvested timber. This was a brainchild of former Bernie Sanders and other legislators who wanted to reinforce local economic and environmental sustainability. In addition a number of organizations have worked to reestablish the local, non-industrial farm by reclaiming agricultural land and working with local farmers.

With an expanding population of the US and increasing demand for energy generation, Burlington can serve as a template for how cities can become sustainable and self sufficient. The success of Burlington could indicate future successes elsewhere through the country. Though some communities’ economies are based on dirty energy industries (see post about article by Lambert,) optimistically, these jobs can shift to create and improve sustainable energy infrastructure like the dams, wind turbines, and wood-chip based McNail power plant in Burlington Vt.

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Across rural America, energy bust fuels economic uncertainty

Lambert, E. (2016, November 5). Across rural America, energy bust fuels economic uncertainty. Retrieved November 20, 2016, from http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-11-05/ across-rural-america-energy-bust-fuels-economic-uncertainty

According to Public Radio International, one of the major concerns of people in more agricultural, and rural portions of America is the oil, coal, and gas industries. These industries employ many people in states like Wyoming, however they are currently suffering due to regulations implemented by the Obama administration. Many who life in rural America believe that the future of the local economies could be improved by the next president by deregulating the energy sector possibly at the expense of environmental wellbeing.

As the population of the US grows, so does energy demand, and currently this mostly comes from coal, oil, and gas. In January, when all three branches of government are controlled by republicans, Obama’s regulations will most likely be overturned, the energy sector will continue to grow, and middle-American economies will grow in the short term. However, this deregulation combined with a growing population will result in augmented corporate exploitation of natural resources for profit.

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How Water Use Has Declined With Population Growth

Nagappan, P. (2016, November 08). How Water Use Has Declined With Population Growth. Retrieved November 19, 2016, from https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/ 2016/11/08/how-water-use-has-declined-with-population-growth

From 1980 to 2010, even with a steadily growing population, water consumption in the US has dropped significantly: From 440 billion gallons per day to 350 billion gallons. This a result of new irrigation methods, domestic appliances, and other technologies that have drastically cut water usage. Public engagement in cities like San Francisco and progressive environmental measures from the government like the Clean Water Act seem to be the catalysts for this effective massive conservation effort.

Even though population does put strains on many of the world’s natural resources, technology that curbs water consumption in the US seems to be a bright spot for the environmental community. An increasing population in the last few decades encouraged lawmakers to push agendas that allowed for the conservation of one of the world’s most valuable resources, and hopefully these issues can be addressed in similar ways in other parts of the world as well.