THE ENVIRONMENT

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REUTERS

"Small nuclear power projects may have big waste problems - study"


By Timothy Gardner

May 31, 2022

WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) - A planned new generation of small nuclear reactors will create more waste than conventional reactors, while treatments to make some types of waste safe could be exploited by militants trying to obtain fissile materials, a study published on Tuesday said.

The projects, called small modular reactors (SMR), are designed to be simpler and safer than conventional plants in the case of accident.

They are also expected to be built in factories as opposed to today's massive light-water reactors that are built on site and typically run billions of dollars over budget.

SMR backers say they are a safe way to boost generation of virtually emissions-free electricity and will help curb climate change.

But the reactors would create more radioactive waste, per unit of electricity they generate, than conventional reactors by a factor of up to 30 according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Some of the reactors, with molten salt and sodium-cooled designs, are expected to create waste that needs to go through additional conditioning to make it safe to store in a repository.

Those treatments are vulnerable to being converted by militants to make fissile materials for a crude nuclear bomb, it said.


Allison Macfarlane, a co-author of the study and former head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said SMR designers "don't pay that much attention in general to the waste ... because the thing that makes money for them is the reactor."

"But it's important to know about the waste products and whether they're going to pose any difficulties in disposing of them and in managing them," Macfarlane said.

The United States has no plan to permanently store long lasting, toxic nuclear waste, after Washington stopped funding the Yucca Mountain waste site in Nevada.

Instead, the waste, which the industry calls spent nuclear fuel, mostly sits at nuclear plants in pools and later in dry casks made of steel and concrete.

"Even if we had a robust waste management program, we think there would be a lot of challenges to deal with some of the SMR waste," said Lindsay Krall, the study's lead author.

NuScale Power Corp reactors, which could use light water as a coolant, as do conventional nuclear plants, would produce about 1.7 times more waste per energy equivalent than traditional reactors, the study found.

Diane Hughes, a NuScale spokesperson, said the study used outdated design information and incorrect assumptions about the plants.

Other reactors, being planned by Terrestrial Energy and Toshiba Corp that plan to use fuels and coolants different than traditional reactors are also expected to create more waste per unit of energy, the study said.

Those reactors would likely require additional procedures known as conditioning which offer pathways to proliferation, it said.

Simon Irish, Terrestrial Energy's chief executive, said its plant would generate less waste per unit of power and the company is developing a conversion process to make waste more geologically stable than waste from current reactors.

Toshiba did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reporting by Timothy Gardner; editing by Richard Pullin

https://www.reuters.com/business/enviro ... 022-05-31/
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Re: THE ENVIRONMENT

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CityAM

"Germany turns to coal as Russia puts pressure on gas supplies"


Nicholas Earl

20 JUNE 2022

Germany will ramp up coal supplies and offer heavy subsidies to gas giants to ensure the country can meet its energy needs this winter, amid escalating concerns that Russia could cut off supplies into the country.

The government has passed emergency laws to reopen mothballed coal plants for electricity generation, and auction gas supplies to industry to incentivise businesses to curb consumption.


It will also provide €15bn in credit lines for Germany’s gas market operator to fill gas storage facilities faster, according to news agency Reuters.

Economy Minister Robert Habeck revealed that bringing back coal-fired power plants could add up to 10GW of capacity in case of a critical gas supply situation.

He said: “That is painful, but it is a sheer necessity in this situation to reduce gas consumption."

"If we don’t do it, then we run the risk that the storage facilities will not be full enough at the end of the year towards the winter season."

"And then we are blackmailable on a political level.”

The measures are expected to be voted through Germany’s upper house of parliament on July 8.

This follows Russia cutting capacity on Nord Stream 1, its main gas export pipeline to Germany, by 60 per cent last week – with growing fears within the European Union (EU) that the Kremlin is now weaponising gas exports.

Earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law requirements for “unfriendly” overseas buyers to pay for Russian gas in roubles.

While Germany energy giants such as Uniper complied through a murky conversion system, other companies have refused – causing Gazprom to cut off or reduce gas flows into Poland, Bulgaria, Finland, Denmark and Netherlands.

The trading bloc relies on Russia for around 40 per cent of its imports, with Germany depending on the country for around half its overall purchases.

Even though it has imposed a coal and oil embargo, the EU has been hesitant to impose any measures on gas supplies – with only Lithuania banning imports from Russia.

Since the invasion of Ukraine, the EU has spent €26.4bn on Russian natural gas.

This comes after a challenging Christmas period when the bloc staved off supply shortages amid Russian shortages only through top-ups in liquefied natural gas from US tankers.

Economy Minister Robert Habeck revealed that more action could be taken if the situation worsens – raising the prospect of the second phase being triggered in its early-phase emergency gas plans, which were triggered in April.

The second phase – which kicks in when there is a high risk of long-term supply shortages of gas – would enable utilities to pass on high gas prices to customers and thereby help lower demand.

The emergency measures could eventually lead to the government taking control of supplies and divvying them out to households.


“The tense situation and the high prices are a direct consequence of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s war of aggression on Ukraine,” Habeck said in a statement.

“What’s more, it is obviously Putin’s strategy to make us insecure, to drive up prices, and to divide us."

"We will not let that happen."

"We will fight back decisively, precisely and thoughtfully.”

Germany is seeking to fill its gas storage facilities and to phase out Russian energy imports – and is targeting 80 per cent capacity in its storage systems by October.

Data from Gas Infrastructure Europe shows German gas storage levels at 57 per cent, up from 29.7 on February 24 – the day Russia invaded Ukraine.

It is not the only country that has turned to coal in the current crisis – the UK last week extended the life of West Burton Power A Station in Nottinghamshire into winter, one of just three remaining coal plants in the country.

Germany’s neighbour Austria has agreed with domestic utility giant Verbund to convert a reserve, gas-fired power plant so it can produce electricity with coal should restricted gas supplies from Russia result in an energy emergency.

Italy is expected to announce emergency measures in the coming days if supplies are not restored – having also seen supplies fall.

The post Germany turns to coal as Russia puts pressure on gas supplies appeared first on CityAM.

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THE GUARDIAN

"California’s largest reservoirs at critically low levels – signaling a dry summer ahead"


Maanvi Singh

24 JUNE 2022

California’s two largest reservoirs are at critically low levels, signaling that the state, like much of the US west, can expect a searing, dry summer ahead.

This week, officials confirmed that Lake Oroville, the state’s second-largest reservoir, was at just 55% of its total capacity when it reached its highest level for the year last month.

Meanwhile, Shasta Lake, California’s largest reservoir, was at 40% capacity last month – after the state endured its driest start to a year since the late 19th century.

It’s a dire sign for a state already struggling to manage water during the most severe megadrought in 1,200 years.

The glittering turquoise water in both lakes have receded to expose dry, brown lake bed.

Dramatic visuals compiled by the Department of Water Resources contrast images of an abundant Oroville in 2019 with this year – when officials say the lake saw a “​​show a shocking drop in water levels”.

Only five years ago, in February 2017, Oroville was so full that millions of gallons of water eroded the main spillway of its dam, which is the tallest in the US, forcing evacuation of nearly 200,000 residents downstream.

This year, millions in the state are already subject to unprecedented water restrictions and many in rural areas are expecting their wells to run dry within months, if not weeks.

“I feel I might have become a bit numb to both the numerical records and then the scenes of drought,” said John Abatzoglou, a climatologist at the University of California, Merced.

“And that just reflects how rough the last three years have been for the state.”

Oroville is not as badly off this year as it was last year, when dozens of houseboats were hauled out of the lake because there wasn’t enough water to support them, and one of the state’s largest hydroelectric power plants was shut down for the first time since it was built in 1967.

“While we don’t expect every year to be as dry as this year or last, we have trended in California in the broader south-west towards a more arid climate,” Abatzoglou said.

“Meaning that water is becoming more and more scarce.”

The Oroville and Shasta reservoirs back up the two largest dams in the state.

Oroville is central to the State Water Project system, which can service up to 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland.

And Shasta is the key reservoir in the federal Central Valley Project, which serves areas as far north as Redding – all the way south into Bakersfield.

Officials at the State Water Project announced earlier this year that it would only be able to provide 5% of requested water supplies to its contractors.

The federal project, meanwhile, announced it wouldn’t be providing any water to the state’s agricultural belt, and that cities would be allocated only 25% of their historical water use.

The low water allocations will force farmers to either fallow their fields, or rely more on diminishing groundwater reserves, said Heather Cooley, research director at the non-profit Pacific Institute.

The implications will trickle down to rural residents across California, many of whom have seen household wells tap out in recent years, she said.

Officials are also concerned that the reservoirs will be too shallow and hot for aquatic life this year.

In an effort to protect endangered winter-run Chinook salmon, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Department of Water Resources are seeking to install temporary chilling units at Shasta Dam to cool the water flowing into a national fish hatchery.

State and federal agencies will take “a conservative approach to water management” amid the drought, said Karla Nemeth, Department of Water Resources director.

“We need to be prepared for a hotter, drier future brought on by our changing climate.”

The current megadrought – which researchers found was the most severe in 1,200 years – is a sign that “we’re already seeing the effects of climate change in California,” Cooley said.

“And we know that those effects are only going to get worse.”

Demand for water is also likely to go up as California and much of the west faces more extreme heatwaves and hotter summers.

Farmers and residential homeowners will require more water to keep fields and gardens green, she notes.

With global heating, California’s dry seasons are likely to be drier, and its wet seasons might be wetter, said Allison Michaelis, an assistant professor in the department of Earth, Atmosphere, and Environment​ at Northern Illinois University.

In a study published this year in the journal Earth’s Future, Michaelis and her colleagues found that climate crisis amped up the amount of rain and snowfall that flowed into Oroville in 2017, ahead of the deluge that year.

And research suggests that the same force could drive more extreme droughts in coming decades.

“It is challenging to attribute any one, specific event to climate change,” said Michaelis, who led the study.

“But given what I and my co-authors found in our Earth’s Future paper, and what other researchers are finding, we can expect California’s hydroclimate to be more volatile in the future.”

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THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

"Ethanol is poison for the environment"


Esther Wickham

27 JUNE 2022

Ethanol makes global warming worse, according to a recent study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This new study contradicts, though, what the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been claiming.

This comes at a time when President Joe Biden’s administration is reevaluating biofuel policies in an effort to combat climate change.


The research found that “ethanol is likely at least 24% more carbon-intensive than gasoline."

“Corn ethanol is not a climate-friendly fuel,” said Tyler Lark, an assistant scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment and lead author of the study.

This report runs contrary to the Renewable Fuel Standard, a 2005 federal program that mixed corn-based ethanol into gas pumps with the goal of reducing emissions and energy dependence outside of the United States.

The Renewable Fuels Association couldn't disagree more with Lark and his new study.

“The authors of this new paper precariously string together a series of worst-case assumptions, cherry-picked data, and disparate results from previously debunked studies to create a completely fictional and erroneous account of the environmental impacts of the Renewable Fuel Standard,” the rebuttal report said.

This conversation is certainly not a new one.

Corn-based ethanol has been questioned for over a decade.

NPR wrote an article in 2008 containing the same conclusions Lark has found.

“Right now, there's little doubt that ethanol is making global warming worse,” said Tim Searchinger, a scholar at Princeton University.

Others agree.

“If you care about greenhouse gases, then this expansion of the corn biofuel industry is going in the wrong direction,” the late Alex Farrell, then at the University of California, Berkeley, said at the time.

The facts remain the same today, despite the ethanol lobby's influence.

Corn-based ethanol produces higher amounts of carbon emissions compared to gasoline due to the amount of farmland and the tillage the corn requires.

It doesn’t matter how educated someone is on energy policies — the more intense production is, the more intense carbon emissions will be.


Esther Wickham is a summer 2022 Washington Examiner fellow.

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REUTERS

"Heatwave scorches Europe; health warnings issued"


By Catarina Demony and Kylie Maclellan

July 15, 2022

Summary

* WMO issues warning on air quality in towns and cities

* UK declares first red heat warning for Monday, Tuesday

* Wildfires ablaze in France, Spain and Portugal


LEIRIA, Portugal/LONDON, July 15 (Reuters) - Hundreds more people were evacuated from their homes as wildfires blistered land in France, Spain and Portugal on Friday, while officials in Europe issued health warnings for the heatwave in the coming days.

More than 1,000 firefighters, supported by water-bomber aircraft, have battled since Tuesday to control two blazes in southwestern France that have been fanned by scorching heat, tinder-box conditions and strong winds.

While temperatures dipped a little in Portugal, they were still expected to top 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in some places, with five districts on red alert and more than 1,000 firefighters tackling 17 wildfires, authorities said.

In Spain, a new wildfire broke out in the south of the country after blazes in the west in the past week.

More than 400 people were evacuated from the hills of Mijas, a town popular with northern European tourists in the province of Malaga.

Beachgoers in Torremolinos, some 20 km away, could see plumes of smoke rising above the hotels lining the coast.

Meanwhile, the worst drought in over 70 years reduced Italy's longest river, the Po, to little more than a trickle in places, with temperatures expected to rise next week.

Officials are worried about the effects on people's health and on healthcare systems already challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic as the searing heat sweeps the continent, with warnings issued for worse to come in Britain in particular.


The World Meteorological Organization said the heatwave would worsen air quality, especially in towns and cities.

"The stable and stagnant atmosphere acts as a lid to trap atmospheric pollutants, including particulate matter," Lorenzo Labrador, WMO scientific officer, told a Geneva press briefing.

"These result in a degradation of air quality and adverse health effects, particularly for vulnerable people."

Portuguese Health Minister Marta Temido said on Thursday the health system faced a "particularly worrying" week due to the heatwave and said some hospitals were overwhelmed.

From July 7 to July 13, Portugal registered 238 excess deaths due to the heatwave, the country's DGS health authority said.

Spain registered 84 excess deaths attributable to extreme temperatures in the first three days of the heatwave, according to the National Epidemiology Centre's database.

UK WARNING

Britain's weather forecaster issued its first red "extreme heat" warning for parts of England on Monday and Tuesday.

"Exceptional, perhaps record-breaking temperatures are likely early next week," Met Office Chief Meteorologist Paul Gundersen said.

"Nights are also likely to be exceptionally warm, especially in urban areas," he said.

"This is likely to lead to widespread impacts on people and infrastructure."

The highest recorded temperature in Britain was 38.7 C (101.7 F) recorded in Cambridge on July 25, 2019.

Hannah Cloke, climate expert at Britain's University of Reading, said the heatwave showed climate change was here and there was an urgent need to adapt.

"We are seeing these problems now and they are going to get worse."

"We need to do something now," she told Reuters.

"It's harder to cope with these types of temperatures in the UK because we're just not used to them."

In Portugal, the highest temperature on Thursday was recorded in the northern town of Pinhao at 47 C (116.6 F), just below the record.

Raymond Loadwick, 73, a retiree from Britain now living in the Portuguese district of Leiria, had to leave his home with his dog Jackson when flames started to burn down a hill packed with highly flammable eucalyptus and pine trees on Tuesday.

When he returned a day later, his white house stood untouched but the vegetation around it had turned to ashes and his fruit trees were burned down.

Loadwick is scared fires will happen more often in the future: "You have to be on your guard," he told Reuters.

In France's Gironde region, 11,300 people have been evacuated since the wildfires broke out around Dune du Pilat and Landiras.

Some 7,350 hectares (18,000 acres) of land have been burnt.

Authorities said the fires had not yet been stabilised.

Elsewhere in Spain, the wildfires that have been burning in parts of Extremadura, which borders Portugal, and the central Castille and Leon region forced the evacuation of four more small villages late on Thursday and on Friday.

The flames are now threatening a 16th century monastery and a national park.

Several hundred people have been evacuated since the fires started and 7,500 hectares of forest have been destroyed in the two regions.

In Catalonia in the northeast, authorities suspended camping and sporting activities around 275 towns and villages to prevent fire risks and restricted farm work involving machinery.

Additional reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten in Paris, Emma Pinedo, Elena Rodriguez and Christina Thykjaer in Madrid, Hannah McKay in Torremolinos, William James in London and Emma Farge in Geneva; Writing by Alison Williams; Editing by Frances Kerry and Hugh Lawson

https://www.reuters.com/business/enviro ... 022-07-15/
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FOX NEWS

"Republicans hammer Kerry over massive emissions from family private jet: 'It's insulting'"


Thomas Catenacci

20 JULY 2022

Several Republican lawmakers criticized John Kerry following a Fox News Digital report Tuesday showing his family private jet has emitted more than 300 metric tons of carbon since President Biden took office.

The lawmakers accused Kerry, who President Biden appointed to be the federal government's lead global climate envoy, of hypocrisy, arguing he has taken advantage of the same fossil fuels he is attempting to force Americans to transition away.


Kerry's family private jet has made 48 trips, emitting about 325 metric tons of carbon, since January 2021, according to data obtained Tuesday by Fox News Digital.

"Joe Biden launched his war on American energy on his first day in office, shutting down domestic energy production and making us reliant on our enemies," Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital in a statement.

"But while Americans are struggling to afford gas and being lectured about ‘transitioning’ their energy use, Biden’s cabinet is jetting around the world wasting the same fossil fuels they say they want to ban," Hawley continued.

"Americans can see the hypocrisy and it’s insulting."

During his time as special presidential envoy for climate, Kerry has jetted off to climate meetings worldwide, often reiterating the need for leaders and private institutions to rapidly transition from fossil fuel use to green energy.

He has focused his ire particularly on coal power plants, natural gas providers and oil companies.


Critics ripped Kerry in June after he said the U.S. "absolutely" didn't need additional fossil fuel drilling.

"The Biden administration is wildly out of touch with every day Americans," Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital.

"While Biden officials fly around in private jets and preach about their woke green agenda, Montana families are worried about paying sky-high gas costs and heating their homes."


This week, Kerry traveled to a United Nations climate conference in Germany to negotiate global emissions reductions and climate financing.

A spokesperson for Kerry told Fox News Digital that he didn't travel to the meeting via private jet and that he goes to such events using commercial airlines or government planes.

"Smug, hypocritical, hammering middle-class families, and now this: John Kerry is one of the single biggest polluters & GHG emitters in the world," Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, tweeted Tuesday.

"Once again, I call for him to resign."

Republican Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy tweeted that Kerry should "save some flight time and call me."

"Alaska can produce more oil, AND protect the environment," he said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... cf134aede3
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THE HILL

"UN warns two largest US water reservoirs at ‘dangerously low levels’"


BY SHARON UDASIN

08/03/22

The United Nations warned on Tuesday that the two biggest water reservoirs in the United States have dwindled to “dangerously low levels” due to the impacts of climate change.

The situation has become so severe that these reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, are on the verge of reaching “dead pool status” — the point at which water levels drop so low that downstream flow ceases, according to the U.N. Environment Program (UNEP).


Without such flow, hydroelectric power stations would cease to operate, jeopardizing the electricity supply for millions in the region, a statement from the agency said.

“The conditions in the American West, which we’re seeing around the Colorado River basin, have been so dry for more than 20 years that we’re no longer speaking of a drought,” said Lis Mullin Bernhardt, an ecosystems expert at UNEP.

“We refer to it as ‘aridification’ — a new very dry normal,” Bernhardt added.


The Colorado River system supplies water to more than 40 million people and irrigates about 5.7 million acres of agriculture.

The system serves seven states — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, Nevada and California — as well as Mexico.

Scientists have already estimated that Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which are fed by the river, will plunge to 25 percent of their capacity by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, only about 10 percent of the Colorado River’s natural flow, which has been heavily diverted throughout history along its 1,400-mile course, now reaches Mexico.

As the western water crisis continues to deepen, water cuts will be introduced throughout the region, but experts warn that these actions may not be enough, according to UNEP.

“While regulating and managing water supply and demand are essential in both the short and long term, climate change is at the heart of this issue,” Maria Morgado, UNEP’s ecosystems officer in North America, said in a statement.

“In the long term we need to address the root causes of climate change as well as water demands,” Morgado added.

The combined impacts of climate change and overconsumption have exacerbated the crisis, as frequent droughts and temperature rises confront an expanding population, the UNEP statement said.

While the situation may be dire in the American West, the agency stressed that what is happening in the region is indicative of a wider global trend.

Across the world, hundreds of millions of people are impacted by climate change as drought and desertification become “the new normal,” according to UNEP.

“We are talking about a 20-year period of drought-like conditions with an ever-increasing demand on water,” Bernhardt said.

“These conditions are alarming, and particularly in the Lake Powell and Lake Mead region, it is the perfect storm.”

https://thehill.com/policy/3586269-un-w ... ow-levels/
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ASSOCIATED PRESS

"Crisis looms without big cuts to over-tapped Colorado River"


By SAM METZ and KATHLEEN RONAYNE, Associated Press

19 AUGUST 2022

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Hydroelectric turbines may stop turning.

Las Vegas and Phoenix may be forced to restrict water usage or growth.

Farmers might cease growing some crops, leaving fields of lettuce and melons to turn to dust.


Those are a few of the dire consequences that could result if states, cities and farms across the American West cannot agree on how to cut the amount of water they draw from the Colorado River.

Yet for years, seven states that depend on the river have allowed more water to be taken from it than nature can replenish.

Despite widespread recognition of the crisis, the states missed a deadline this week to propose major cuts that the federal government has said are necessary.

And again, the government failed to force harsh decisions and stopped short of imposing the cuts on its own, despite previous threats to do so.

Any unilateral action from federal officials would likely move conversations from negotiating tables to courtrooms and delay action even longer.

The river, which cascades from the Rockies down to the deserts of the Southwest, quenches the thirst of 40 million people in the U.S. and Mexico and sustains a $15 billion-a-year agricultural industry.

But for a century, agreements governing how it's shared have been based on faulty assumptions about how much water is available.

With climate change making the region hotter and drier, that discrepancy is becoming impossible to ignore.


Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the two largest reservoirs that hold Colorado River water, have fallen to dangerously low levels faster than anyone expected.

The decline threatens to disrupt hydroelectric power production and water sent to cities and farms.

Though everyone agrees the stakes are high, states and the U.S. government have struggled to reach a consensus on what to do.

People have "been hoping to stave off this day," said Felicia Marcus, a former top water official in California, which holds the largest right to the river's water.

“But now I think we can’t expect Mother Nature to bail us out next year."

"The time for some of these really hard decisions is now."

The river is also tapped by Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Mexico and some tribes.

For years, officials have issued warnings about the state of the river, but also reassured people that the system won't crash.

That two-part message was front and center this week, when the states failed to meet a deadline set by the Bureau of Reclamation for them to propose 15% to 30% cuts to their water use.

As the deadline passed Tuesday, the potentially dramatic moment amounted to a shrug.

Officials said they still have faith the states will reach a deal if given more time.

Visiting California the next day, Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton repeatedly dodged questions about what might happen next.

She’s given no specifics about what the bureau’s more aggressive actions might look like, or when they might happen.

The federal government, she said, “is ready to move forward on our own.”

But officials "will continue to talk to everybody about what the process is.”

Not everyone is satisfied with that approach.

“I’m asking them to at least lay out very clearly how that threat will be imposed,” Southern Nevada Water Authority General Manager John Entsminger said.

Entsminger and his counterparts in Arizona, Utah and California, as well as local officials in and around Phoenix, also repeated what has become a common refrain: They said they were gravely concerned about river’s future, yet wanted to reassure their water users that the river won't stop flowing imminently.

“This is not a situation where people should be concerned about, you know, water running out in days or weeks or even months."

"But it’s very clear that this entire river system is experiencing something that’s never happened before," said Wade Crowfoot, California's natural resources secretary.

The cuts would force hard decisions about who has to live with less.

Water bills could rise as states tap other sources and adopt technology such as wastewater recycling to make up the difference.


In some places, officials have voluntarily implemented strict conservation measures, including limiting lawn watering and paying farmers not to plant fields, even banning new water hookups.

The climate legislation signed Tuesday by President Joe Biden provides $4 billion that could be used to pay Colorado River users to cut back, but it's not clear how that would work.

The river’s shrinkage has inflamed tensions between Rocky Mountain states and their downstream neighbors over who should shoulder the burden.

It also pits growing cities against agricultural regions.

In Pinal County, Arizona, Kelly Anderson grows specialty crops for the flower industry and leases land to alfalfa farmers whose crops feed cattle at nearby dairy farms.

He expects about half of the area to go unplanted next year, after farmers in the region lose all access to the river.

Though farmers use most of the water, they have less wiggle room to conserve than cities, which can more easily recycle water or tap other sources.

The river is a lifeblood in places like California’s Imperial Valley, which grows vegetables like broccoli, onions and carrots.

Water shortages could send ripple effects throughout the food system.

States aren’t the only ones at the table.

Native American tribes hold some of the oldest water rights and occupy a unique position in negotiations because the federal government is required to protect their interests.

The Colorado River Indian Tribes along the Arizona-California border have contributed water to boost Lake Mead in the past.

They could be called on again.

“Our senior rights do not mean we can or should sit on the sidelines,” Colorado River Indian Tribes Chairwoman Amelia Flores said.

“We won’t let this river die."

Upper basin states — Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming — argue that they shouldn’t face cuts because they historically haven't used all the water they were promised a century ago.

They want to protect their share in anticipation of population growth and haven't pursued policies that save water as much as states like Arizona and Nevada.

Zach Frankel, executive director of the Utah Rivers Council, said many in the Rockies cling to an erroneous belief that their water rights are safe, cuts will continue to hit their downstream neighbors and one wet winter could reverse the river's decline.

“If we don’t agree about what the crisis is, we’re not going to have the impetus to come up with a solution,” he said.

Arizona, Nevada and California say they're willing to put water or money on the table, but so far that hasn't been enough to yield an agreement.

A growing chorus of veteran officials and environmental advocates say both the states and the federal government are sending muddled messages by stressing the gravity of the situation yet delaying meaningful action.

James Eklund, an attorney and former director of the Upper Colorado River Commission, said the shrinking reservoirs present an opportunity to rethink how to manage the river and incentivize conservation — if only officials will take it.

Bureaucrats, he said, continue to think they can postpone changes.

The problem is "that doesn’t really work here because no action means we’re driving toward a cliff."
___

Ronayne reported from Madera, Calif. Associated Press Writer Felicia Fonseca contributed from Flagstaff, Ariz.

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THE GUARDIAN

"Torrential rains lash south-western US as millions under flood warnings"


Gloria Oladipo

22 AUGUST 2022

Millions of Americans are under flood warnings after heavy rain this weekend in a large portion of the south-western US.

Government meteorologists issued flood warnings for more than 13 million people after torrent rainfall created life-threatening conditions in a region including north-east Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and New Mexico.

The National Weather Service extended a flash flood warning for several communities in and around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, cautioning that weekend thunderstorms could set the stage for severe flooding as more rain is anticipated, reported the Washington Post.

As of Sunday, an estimated three to five inches of rain had already fallen along the Oklahoma-Texas border.

Forecasters expect more rain through Monday, with some areas facing an additional five to eight inches, reported CNN.

In Dallas, which was included in a flash flood warning alert, flooding trapped several vehicles early Monday morning on an interstate in the city’s downtown area.

“I was able to back up on a ramp to get off the highway,” Cassondra Anna Mae Stewart said to CNN of her experience.

“I took an alternate route home … although most streets are flooded down there as well.”

Arizona and New Mexico were also affected by flood warnings, with more than 10 million people under flood watches as of Saturday night, reports ABC News.

Monsoons in Arizona flooded roads in the state’s East Valley region, creating hazardous driving conditions, reported CBS 5, an Arizona news affiliate.

The storms also took down power lines in the area and closed several schools on Friday.

Rain in New Mexico flooded two major roads in the state’s south-eastern area.

Police in the city of Dexter rescued one local man who was stranded on the roof of his car after flood waters swept his vehicle off the road, reported KRQE, a local news affiliate.

Severe flooding also trapped about 200 people in the Carlsbad Caverns national park in south-eastern New Mexico on Saturday night.

The downpour left visitors stranded at the park for several hours until local first responders could intervene, reported KOAT, an ABC news affiliate.

In several areas, much of this weekend’s rainfall and subsequent flooding comes after severe drought.

Many of the affected areas have limited protection against flooding caused by rainfall.

Prior to rain on 9 August, Dallas had gone 67 days with no rainfall, according to the Washington Post.

Western states, including Arizona, are currently dealing with droughts that threaten the water supply in the Colorado river, one of the state’s largest reservoirs.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topst ... 47a3b21617
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AccuWeather

"Atlantic hurricane season may be about to snap out of historic dormancy"


Alex Sosnowski

26 AUGUST 2022

The Atlantic Ocean has been void of tropical systems since early July, and the basin is on the verge of historic inactivity for the month of August.

But AccuWeather meteorologists say that the tropics may soon come alive as they are tracking a few different areas for potential tropical development by early September.


At least two out of the three of the areas that AccuWeather meteorologists are monitoring closely for development in the tropics in the coming days could pose a threat to land, including the United States and/or its territories, AccuWeather forecasters warn.

Conditions are changing in the tropical Atlantic.

In the past week, tropical disturbances, also known as tropical waves, that move westward from Africa have shown more vigor, and an area of stiff breezes, which forecasters refer to as strong wind shear, has prevented development during much of the summer has been wavering in part of the basin.

In this image captured on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022, clusters of clouds associated with tropical disturbances were noted entering the Caribbean (left of center), over the central Atlantic (right of center) and near the coast of Africa (far right).

The system over the central Atlantic was showing considerable vigor.

Similarly, vast stretches of dry air over the heart of the basin are now becoming riddled by pockets of moisture, which is a necessary ingredient for tropical systems to thrive.

One tropical wave will travel westward across the Caribbean Sea this weekend to early next week and is unlikely to show much organization.

"Wind shear is likely to increase over the Caribbean into early next week but could drop off when the system approaches Central America or southeastern Mexico during the middle and latter part of next week," AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.

"As long as wind shear remains strong, that system is unlikely to develop."

"But, if wind shear drops off later next week, it is possible for a system to organize over the northwestern Caribbean and then track into the Gulf of Mexico and strengthen," Rayno said.

If that system were to develop in the scenario outlined by Rayno, there is a chance the Gulf coast of the U.S. could be threatened by a landfalling tropical storm or hurricane during the Labor Day weekend.

People along the Gulf coast, as well as those in the petroleum, boating and fishing industries in the region, should monitor developments with this system next week.

Elsewhere across the Atlantic and more than 1,000 miles farther to the east, showers and thunderstorms associated with another tropical wave were blossoming over the central Atlantic.

Forecasters say there are signs that this system has favorable conditions to develop over the next several days.

Should this activity continue, the system could evolve into a tropical depression or tropical storm at any point into next week.

Steering breezes are likely to guide that mid-ocean system slowly toward the west-northwest into next week.

"It is possible the impacts of that system, should it hold together, could reach the islands in the northeastern Caribbean during Wednesday or Thursday," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said.

Interests in the Caribbean, especially those from the Leeward Islands to Puerto Rico, should monitor this system's progress.

The third area of disturbed weather is a batch of tropical waves that will be pushing off the coast of Africa and then across the western and central Atlantic into next week.

While there are no signs of development with this system through this weekend, it is possible that one or more of these waves will become better organized next week.

This system, should it develop, is not likely to pose a threat to land over the next week to 10 days.

Thousands of miles farther to the north, a broad area of low pressure could allow a tropical system to brew well off the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts later next week.

Steering breezes could guide this feature near Newfoundland or waters just offshore next weekend.

As of Friday, the tropical Atlantic has not had a single named system or even a tropical depression during August.

Records indicate that this has only occurred in less than a handful of years since the late 1920s.


It is possible that prior to the use of weather satellites in the early 1960s, some storms were missed.

Since 1960, there were only two years, 1997 and 1961, when there were no named storms in August.

A scientific parameter that measures the severity of a hurricane season, known as Accumulated Cyclone Energy, or ACE, was at historically low levels with just days remaining in August.

ACE tracks the combined strength and duration of all tropical storms and hurricanes.

The stronger the tropical system is and the longer it lasts, the more energy it accumulates for the seasonal tally.

All tropical systems, including tropical storms and hurricanes, are considered to be cyclones, meaning that zero ACE had accumulated through the late stages of the month.

Should the development of a named storm in the Atlantic hold off until after the month is over, this August will join the ranks of only a few years -- 1997 and 1961 -- during which there was zero ACE in the month of August.

Since there have only been three short-lived tropical storms, Alex, Bonnie and Colin, earlier this season, this season's ACE is at a mere 2.8.

"Since 1950, only 1988 had less ACE through the end of August," AccuWeather Senior Weather Editor Jesse Ferrell said. ACE through the end of this month could finish with a second-place tie with 1967.

But AccuWeather's team of long-range meteorologists, led by Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski, continues to warn that despite the sleepy nature of the Atlantic much of this season thus far, conditions can and are likely to change in a hurry.

AccuWeather meteorologists are projecting a total of 16 named storms with six to eight hurricanes that include multiple threats to the United States and its territories in the Caribbean.

There is a significant chance that multiple tropical systems may be spinning at the same time over the Atlantic basin around the Labor Day weekend.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topst ... bf1718491a
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