Text 17455, 140 rader
Skriven 2007-06-30 17:57:24 av HAP NEWSOM (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av GLEN JAMIESON
Ärende: a sorry lot we are indeed
=================================
Hullo Glen!

->  ->  -> The rainwater tank is only a nominal 1500 gallons, but if it
could
-> 
->  ->  -> gallons, not much.  If I had 6 tanks, like a house nearby has
just
->  ->  -> 
->  ->  HN> Six tanks would certainly obviate your need for much of the
->  ->  HN> water....there'd probably be no lawn left to need it! (grin)
-> 
-> I live on what used to be the standard suburban size quarter acre
-> block, so plenty of space.  These days these blocks are frequently
-> halved, with a house built on each half.  Maintenance is easier, and
-> the occupants prefer to work to earn money to buy their food, rather
-> than grow some of it, as used to be done when I was much younger.
-> 
We used to love our veggie garden and got plenty of good food from it in
years back...but we ran short of "spare" time to tend to it and have not
had one in over 10 years now. Our "lot" is is much smaller than 1/4 acre, I
think ours is 90'X 120 but I'd have to measure to be sure.

->  -> -> The government is now offering a $500 subsidy to householders who
wish
->  -> to install a rainwater tank or plumbing to re-use "grey" water.
->  -> HN> Is $500 enough to make it cost effective?
-> 
-> With the increasing price of water, that subsidy, plus the consumer's
-> need to buy less water, is a great incentive to take water saving
-> actions.  It also enables the consumer to wash his car without being
-> arrested.  :)
->  
Water is so cheap here in the great Northwet we hardly figure it as costing
anything. We do have our dry spates in summer though and rationing is not
unknown.

->  -> There are lots of them!  And they must be rich.
->  HN> It certainly seems so doesn't it? California gets a large part of
it's
->  HN> water supplies from the Colorado River system in Arizona...unlike
your
->  HN> situation our National gov't supercedes the state governments
powers
->  HN> and the Californians get access to the waters of Arizona, even to
the
->  HN> detriment of the citizens of Arizona.
-> 
-> Are the Californicans favoured above the inhabitants of other states?
-> If so, why?  Because there are more of them?
->  
Well there are a LOT of them, but visionary thinkers who were planning
things way back even at the turn of the last century, made projects and
plans that secured water for them for future growth...which panned out
quite well for them, not so well for the people that followed and inhabited
what was once barren desert (and still pretty much is now).

->  -> With the progress in construction of semi-permeable membranes, that
->  -> method of desalination seems to have become the most popular, and
has
->  -> now become the preferred method in the recent development at Dubai,
in
->  -> the UAR, powered by their cheap oil and gas.  I was reading recently
of
->  -> an interesting $370 million solar energy installation to cover 2
square
->  -> kilometres in the Mid-North of South Australia, which would produce
->  -> electricity from steam from sea water, then condensed to fresh
water,
->  -> with the concentrated brine flowing to existing evaporation ponds to
->  -> get the salt.  The solar power would be backed by a combined cycle
gas
->  -> turbine generator, using natural gas from a nearby field, with the
->  -> waste heat from that used for more desalination.  It would supply
power
->  -> and water to the nearby city of Port Augusta.
->  ->  
->  HN> A very interesting proposition....and one that may be very viable.
I'd
->  HN> be interested in hearing more about it when it becomes more of a
->  HN> reality! 
-> 
-> Likewise.  As expected in the driest state of the driest continent on
-> the planet, the investigation of ways of getting water is a top
-> priority, and many minds have been working on solutions.  Intermittent
-> sources of power like wind and solar are well matched to desalination,
-> where the product can be stored.
-> 
They certainly are a good tool to use, and with all that water around you
it seems like common sense to work on the technologies that would get you
what you need!

->  ->  ->  ->  HN> which makes it a lot easier for many of us to refuse to
->  HN> look at
->  ->  ->  ->  HN> problem,  and continue to make self centered and
selfish
->  ->  HN> decisions.
->  ->  ->  HN> Oh so true and even more sad for all that!
->  ->  -> Which I am sure your daughter is only too aware of!
->  ->  HN> She's been made aware of it from childhood.
->  -> 
->  -> Which very likely started her interest in environmental matters.
->  ->  
->  HN> I'm very proud of her as you might well imagine! 
-> 
-> I have noticed.  (grin)
-> 
I'm not shy about it (grin)
We'll be going down to visit her right after our Independence day (JULY 4)
celebrations.

->  -> The next step is to close off some lakes alongside the Murray River
and
->  -> allow them to dry up, so keeping more water in the river until it
->  -> reaches the point where it is pumped to Adelaide.
->  -> 
->  HN> What a drastic measure! Are the lakes man made or natural and what
of
->  HN> the environmental consequences of letting them dry up? 
-> 
-> They are natural lakes, covering quite a large area.  The grape growers
-> in the regions who have been irrigating from them are not happy at that
-> thought.  Likewise the owners of tourism businesses who depend on the
-> lakes to attract people who come for the water sports.  Many thousands
-> of local and migratory water birds use the lakes at present, and they
-> will be dispossessed.  All in all, a sorry prospect.  The whole region
-> around the mouth of the Murray was a complex combination of wetlands,
-> sand hills, lakes and salt water inlets, which used to be a major bird
-> habitat until many decades ago, when the swamps were drained and turned
-> into farmland, and the ecology of the area changed completely.
-> 
What a devastating thought that is! I could think of a short quick method
of solar distillation that would work on a small scale quite well but not
well enough to supply water to a whole city. But you certainly could get
hundreds of gallons a day from it if done properly.
Keep me posted on the lake situation! What a fine mess we can make when we
start mucking about with the natural order of things!
chat with you soon
ha
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