The Expanding World of Unintended Consequences – Water and Power

Even as I listened to GOP debate candidates marginalize global warming (one who gained in the post-debate polls describing the “climate change agenda hoax”), my mind wandered into the world my son is inheriting. When he and his wife visited me in the hospital, I apologized for my Boomer generation’s leaving him (a Millennial) and rising younger generations the environmental/climate change mess he will face. Both his wife and he replied that I was the first Boomer ever to issue an apology. The reality is that the Boomer generation was the first to learn unequivocally that the earth was increasingly being seriously damaged from global warming.

Aside from a clearly insufficient global response to the issue, mankind does not seem to be able to help itself in stemming obvious greenhouse emissions. Farmland is still cleared, for expansion or to prepare for the next growing season, by mass burning. Oil companies sponsor “alternative energy initiatives,” mostly for show, but continue to lobby government bodies to allow them to explore for more oil and gas. Representatives from oil and gas states continue to fight efforts to wean our nation from these toxic emissions that also pollute our air and water, falsely claiming they are protecting jobs. Rebuilding a new alternative energy base could be our greatest job creator of all time. But even when we are forced to address our resulting problems, we face a world of unintended consequences.

We need electric power lines to feed air conditioning, enable water pumps and to sustain life as we know it. Still, knowing that above ground powerlines in sensitive areas lead to fires and die from weather related disasters, even in clearly defined urban areas (including small towns), we let those powerlines loom about increasingly dry tinder, grasslands and forests surrounding and neighboring housing. Too expensive to buy them. Maui is an extreme example, where failure to shut off the power grid is increasingly identified as the major culprit in this area of notoriously high winds.

“Utility companies across Western states are pushing to get plans in place that outline how and when to pre-emptively shut off power lines to prevent sparks, as wildfire risk—exacerbated by heat, drought and climate change—increases alongside litigation risk. Industry executives and observers expect companies to employ this strategy more frequently, making it likely that more utility customers will experience outages during fire season for years to come.” Wall Street Journal RSS feed, August 28th.

Our struggle to find new energy leads us to increased risk and danger. Noting that alternative energy is still not enough, policymakers are convincing us that there is a “nuclear option.” According to LZ Granderson, writing for the August 28th Los Angeles Times, “There are roughly 440 operating nuclear reactors in 32 countries, with upwards of 60 more currently under construction. That may be good news for air quality. Unfortunately, the water we drink is now, frighteningly, up for discussion…

“While much of the globe’s attention was on the former American president’s legal battles and the mug shot seen around the world, Japan started its 30-year plan to release the diluted yet still contaminated water that was stored at the now defunct Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Back in 2011, the most powerful earthquake in Japan’s recorded history led to a devastating tsunami and the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. Damage to the plant led to radiation of a huge volume of water, which the facility has been storing ever since.

“After two years of research, and the blessings of the International Atomic Energy Agency, authorities are slowly releasing the heavily treated water into the ocean because … well, because Japan is running out of room… Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has prioritized nuclear over oil and gas. About 15% of his nation’s electricity comes from nuclear, and he intends to increase production. Struggles between our two nations regarding storing nuclear waste are not new, but we generally have managed to cooperate. The talk of storing contaminated water near Lake Huron — near Flint, Mich., of all places — will test that. Trudeau is expected to make a decision on the waste next year.

“Which brings me back to Japan. No one’s drinking that ocean water, but the sea does feed billions of people. In response to the decision to dump radioactive water, China has already banned all Japanese seafood imports, a crushing blow given it’s one of Japan’s top seafood export destinations. The statement released by the government read in part that ‘by dumping the water into the ocean, Japan is spreading the risks to the rest of the world and passing an open wound onto the future generations of humanity.’ Quite rich given China’s environmental record.” Simply, even forgetting about meltdowns, we just do not know what to do with nuclear waste.

But even when we go about dealing with other climate change-related mega-issues, such as our dwindling water supply as is being experienced in our Western states, we trip all over ourselves in seeking the most basic solutions. Assuming we can hive off increasing amounts of water runoff into massive new reservoirs, where water is simply stagnant and stored, resulting in an unexpected but substantial release of greenhouse gasses. In an August 28th LA Times article, Ian James, informs us that “scientific research has shown that reservoirs emit significant amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. It’s produced by decomposing plants and other organic matter collecting near the bottom of reservoirs. Methane bubbles up to the surface of reservoirs, and also passes through dams and bubbles up downstream….

“[John Harrison, professor at Washington State University summarizes:] ‘Freshwater reservoirs are consistently net sources of methane to the atmosphere, and collectively these water bodies constitute an important greenhouse gas source at regional, global, and national scales.’” Climate change skeptics have long since been proven conclusively wrong by a virtually unanimous chorus of qualified scientists. And those who continue to fight again the push for alternative energy and water conservation are the authors of an environmental genocide for many currently alive… and most certainly future generations. Not to mention the helpless non-human life forms around us.

I’m Peter Dekom, and I am constantly reminded of the self-centered politicians in this country who support climate change denial when they absolutely know better.