Wednesday, November 11, 2015

residential storm water capture program

There's no shortage of ways residents are trying to employ to reduce their water usage. With no conceivable end in sight, the changes are now shifting a culture of water usage, and it's going to be a permanent change.

Some ways to get creative on capturing what rainfall does fall comes in the form of water capture for homes.

Check it out. http://la.curbed.com/archives/2015/11/stormwater_capture_los_angeles.php

Monday, November 2, 2015

Beverly HIlls Fined for Water Violations

It seems as though the rich can do wahtever they want. As everyone else tightens their belts, the city of Beverly Hills was fined for breaking water restriction regulations. And there's really no reason for them to stop either. The fine is a whopping 61K.

Of course, is residential consumption really the problem? In the grand scheme of things yes, but not to the extent the likes of agriculture siphons off water to produce produce.

If you want to blame water over usage then blame almonds. Yes, almonds, those nasty nuts that suck water like it was free....oh wait, the price farmers pay for water is practically that....

More: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/31/us-california-drought-fines-idUSKCN0SO2IY20151031#YUzpEgseyzeydRRF.97

Monday, July 6, 2015

California anti-vaxxers almost done

California’s anti-vaxxers will no longer be able send unvaccinated kids to school, if a bill passed by the State Assembly gets signed into law. The bill closes the loophole allowing parents to not vaccinate their child due to personal beliefs. Parents can still choose not to vaccinate their children, but those kids won’t be allowed to attend public schools or daycares, and will have to either be homeschooled or enter a private school. There are a few exceptions: kids who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons are exempt from the ruling, and only 10 specific vaccines are required, including the vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella. Children who have special education needs will also still be guaranteed access to resources they need if they are booted from public school for being unvaccinated. The anti-vaccination movement has had a noticeable impact on vaccination rates around the US and have been responsible for outbreaks of measles, mumps, and pertussis. Hopefully science will prevail and personal choices, beliefs, and more often than not herd mentality, will be put aside for the good of the children.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Lawmakers Press for Mandatory Vaccination

I remember reading in National Geographic he's recently on the war on science. Popular opinion seems to be out weighing scientific evidence. There was a time when you couldn't get into a public school without showing your immunization records. Downtime has long since passed. Private schools have enabled parents to enrol their children without having up-to-date vaccinations. The anti-VAX movement has developed largely on pseudoscience the opinions of the C-list celebrities. Forget what the scientific community has stated for decades, the reality is it because we haven't had a massive outbreak in recent memory, there is a false sense that vaccinations are no longer necessary. If you remember a time when polio was ravaging the country you whenever in your right mind argue that vaccinations were a bad idea. Because of our relative health, ironically from the use vaccinations, the memory of many Californians has faded. Be at the left-wing liberals are the right wing conservative, it doesn't really matter. People are not making informed decisions and those who are being affected and put in harms way our children. It's sad that a legislative action needs to be enacted in order for something to be done. http://diabetesinsider.com/california-lawmakers-press-on-with-new-vaccination-bill/38827

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

1 Million Californians Have No Access To Safe Potable Water

According to a recent news article there are over 1 million Californians without access to clean drinking water. This comes on the heels of what may be the worst drought California has ever experienced in modern times.

Although people will have to reduce their consumption of water, particularly in the yard, it is in fact the agriculture sector that is the primary drain on our resource. About 80% of water usage in this state is for agriculture. If you're paying attention that means we export most of our water in the form of agricultural products.

What can we hope for? Well this will be solved by a deluge of rain. Certainly there is a need for rain, but there is a culture and a overuse problem. That's a hard one to solve, but when we run out of water completely it may lead to some drastic and immediate changes.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/4/6/more-than-1-million-californians-lack-clean-water.html

Friday, February 13, 2015

Worst Drought in 1000 years to come?

Some scientific publications are coming out with a preview of 2015 spring and summer. America may be on watch to have the worst drought conditions in its history. This doesn't bode well even if it comes close to happening for California. The slow change and water use culture, with the lack of rain and dwindling aquifers, may further exacerbate a very bad water problem.

In the meantime keep those lawn green and pools full.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-droughts-will-be-the-worst-in-1-000-years1/

Monday, January 5, 2015

Vintage Pasadena Police Pictures

I thought this was an interesting link. Always nostalgic for archives of days gone by.