Cool.

Someone spent some time on this image, which I am posting at 12:01 on 12-01-12 :)

Speed blogging

• A PhD dissertation [PDF] with four case studies on different economic and regulatory ways to achieve in-stream flows in Idaho.
  
  
• Westlands plants record acreage but unemployment doesn't fall. I guess their "water for jobs" claim was just bullshit, eh?
  
  
• How is water governance evolving at different levels of governance and what are the implications for principles of good governance such as equity, legitimacy, efficiency, transparency and accountability? Principles of good governance at different water governance levels addresses these issues.
  
  
• Get lots of information at the European Project on OCean Acidification, a problem discussed here.
  
  
• Water trading in the context of urban development (in England and Wales) [PDF]

H/T to ML

Garbage in Egypt

January 13 is World Cleanup 2012! Read this overview of similar voluntary clean-up efforts.

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No owner, no respect...

There's a lot of garbage on Egyptian streets -- a classic example of a "negative externality" imposed by people who drop trash in "open access" areas shared by everyone. (I saw many guys just casually drop trash just a short distance from a nearby rubbish bin.)

There is not a lot of trash inside houses, where owners would be spoiling their own areas and outsiders cannot get access without permission.

Litter, in other words, results from two conditions:

1. Someone does not care about the impact of his actions on others. In other words, he has neither social preferences regarding the welfare of others nor an intrinsic desire to do the right thing.
2. Others do not have an incentive to stop that person from littering a common area. They suffer from a problem of collective action: it only takes one person to prevent littering or clean up litter that affects everyone, so everyone waits for that one person to show up. When no individual takes on the cost of cleaning up, everyone suffers the eyesore (and other adverse impacts).*

Note that BOTH of these criteria are necessary and sufficient for a garbage problem to persist. People who care about cleanliness will not litter; litterers will not be able to inflict damage on others if they try to spoil an area of private property, where the owner receives BOTH the costs and benefits of cleaning.

Since condition #2 occurs everywhere in the planet, we can therefore trace the littering problem to condition #1 -- too many people who do not care.**

My initial reaction was to complain about the problem to Egyptians. A few said that the post-revolutionary government would take care of it, but that isn't very likely (littering has survived many governments). The real problem is a lack of "clean awareness" among Egyptians, but how can we counter that?

Education, of course, so I decided to do a little "teaching by doing..."

I spent a few hours cleaning up a beach with an Aussi guy Tristan. Here's a video about that effort. (NB: It's 16 min, but there's 8-9 min of underwater video that you can skip if you want to hear all the talking -- including the interview I did with an Egyptian guy who collects garbage underwater.)



Bottom Line: The first step after identifying a problem is to get to work on addressing it. Others are more likely to follow the bold ones who take the lead.***

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* The garbage problem can also be blamed on a lack of deposits on plastic bottles and (I think) a government-awarded monopoly on garbage collection in cities. (There are certainly enough un- and under-employed people around to clean the place up!). Besides being an eyesore, rubbish everywhere contributed to overflowing sewer and storm drains that made streets treacherous after any rain. Plastic is the biggest culprit of litter (even "biodegradable" plastic), and my local market -- Albert Heijn, the market-leader in the Netherlands -- no longer gives away plastic bags. People either bring their own or pay 20 cents for a heavy-duty one.

** In response to another version of these thoughts, NH wrote:

Regarding the garbage every where in Egypt.. did you know that after Feb. 11, 2011 (the date on which Mr. Mubarek left authority), Egyptians started cleaning and painting walls and the sidewalks in every place in Egypt starting from Al Tahrir to every narrow street. All of us were very enthusiastic to get Egypt back to its real nature as a center of human civilization..

*** Tristan actually mentioned "it's the first follower who transforms a nut into a leader" when he joined me -- a video I had posted here the week before!

Speed blogging

• 
  The biggest municipal bankruptcy in US history can be traced to corrupt and incompetent water managers in Alabama (prior post).
  
  
• Thailand considers "water derivatives" as a potential insurance hedge against flood damage. Good idea (see this and this post).
  
  
• Holy cow! Jeff Michael says that there's been no benefit-cost analysis of the "Delta conveyance;" he also wonders if farmers are willing to pay $700-800/af for their share of the costs of the project (assuming benefits even exceed costs). I'd say no. The farmers expect others to pay.
  
  
• The students who reduced their water use by 14% during a "water battle" (where consumption was compared, one dorm against another; see prior post) further reduced their demand by 6%. Now THAT's demand destruction!
  
  
• Water (the journal) has a bunch of articles on re-using wastewater.

H/Ts to DL, RM and NT

Bleg: Water and sewage treatment in the developing world?

AM asks:

I was curious to hear your thoughts on water and sewage treatment in the developing world. Any suggested readings on the issue of treatment would be much appreciated.

My first impression is that there are more opportunities for decentralized treatment solutions in developing countries that lack proper treatment networks. These opportunities can be thwarted by laws that give the incumbent water/sewerage provider a monopoly over an area they may not be able to serve, but those cruel laws are not so common.

I also think that development aid (money and technology) tends to affect this sector -- for better or worse.

Also read the archives of this LinkedIn group.

Can you readers give AM some more ideas or insights?

Monday funnies

Agreed.

The Nilometer

BH suggested that I check out the Nilometer when I was in Cairo, and I did. It's an interesting measuring device that would record the highest level of the Nile as it flooded (the center pillar is marked). That level was used to determine the tax rate on farmers, with higher waters attracting a higher rate and lower waters (with potential for a food shortage) leading to zero taxes.

The Nilometer has not been used since Aswan High Dam (AHD) went into service in 1970, ending flood cycles that had occurred for millennia. Floods damaged property, but they also renewed the fertility of fields, built up the Nile Delta, and flushed water ways for the benefit of aquatic life. Fertility and Delta health are not declining.

It's my impression that it will make more sense to breach AHD in the future, as the losses from evaporation behind the dam, siltation and lower fertility start to become more expensive relative to the benefits of reliable irrigation. There's a lot of hard infrastructure in the way of normal flooding, but most of it can probably be set back.

Aquadoc also has an interesting post on how higher groundwater levels associated with AHD are damaging buildings near the Nile.

Bottom Line: There are costs to blocking a river above and beyond the cost of concrete.

Flashback: 19 Dec 2010 -- 8 Jan 2011

A year later and still worth a read...

Your money for their propaganda -- ACWA's advertorial magazine. In a recent update, Lloyd Carter highlights ACWA's most recent PURCHASE of favorable data. Nothing like a little propaganda to make people admire you. (I wonder how Tim Quinn -- ACWA's Director -- can look at these petty lies without turning in his PhD.)

Wikileaks, Gawker leaks and netiquitte -- wikileaks has exposed many government lies in the past year, but social media continue to expand ("if the service is free, then you are the product")

Water Chat with Veolia on water footprinting -- I'm talking to Veolia about this again this week.

The river runs dry -- an incredible (sad) diagram of flows -- or lack thereof -- on the Jordan River.

Business and water -- the effects of political mismanagement of water are still there and not improving.

Why some conflicts never end -- Palestine-Israel, the Delta, etc.

Two more papers on conflict and cooperation -- inside a water organization (Metropolitan Water District of Southern California) may help you see how to reduce conflict.

H/T to RM

Friday party

Wow. This is amazing.



It's also interesting to read about the founders and their business (NOT hobby!) model...

Speed blogging

• A failed attempt to prove atheists wrong with "water accounting". My advice? Stick with "because the Bible says so."
  
  
• Waterless fracking will happen where water is scarce.
  
  
• Surreal (from Jan 2010): "Water" was not included in a climate change communique. Perhaps an indicator of how out-of-touch those "experts" are?
  
  
• "A suite of 38 case studies on decentralized wastewater treatment solutions in Cambodia, Lao, Philippines and Vietnam is now available on WaterWiki."
  
  
• Good overview: "China’s economic development may be limited by the country’s dwindling supply of clean water, a problem exacerbated by overdevelopment, pollution, and a growing population."

Cleaning the pipes

Speaking of Blue Revolutions...

I'd like to suggest that all you readers (and many more non-readers!) tackle one part of water management that's been bothering you.

It may be a leaky tap or a slow-draining sink.

It may be that thirsty lawn or the clogged rain gutters.

It may be understanding your water bill or setting your hot water thermostat.

It may be learning where your tap water comes from or the age of the pipes below your street.

It may be organizing a discussion group with your neighbors to understand your local water policies.

The first step is the hardest -- you need to identify a problem and set aside some time to deal with it.

I will help with the next steps, in providing advice/opinions on how to tackle the problem -- on the blog or via email. Also feel free to list your ideas in the comments, to inspire yourself and others.

(Slow draining sink? This article explains how to clean the "trap" pipe of hair and yucky goo in a way that's more effective and cleaner than using Draino.)

If you need some motivation, then remember what Matt was able to accomplish with only a funny dance:



Bottom Line: A little human action can lead to a lot of change. It may not be comfortable to change your routine, but the benefits of a little effort can go a long way -- for you and your fellow humans.