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Odds and ends: Fish don’t fart, Martian water in Southern California (a silly place), and virtual water

Posted by: Maven on July 6, 2008 at 9:57 am

It’s been slow for water news over the holiday weekend, so it’s a perfect time for odds and ends!

Fish Don’t Fart™ * – Revolutionary New Invention Offers Easy Solution to Food Shortages: Portable Farms™ screams the title to a press release – and one I can’t ignore! Claiming that 20% of the methane emissions on earth come from cattle, this product will help individuals combat global warming by growing 100 lbs. of home-grown fish and 400 lbs. of vegetables in a portable structure that can be scaled in size. Says the inventor: “This is very exciting. I’ve been perfecting the Portable Farm™ for 36 years. It’s actually very simple: Water circulates from a water tank filled with fish and a newly patented pump moves water through a settling tank, then the water flows through shallow beds of gravel containing fresh vegetables. This pump keeps the fish tank free of sediments and sends the nutrients to the plants. It’s a perfectly efficient system.” Check it out by clicking here.

Finding water on Mars and shipping it to Southern California: Retired teacher Dr. Joe Harrop speculates on what it would mean to find water on Mars: It will be fun to see how the media plays up the debate that is sure to ensue. Most likely the checkout stands at the local markets will have tantalizing but misleading and intriguing headlines regarding life on Mars and secret contacts between aliens and political leaders; we may even hear a replay of War of the Worlds. After a recent trip to Southern California, he muses about how efficiently man has become at moving water around. Will Martian water be part of our Southern California future? Dr. Joe Harrop muses here.

Los Angeles, a Camelot of sorts, “a silly place” writes Diane Sayer, who visited Southern California right after the story about David Nahai broke. Says Diane: Even at our hotel, we saw absolutely no evidence of any conservation programs in place. And I was, frankly, astonished to think that our area farmers are letting fields go fallow and selling their water so that Southern Californians like David Nahai can soak his lawn to the point of becoming boggy. And while Nahai’s water use borders on outrageous, and visitor/tourist conservation is not addressed, the fact remains: Southern Californians are still currently under no legal obligation to conserve. All conservation is voluntary only — just like carpooling. Truly a lala land, she says. Read her full column by clicking here.

Thinking about virtual water: I found this article very thought-provoking, although I don’t believe that 1/3 of North American tap water is used to make coffee. But the article makes some good points. Food and virtually every product you buy takes some water to produce, so when you waste food or throw away stuff, you’re wasting water as well. For example: Right now we lose 30 to 50 percent of the food we grow—and all the virtual water in it—by the time it is ready for consumption, says Daniel Zimmer, executive director of the World Water Council (WWC) in Marseille, France. These losses come in harvesting, production, processing, transportation, and storage. Tossing out leftovers wastes every drop of water it took to grow the food (and think of all the times you don’t ask for a doggie bag). Indeed, the third most common refuse found in landfills is food, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. “Sure, a few liters of water are saved when you take a shorter shower,” Zimmer says. “But hundreds of liters of water are lost when you throw away food. We have to begin to think about our water use differently.” Interesting article from Discover Magazine – click here for the full text. More on virtual water from Forbes Magazine by clicking here.

Enjoy your Sunday!

July 6, 2008 · Filed Under Aquafornia News & Exclusives

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