Seven Principles for Sustainable Water Management

Now that you've passed the test (or checked out the answers) to the the Chasing Water book that I reviewed in my previous blog post, here are Brian Richter's ideas for water sustainability. So what does water sustainability really mean anyway? He cites Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute who offered this definition: "the use of water that supports the ability of human society to endure and flourish into the indefinite future without undermining the integrity of the hydrological cycle or the ecological systems that depend on it." For example, Richter suggests extracting more than 20 percent of a river's daily flow can lead to ecological harm to fish, turtles, frogs and other sensitive species. Lakes and aquifers may be even more sensitive to withdrawals due to slow replenishment.

Here are seven principles to consider for sustainable water management:

1. Build a shared vision for your community's water future.

2. Set limits on total consumptive use of water.

3. Allocate a specific volume to each user, then monitor and enforce.

4. Invest in water conservation to its maximum potential.

5. Enable trading of water entitlements.

6. If too much water is being consumptively used, subsidize reductions in consumption.

7. Learn from mistakes or better ideas, and adjust as you go.

Western water law based on prior appropriation (first in time, first in right) allows control of senior to junior water rights for people but priorities for sustaining natural ecosystems depends on people advocating for the environment. Obstacles to water conservation cited by the author include challenging social norms (people love green grass even in the desert), water providers whose receipts depend upon sales, spreading fear of shortages, and political will for unpopular projects such as dams. 

Richter explains how he learned through personal connections that Australian landowners fought for the environment even during severe droughts to keep water flowing and prevent additional fish kills. A cap-and-flex system adopted in the Murray-Darling watershed enabled setting limits to priority distributions for consumptive use accounting for protecting ecosystems and being flexible with supply during wetter years. The government stepped in to purchase 400,000 acre-feet at a cost of $700 million to store and distribute water where needed for ecological preservation and areas significant to Aboriginal people. 

Australia set up a market-based system to trade water rights which improved accounting systems for water management such as adding efficient technology that can measure the hydrologic cycle and consumptive use. 

Ultimately, there is great power in creating partnerships that can transcend institutional bureaucracies - individuals in local communities and grassroots organizations can network with public and private groups to share in a common mission to find solutions to these challenging problems.

Test Your Knowledge of Chasing Water

Brian Richter (President at Sustainable Waters, adjunct professor at the University of Virginia, and Director of Global Freshwater Strategies for The Nature Conservancy) authored a wonderfully interesting book called Chasing Water: A Guide for Moving from Scarcity to Sustainability - Island Press, 2014.

Test your water knowledge by taking this fun quiz with five questions:

1. What is the last state in the U.S. to take up arms against another state over water rights?

2. How much money did Texas lose in revenues from the 2011 drought?

3. How much money is needed to upgrade drinking water systems in the U.S. over the next twenty years?

4. About how much Colorado River water is consumed by agriculture?

5. What is the easiest, most cost efficient way we can increase water supplies or reduce consumptive use?

Before I provide the answers that will hopefully 'wet your appetite' to read this book, many important reflections and impacts come from this book that are really helpful to me. These include Brian Richter's optimism that we all can and must do our part to make a difference, that we cannot leave our future up to dysfunctional organizations including governments, and we can learn from many individuals who've successfully dealt with issues including extreme droughts in Australia, environmental change in China, and improved irrigation technology in Israel.

Ok, now for the answers to the quiz:

1. In 1934, the Arizona governor sent 100-man state militia to stop California from completing Parker Dam on the Colorado River. The Interior Secretary intervened to enable federal funding for irrigation that created the Central Arizona Project in exchange for Arizona signing the Colorado River Compact in 1944. 

2. Texas lost an estimated $9 billion due to the 2011 drought mostly from losses on irrigated farms.

3. An estimated $384 billion is needed to repair the drinking water infrastructure in the US according to the EPA in 2013. Of course, in my opinion the amount could be much higher after revelations about issues like the lead pipe problems in Flint, Michigan which is an issue in many locations.

4. About 50% of the water taken from the Colorado River is consumed by agriculture.

5. Given the inefficiencies in using water by agriculture, such as with flood irrigation or growing unsustainable crops like cotton, we can make the biggest impact by helping to change farm practices such as by using drip irrigation and respecting the capacity of our natural environment to support us.

National Environmental Policy Act: A Citizen's Right-To-Know Law

Public disclosure of plans that affect all of us can lead to better decision making and ultimately save tax dollars. A major event that led Henry "Scoop" Jackson, a Senator from Washington State, to write new national  legislation was the Santa Barbara, California oil spill in 1969. The federal government provides oil drilling permits so more transparency, coordination, and public involvement was needed on all federally-permitted or funded projects. 

President Richard Nixon, a Republican, signed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 1970. The law established the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) located in the Executive Branch to set policy for federal agencies. The first test of the law came by citizens living near the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in Maryland who sued the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). AEC required utilities to prepare environmental reports but did not plan to consider the document unless issues were raised to the licensing board. The Supreme Court in 1971 sided with the citizens requiring federal agencies to consider NEPA to the "fullest extent possible." The new NEPA law allowed citizens to tell the federal government that environmental impacts or protection of cultural resources must be evaluated before projects are approved.

The way the process typically works is that each agency follows CEQ policy and develops their own regulations to comply with NEPA. The agency must conduct an environmental assessment (EA) -- if the proposed action is considered a "major federal action" then an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) must be prepared that allows for public participation with obtaining scoping and draft EIS comments. The EA may determine a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is warranted. 

In 2007, I dedicated some time between paid consulting projects to research and publish an article on the NEPA process by examining methods to extract uranium needed for nuclear power. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission released a Generic EIS for in-situ uranium mining -- the industry advocated that site-specific EIS reports would not be needed because the technical processes would be similar at each site. However, to keep citizens informed in the areas of the mining, I advocated and NRC agreed that site-specific EIS reports would be needed. Here is a link to the article.

Colorado River Water Conference: Assigning Blame for Lost Opportunities to Take Meaningful Action

The annual Colorado River water conference held in Grand Junction, CO yesterday brought together outstanding speakers and a fully engaged audience of several hundred “experts” who shared diverse messages about our looming water crisis – as if we do not have one already but we don’t want anyone to panic – some want to blame the droughts which may get worse, or climate change and rising temperatures, and future population increases for declining water supplies. Many are focused on future risk scenarios on how the economies and livelihood of farmers will be destroyed and who or what’s to blame.

The state of Colorado can keep about 1/3 of the river supply while 2/3’rds are required to be delivered downstream based on current agreements between seven Western states. We heard that people who live in the desert are growing unsustainable crops like alfalfa and cotton that get huge federal government subsidizes due to our broken political system. No surprise there as it’s been going on for many decades. The state of Arizona may put an end to all farming and focus on the four million water consumers of the Central Arizona Project. Plans being discussed in Arizona are forcing them to reduce their water dependency on the Colorado River by about 20 times the amount for Nevada due to priority rights.

We heard that the beneficial use doctrine in Colorado permits no wasting of water -- that the “use it or lose it” mentality is hysterical thinking -- others who said in reality much water is being wasted and not put to beneficial use which is illegal but not enforced. We heard that on average each American consumes an equivalent of 300 gallons per day of Colorado River Water (based on food consumption). Given that California has the largest population in the West with significant senior rights on the River and provides a majority of food for the World, imagine how they are feeling and when push comes to shove everyone will need to become more aware of the urgency.

The Colorado Water Plan completed one year ago provides for great ideas spread over several decades and is moving into the implementation phase. The plan is currently an unfunded mandate for the most part and money is needed to take action. Here is the Grand Junction Sentinel article that focused on the taxes issue.

We heard that water efficiency for farmers is better than conservation and others said both are great as long as people get compensation for their loss of rights. Some said Americans want more with more, and efficiency is doing more with less while conservation is doing less with less -- so conservation to some almost sounds unAmerican! Arguments were made for which method is more appeasing to various interest groups.

I thought the talk by a local Hotchkiss farmer, Tom Kay of North Fork Organic Farm, provided the best example of someone taking action that we all need to learn from. He converted his farm to sustainable practices by going organic which on average pays three times higher for crops; created a storage pond to capture two million gallons of storage from his water right on the Gunnison River that can be used all year; built a storage area used by other organic farmers; rotates crops and farm practices to increase yields and maximize profits; and is willing to innovate and test new technology!

Overall, with all the highly qualified speakers and attendees, in my opinion another opportunity was lost for meaningful dialog that could lead to us to taking action. Much too little time for questions and answers was given at the conference and no time made after the final panel discussion, the meeting was very brief (from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm), and seemed to check the box for many groups.

Future meetings held in Grand Junction are needed to focus on ‘connecting the dots’: the issues of the Western Slope including being caught between the power centers on both sides – from Denver to California and including large parts of Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Utah. The Western Slope needs much more awareness of these issues than only to hear about another fight on taxes as mentioned in the newspaper.

A renewed spirit of cooperation and creating new partnerships is needed for our children's survival - obviously water is connected to everything including the food we eat and supplies are not unlimited. Nature is truly interconnected and we are so dependent on the natural world; we need to find better ways to cooperatively solve problems through effective education and positive actions groups - we can all make a difference and work harder to achieve better sustainable outcomes.

Colorado River District Annual Meeting on September 16th in Grand Junction, CO

2016 Annual Water Seminar

The Colorado River District’s popular one-day Annual Water Seminar is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 16, 2016 from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm at Two Rivers Convention Center, 159 Main Street, Grand Junction, CO
Theme: “Colorado River Waves of the Future: Fitting the West to the River’s New Normal”

Cost, which includes lunch buffet, is $30 if pre-registered by Friday, Sept. 9; $40 at the door. For information, contact Meredith Spyker. at 970-945-8522
Registration Form

Speakers will address the Lower Basin living within its water means and dealing with its “structural deficit,” how the Upper Basin is planning to deal with low levels at Lake Powell, sorting through the confusing programs addressing ag fallowing, a discussion of Use It or Lose It myths and a panel addressing what comes next after the Colorado Water Plan, especially with declining financial resources – plus more.

Draft agenda:

• Temperatures Matter: Jeff Lukas, Western Water Assessment
• How the Lower Basin is Attacking the Structural Deficit: Suzanne Ticknor, Central Arizona Project
• How the Upper Basin is Attacking Low Water Levels at Lake Powell: Eric Kuhn, Colorado River District
• Sorting through the Demand Management Weapons: Water Banking/System Conservation – who’s doing what: Dave Kanzer, Colorado River District
• Lunch Program – “Killing the Colorado” author Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica
• Use It or Lose It – Separating Truth, Myth and Reality: Justice Greg Hobbs
• Colorado’s Water Plan – What Now? Panel Discussion with Colorado Water Conservation Board’s James Eklund; Colorado State Representative Don Coram and Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment’s Anne Castle

Balancing Water Demands for Food and Nature with Water Sharing Investment Partnerships

One of the biggest issues facing all watersheds is how to keep sufficient streamflow to support aquatic life while balancing the withdrawals from water consumers including agriculture and municipal drinking water.  For example, many fish are very sensitive to changing water conditions of temperature, oxygen, and chemistry which are affected by the weather and climate as well as water supply. Obviously, during drought conditions the declining supply creates greater impacts for all users. It's a simple matter of supply and demand: while debates continue over the severity of climate changes affecting water supply and dramatic impacts to nature and our habitat, projecting the demand side of water and food resources is easier to forecast. Worldwide, we have accurate population growth numbers and consumption rates so we know demands for water and other resources will exceed supplies. Therefore conservation, if not rationing, is essential. Perhaps for too long we have considered that nature will provide infinite resources for free but coming soon we will all have a huge debt to pay for our ignorance and greed!

While there are large markets for consumer demands on water, can a system be created to sustain natural resources? According to Brian Richter, Chief Water Scientist with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), a market-based strategy is stimulating conservation in the western United States and Australia - water markets are especially effective with irrigated lands. To create a special strategy for protecting nature - innovative partnerships are needed. In April 2016, a water balance fund began in Australia to encourage investments -- perhaps this is like our repaying nature for the huge loans we have taken. For more information on the Water Sharing Investment Partnerships (WSIPs), please see the article by TNC.

Home Energy Audits Can Save Energy and Money

Although we bought a new home three years ago with several Energy Star features, the temperature of the upstairs room above the garage is not comfortable much of the year. So we began investigating the source of the problem.

Xcel Energy provides electricity and natural gas to our home. They offer up to $200 in rebates covering about two-thirds of the cost of having a home energy audit. They also provide an approved list of qualified auditors. We selected a local company that brought several tools to measure items like air flow, insulation, heating and ventilation. They installed a fan on the front door to look for air leaks - we found a large hole in the upstairs room going into the interior roof where a door jam was located. I easily patched the hole using spray foam. Using simulated smoke for air flow and an infrared camera showing thermal gradients, they found that while air flow does properly go from the kitchen and living room out to the garage, the roof is not well ventilated. We are looking into the insulation blocking air vents and adding a fan on the roof.

American Independence and Self-Reliant Living

As we celebrate today the 240th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in America, we can admire how the founding fathers (and mothers) were dedicated to breaking away from England and becoming self-reliant. That streak of independence needs to happen today as we've become so dependent on government, corporations, and the world economy for our survival.

The Summer 2016 edition of Mother Earth News published an entire issue on Self-Sufficient Living. In one article, a family in Wisconsin shares how they achieved self-reliant living. Their garden on 1/3 acre provides about 70% of their food needs for a family of four. They are very frugal, paid off the mortgage and cars, so can live on about $10,000 per year which they make from running a B&B. They describe how to meet six basic needs: water, shelter, food, energy, finances, and community.

In the modern commercialized world with abundant conveniences, think about how most of us in the western world are not self-reliant and totally depend on society to take care of even our basic needs. What is the risk of our survival individually and as a species by depending on low inflation, ample food, water, and electric supplies, and maintaining a civil society? 

What if humans continue at the present rate of deforestation, what will happen to our air and climate? What if there are food shortages in the western world as there are in so many third world countries? It's easy to think that modern conveniences can last forever but if they don't perhaps survival of the fittest will be those who've learned self-reliant living.

Sustainable Range Management with Bison

Last week we took a family vacation to Santa Fe, New Mexico and one of the fun activities was touring the Pojoaque Pueblo and seeing their bison herd. The Tribal tour guides said they limit the herd to about 25 to make sure they did  not overgraze or compact the soil. As compared with cattle, bison do not rip out the plant roots allowing for vegetation regrowth. Shown in the photo are three bull alpha males; the females and calves were in a secluded area of the pueblo. 

Many western ranchers including Ted Turner are advocating the advantages of bison over cattle for sustainable range management and benefits to our health. 

Rediscovering the iconic "Keep America Beautiful" commercial

In the early 1970's, a very powerful commercial - a public service announcement - was broadcast to promote Keep America Beautiful. The Native American who appeared in the spot was Iron Eyes Cody but many recall him crying when he saw sickening pollution. . Here is a link to the PSA.

I wrote in my first post one year ago about the impact that Chief Seattle and this lost TV ad had on shaping my views about the environment. Last week, I attended a Tribal Caucus meeting and learned about the public service announcement that came out in the 1970's (when I was a teenager). Over these past 40 years we've made much progress but we still have a long way to go for showing respect for others and our Earth. 

Memorial Day: Remembering our Heroes, the Rationing Program, and Celebrating One Year with Conserve & Pro$per

On this Memorial Day holiday, we have so much gratitude to share for our veterans and fallen heroes who've made our country such as great place to live. My Dad and his brother both survived WWII and lived to tell the stories for how they helped to win our freedom. My Mom shared memories as I was growing up of the War Rationing Program to conserve all resources. Each family received a coupon book to purchase food, clothing, shoes, gasoline, and much more. The government wanted everyone to ration goods to help the soldiers and created messages like, "Do with less so they'll have enough." Recycling programs began! My Mom described having to write a letter with only one piece of paper -- so she wrote on both sides, in the margins, and after writing the letter on two sides she turned the paper upside down to print in the spaces between the lines! Talk about being economical! So that's how my parents raised us baby boomers: to be very conservative and not waste anything. 

So we began this blog website one year ago - not for commercial purposes - but to express our first amendment rights - freedom of speech. To share our lifestyle and keep learning more about how we can save and appreciate more through conservation. In coming blogs, I will share recent positive experience with obtaining a home energy audit that is largely sponsored by the utility company. We're evaluating solar panels and electric cars, The hot summer is just beginning and for the first time in Colorado it is legal to capture rain water for irrigation so we are checking into the pros and cons. Future blogs will discuss our support for wildlife conservation groups to protect endangered species including the Asian elephant. Thanks for reading this blog and sharing your ideas!

Lawn Watering during Spring Rains

Yesterday in Grand Junction, Colorado we received about 1/4 of an inch of rain throughout the day. As we dropped our kid off to school we noticed several homes and churches watering their lawns despite the rain. There are rather simple fixes for not water in the rain such as using sensors available at the hardware store or from RainBird (R). I've heard that many of the problems with lawns are caused by improper watering. There is lots of opportunity to conserve and use less of our finite resources.

Ready for Spring in the Valley and Snow in the Mountains

Yesterday in Grand Junction, Colorado we reached 72 degrees F! Seems warm for early March and the trees are beginning to bud. We are happy for the sunshine and getting outside but beginning to feel the start of allergy season with the index going from near zero three weeks ago to the medium level now. We still have more snow skiing we would like to do this year and the forecast is calling for a couple of inches of fresh powder on Sunday night. According to NOAA and the Weather Channel we are still in the El Nino cycle and may get some wet weather in the spring time especially in the southern U.S.

The drought is still very severe in southern California and here is the latest map. Heavy rains up to 18 inches and 4 feet of snow predicted for California today can help with drought conditions but hopefully there we be no severe flooding.

We Need Another Big Miracle of Cooperation and Focus to Save the Earth

Have you seen the 2012 movie Big Miracle?

If you haven't here is the trailer and I do not want to spoil the plot except to say it is a true story about saving California gray whales trapped in Arctic ice.  The plight of three whales becomes an intense survival story as the one pool of open water allowing them to breath is rapidly becoming frozen over. Miracles unfold to save the whales through surprising cooperation in 1988 among Greenpeace, an oil company, the National Guard, Eskimo people, inventors and during the Cold War -- President Reagan asking the USSR for help! 

This week the Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences announced finding that based on fossil evidence sea levels rose faster in the past Twentieth century than the past 27 centuries.

Here is the NRP version of the scientific study.

So we must work quickly to reverse the damage done to the Earth if we want to save precious species including our own. We also need to avoid confusion of short term weather events (e.g. was that storm due to global warming?) and long term trends of climate change. It will take cooperation and focus of the large majority of people working together to create another Big Miracle!

Melting Polar Ice - What about Santa?

This week I started bedtime reading to our 6-year old son the book The New 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do To Save The Earth by the Earthworks Group. The very first chapter discusses Climate Change and What Can Happen: "If the Earth's temperature gets hotter by just a few degrees, polar ice can melt, raising the level of the ocean and wiping out islands and coastal areas."

He immediately felt concern and his first response was, "If the North Pole is melting what's going to happen to Santa Claus?"

Well just about a month after Christmas he is still especially appreciative that Santa was good to him by getting his first skateboard. Meanwhile, his parents have insisted he be very cautious. 

Then we discussed the book section What's Going On: "Factories, electric power plants, and cars are putting too much of one of these gases -- carbon dioxide (CO2) -- into the air." So he asked, "Does our car cause the ice to melt?" We discussed how it is important to drive fuel efficient cars and avoid unnecessary trips, to turn off the lights, plant trees, recycle, etc. and he quickly feel asleep.

While hybrid sales are down, we purchased a safer hybrid SUV saving fuel and CO2 emissions

Last night President Obama mentioned in his State of the Union speech that auto sales set a record in 2015. Over 17.5 million cars and trucks were sold in the U.S. according to the Wall Street Journal. With gasoline prices below $2.00 per gallon, there is a great increase in people buying large fuel inefficient vehicles and hybrid sales are down. So why did we choose to purchase a hybrid vehicle last month?

First of all we are a one car family. It's a challenge at times to carpool but we like to think it keeps our family closer by going places together. We do save a significant amount of money having just one car avoiding many additional expenses. 

We've been looking to replace our 2006 Toyota Matrix for over a year for many reasons including older safety equipment (only two front airbags), poor fuel economy of 20 mpg, and terrible performance going over mountains. The one thing we really liked was that we paid the loan off many years ago making the overall costs of running the car very low. 

We spent many months watching new car videos and strongly considered the VW "clean diesel" prior to the cheating scandal. We considered plug in electric cars but in rural Colorado a bigger car is needed just to get noticed on the highway! We also really like the reliability of Toyota vehicles and got to know many people at our local dealership.

So we discovered a new Rav4 Hybrid compact SUV had all the features we were looking for - at least it appeared on the YouTube videos but they were not available for test driving until December 2015. So first we rented a 2015 Rav4 to test out the features driving into the mountains for the weekend and we really like the performance and extra space for our growing family. 

Speaking of performance, the standard non-hybrid Rav4 has 176 horsepower (hp) while the hybrid model comes with a 4-cylinder 150 hp gasoline engine with 141 hp electric motor for a combined 191 hp of added power. Check out the details on Car and Driver's review. So the added performance of the hybrid plus the improved fuel economy were major factors in our decision: standard non-hybrid model 24 mpg city/31 mpg highway compared to the hybrid model of 34 city/31 highway.

In our case we mostly drive around town with more frequent breaking which regenerates the electric motor providing additional fuel economy. Price difference is about $4,000 more for the hybrid so is it really worth it? We drive on average 15,000 miles per year -- say the hybrid gets an average of 8 mpg better than the non-hybrid then the amount of gasoline consumed is 469 gallons/year for the hybrid and 625 gallons/year for the non-hybrid. At $2.00 per gallon for gas it would take 12.8 years to break even but at $3.00 per gallon of gas it only takes 8.5 years to break even on the extra cost of the hybrid. So is there more to compare than just mpg and cost - what about the environment?

It  amazing to consider that for every 1 gallon of gasoline burned in a vehicle, 20 pounds of CO2 are emitted according to FuelEconomy.gov. So using the same difference in gasoline consumption in the two vehicles equates to a savings of 3,120 pounds of carbon dioxide emitted per year by driving the hybrid. It sounds like a lot but I will need to do more research in future blogs to determine the positive impact - for now it feels good and we can tell people we are trying to 'go green!'

To make the deal more affordable, we found Costco's auto buyers program to determine dealer costs below the MSRP. The extra cost of the hybrid only added about $75 per month to the auto loan. We also got a good deal by trading in the Matrix and this turned out better than any offers we could get by advertising on Craigslist. 

We're especially amazed at the advancements in safety features made over the past decade. Now we have eight air bags which like insurance we hope never to use, backup cameras with bird's eye views, and most impressive are the radar assisted blind spot monitors on the side mirrors. The other evening I backing up the car in a parking lot at night with big vehicles parked on both sides of me and the radar alerted me to a car passing by before I could see the headlights. 

Overall, we are happy with our purchase and glad we made the decision before interest rates go up any higher and snow fell in Colorado! 

Local Medical Professionals Link Improving Our Health To Cleaner Air

Today I learned that Mesa County residents have much higher rates of respiratory illness, including lung cancer, than anywhere in the state. Paula Anderson with Primary Care Partners wrote an article in this morning's newspaper titled: Save the planet by improving life in the valley.

While we live in a small new community with homes on central air and we do not burn wood, I've noticed many homes in the surrounding area burning wood and the smoke has been getting into our home! Several nights I awoke to smelling smoke and coughing. A room sized air filter helped to clean the polluted air once inside but did not stop the problem. This week we cut the outside intake pipe to the HVAC system and now suck air in from the garage. We also added some air filters at the intake and in all the vents. Obviously, we must be careful not allowing car fumes to enter the home. Our next option is to purchase an expensive electrostatic filter system.

We also notice the air pollution from wood smoke getting into our car as we drive and must make sure we are recirculating inside air.  

2015 Year In Review for Conserving and Pro$pering!

We've seen great progress and continued challenges in 2015. While this year will go down as the warmest in recorded human history, there is optimism that 200 governments will take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. still produced about 50% of our electricity from burning coal this year and the alternative renewable sources of solar and wind are rapidly increasing up to about 5% nationwide. Conventional nuclear power and burning natural gas accounted for about 40%. Hydroelectric power from dams also add about 5%. We did not make much progress in reducing our demand on fossil fuels which will only come through new innovative inventions - maybe several are on the way including hydrogen fuel cells, fusion, capturing wave energy, and small modular nuclear reactors. One of the breakthoughs that occurred in 2015 was Tesla Energy announcing capturing sunlight with solar batteries using Powerwall. 

This year auto makers were hit by the VW scandal cheating on emissions testing while Toyota and other brands announced new hybrid models. These events hit home as we shopped for green cars and hoped the new "clean diesels" were for real -- luckily the news broke before we made a regrettable purchase and opted for a hybrid instead. More on this in future blogs.

2015 is the year of the drought although lack of precipitation in the western U.S. is several years in the making. Despite an El Nino weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean bringing 2 feet of snow to the Sierra Mountains, most of California and large parts of Oregon, Washington, and Nevada are still in extreme to severe drought today. 

This year for the first time Colorado has a Water Plan and is developing other plans to deal with natural resource issues. We still use groundwater to make snow and this year we continued to see competition among ski areas for who could open earliest in the season. 

And in 2015 we launched this website blog and company Conserve & Pro$per LLC to be a non-commercial and independent source of information on how we can take action for improving our lifestyles.  Please share your ideas and thoughts about the year!

Extra, Extra Read All About It: Links to World News of UN Agreements to Reduce Greenhouse Gases!

Here are links to 38 articles from news sources around the world announcing that the United Nations made historic agreements yesterday in Paris to reduce greenhouse gas emissions!

With close to 200 countries agreeing to limit emissions and report on outputs to strive towards a balance of carbon sources and sinks, one of the key parts is promoting sustainable development and a more sustainable planet! This agreement will likely create huge incentives promoting clean energy investments. 

The Five Key Decisions Made in the UN Climate Deal in Paris

Bloomberg - ‎5 hours ago‎

Envoys to the United Nations climate talks handed down a 31-page document on Saturday outlining their boldest steps yet to rein in global warming. Here are the key points of the text, along with comment on why the decisions made in Paris matter: ...

Nations Approve Landmark Climate Accord in Paris

New York Times - ‎8 hours ago‎

Traditionally, such pacts have required developed economies like the United States to take action to lower greenhouse gas emissions, but they have exempted developing countries like China and India from such obligations. The accord, which United ...

COP21: UN chief hails new climate change agreement as 'monumental triumph'

UN News Centre - ‎14 hours ago‎

For the first time today, 195 Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – pledged to curb emissions, strengthen resilience and joined to take common climateaction. This followed two weeks of tireless negotiations at the United ...

Paris UN Climate Conference 2015: Climate deal requires $23 trillion investment

Sydney Morning Herald - ‎7 hours ago‎

The deal struck at United Nations climate talks requires an overhaul of historic proportions for energy policies worldwide and a huge investment in cleaning up the pollution now damaging the Earth's atmosphere. What was once unthinkable has now become ...

Draft of Climate Pact Is Ready, UN Officials Say

New York Times - ‎Dec 11, 2015‎

LE BOURGET, France — After almost two weeks of marathon negotiations, the lines for food and coffee on Friday night snaked through the temporary tent city here that has been home to the globalclimate talks. People made final bets in a five-euro pool ...

Paris UN climate conference 2015: Countries strike grand deal to tackle ...

Sydney Morning Herald - ‎16 hours ago‎

Nearly 200 countries have struck a landmark grand bargain on climate change, agreeing for the first time to take action to curb greenhouse gas emissions. After two weeks of grinding negotiations in Paris, nations signed off on the new deal that aims to ...

United Nations Reaches Historic Climate Change Deal

Refinery29 - ‎16 hours ago‎

After more than seven years of negotiating, more than 190 countries have agreed on a climatechange agreement designed to stop the onslaught of global warming. The landmark agreement was reached during the United Nations' COP21 Climate Change ...

Is Hope Possible After the Paris Agreement?

The Atlantic - ‎18 hours ago‎

Christiana Figueres, the UN's lead climate change negotiator and the impresario of Paris, told The New Yorker earlier this year that, “If anyone comes to Paris and has a eureka moment—'Oh, my God, the [national cutbacks] do not take us to two degrees!

What Is Al Gore Saying About The UN Climate Accord?

Bustle - ‎11 hours ago‎

On Saturday, the United Nations finalized the biggest international agreement on climate change ever, an accord signed onto by representatives of nearly 200 countries. It's been a rare cause for celebration by environmentalist groups — even though it ...

UN Climate conference 2015: Energy companies key to climate result

The Australian Financial Review - ‎7 hours ago‎

An evolution in the private sector is crucial, because despite all the powerful language of the Paris agreement, it does not immediately oblige countries to do anything more than what is contained in their already released climate pledges, or "Intended ...

Cheers as French hosts release proposed UN climate-rescue pact

The Tico Times - ‎Dec 12, 2015‎

With 2015 forecast to be the hottest year on record, world leaders and scientists have warned the accord is vital for capping rising temperatures and averting the most catastrophic consequences ofclimate change. If climate change goes unabated ...

BISHOP: HARD WORK FOLLOWS CLIMATE DEAL

NEWS.com.au - ‎14 hours ago‎

The Paris talks have largely been free of the fierce arguments that plagued previous UN climateconferences. Prior to the session, China's top negotiator Gao Feng said “there is hope today” for a final pact, while Marshall Islands Foreign Minister Tony ...

World powers voice support for UN climate pact

Yahoo News - ‎20 hours ago‎

Nations most vulnerable to climate change lobbied hard for wording in the Paris pact to limit warming to 1.5C, warning otherwise rising seas would wipe out low-lying island nations and coastal areas. Big polluters, such as China, India and oil ...

UN Climate Conference 2015: World commits to cutting greenhouse gas emissions

The Australian Financial Review - ‎14 hours ago‎

The landmark United Nations climate agreement has opened the way for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to continue with subtle shifts in Australia's climate change policies despite his promises toclimate change sceptics during his leadership coup to ...

Paris UN climate conference 2015: Is it possible to keep global warming below...

Stuff.co.nz - ‎15 hours ago‎

A recent review by the UN climate body found that when temperatures do rise above 1.5C, polar regions, high mountains, tropics and low-lying coastal regions will be most in the gun. In Africa, the ability to grow food will be hit, particularly for the ...

Paris UN climate conference 2015: Countries strike grand bargain to tackle ...

Stuff.co.nz - ‎15 hours ago‎

The rebuilding of confidence to get to this moment in the United Nations climate negotiations has been slow, but has been aided by external factors including the plunging cost of non-fossil fuel energy and broadening commitments from business and other ...

Highlights Of The Proposed UN Climate Accord

NDTV - ‎10 hours ago‎

Envoys from nearly 200 nations on December 12 adopted to cheers and tears a historic accord to stop global warming, which threatens humanity with rising seas and worsening droughts, floods and storms. (AFP). Le Bourget, France: Envoys from nearly 200 ...

Paris UN climate conference 2015: Historic deal appears imminent

Sydney Morning Herald - ‎Dec 12, 2015‎

An historic global deal to limit and tackle climate change appears imminent after a final draft agreement has been completed at the United Nations conference in Paris. After nearly a fortnight of negotiations, and several days in which exhausted ...

UN General Assembly president welcomes adoption of new climate accord

Manila Bulletin - ‎9 hours ago‎

UNITED NATIONS — UN General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft on Saturday welcomed the adoption of Paris Agreement to tackle climate change, saying that “this agreement reaffirms the value of multilateralism in addressing global challenges.”.

5 takeaways about the climate deal

USA TODAY - ‎14 hours ago‎

To that end, the agreement formally asks the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the U.N. climate science and research body, to issue a special report in 2018 detailing steps needed to reach the 2- and 1.5-degree Celsius targets. The ...

Final draft of climate deal formally accepted in Paris

CNN - ‎18 hours ago‎

... 'The world needs a success.'" Negotiators took a key step December 5 with the release of a draft agreement that has been posted online by the United Nations Framework Convention onClimate Change. That draft has been modified throughout the week.

'Draft agreement ready' at Paris climate summit

FRANCE 24 - ‎Dec 12, 2015‎

Negotiators at the U.N.-sponsored climate summit in Paris have come up with a draft agreement that will be presented to ministers at 10:30 GMT, a French government source said on Saturday. "There is a draft agreement," the source said. "It is being ...

Paris Climate Agreement Promises to be UN Chief's Legacy

IDN InDepthNews | Analysis That Matters - ‎7 hours ago‎

NEW YORK | PARIS (IDN) - Ban Ki-moon has reason to be sure that when he completes his second term as the Secretary-General of the United Nations end of December 2016, he would have left behind a proud legacy.Climate change has been “one of the ...

Paris UN climate conference 2015: World on the cusp of historic deal

Sydney Morning Herald - ‎Dec 12, 2015‎

The world is on the cusp of an historical agreement to tackle climate change after the French organisers of the Paris summit released the final wording of a deal, mapping out compromises on the key disputes that had divided countries. Almost 200 ...

The Latest: UN chief Ban praises Paris climate accord: 'History will remember ...

Newser - ‎17 hours ago‎

Activists dressed like animals stage a die in during a demonstration near the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, Saturday, Dec.12, 2015 during the COP21, the United Nations Climate Change Conference. As organizers... (Associated Press) ...

Nearly 200 nations join together to fight climate change in historic Paris ...

Los Angeles Times - ‎10 hours ago‎

The agreement reflects the first universal environmental accord since signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change began holding meetings around the world in the early 1990s. In 1997, in Kyoto, Japan, only developed ...

It's Not About Warming: Here's Why The U.N. Holds Climate Summits

Investor's Business Daily - ‎Dec 11, 2015‎

In the days leading up to the 21st session of the Conference of Parties to the U.N.'s Framework Convention on Climate Change, hardly a living person could avoid hearing the desperate talk about the Paris summit being our last chance to save the world ...

What Happened At The Paris Climate Talks? Details Of The UN ClimateAccord Are ...

Bustle - ‎20 hours ago‎

Despite the deadly terror attacks that threatened to put a halt to U.N. climate talks, world leaders gathered in Paris last week, determined to begin discussions over new global policy that would help usher in a new era of renewable energy and try to ...

French hosts submit proposed UN climate-rescue accord

Channel News Asia - ‎Dec 12, 2015‎

French President Francois Hollande (left), French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius (centre) andUnited Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrive for a statement at the COP21 ClimateConference in Le Bourget, north of Paris, on Dec 12, 2015. (Photo: ...

UN's climate summit in Paris to overrun as squabbles over global warming cause ...

Daily Mail - ‎Dec 11, 2015‎

The UN's climate talks in Paris are to overrun into Saturday as disputes between countries have caused delays. Campaigners outside the conference have increased attempts to put pressure on world leaders at the talks with protests, including drawing a ...

Scottish First Minister hails "historic" UN climate agreement

Shanghai Daily (subscription) - ‎13 hours ago‎

"This historic agreement sends a signal of certainty about the global economy's low carbon future, in the same way as we did for Scotland through our world-leading climate legislation in 2009. We want to avoid the worst impacts ofclimate change ...

COP21 climate change summit reaches deal in Paris

BBC News - ‎18 hours ago‎

A deal to attempt to limit the rise in global temperatures to less than 2C has been agreed at theclimate change summit in Paris after two weeks of intense negotiations. The pact is the first to commit all countries to cut carbon emissions. The ...

Key points of the draft UN climate accord

The Local.fr - ‎20 hours ago‎

Envoys from 195 nations zeroed in Saturday on a historic climate rescue pact after host France released a final draft for ministers to peruse and adopt. France delivers 'historic' climate-rescue accord (12 Dec 15); Paris climate summit talks go into ...

New UN Report Links Climate Change To Human Rights

CleanTechnica - ‎Dec 11, 2015‎

Published by the United Nations Environment Programme on Thursday — global Human Rights Day — in Paris at the United Nations COP21 climate negotiations, the new report, ClimateChange and Human Rights, aims to provide “a comprehensive study” ...

The Observer view on the Paris climate deal

The Guardian - ‎13 hours ago‎

The sight of grinning delegates, linking arms and laughing, at the end of last night's Paris climatetalks, represents a rare moment of cheer in the normally gloomy business of negotiating carbon emission deals. In 2009 , those talks ended in grim ...

Paris climate change agreement: the deal at a glance

Telegraph.co.uk - ‎5 hours ago‎

"1.5 Degrees" in white neon is lit on the Eiffel Tower in the French capital, as the COP21 United Nations Climate Change Conference takes place at Le Bourget, on the outskirts of Paris Photo: AFP. In order to actually limit warming to that level, the ...

COP21: NGOs react to UN Paris climate deal

Climate Home - ‎15 hours ago‎

“For the first time in history, the whole world has made a public commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deal with the impacts of climate change. Although different countries will move at different speeds, the transition to a low carbon ...

COP21: Global Climate Agreement Reached At United Nations Talks In Paris

Huffington Post UK - ‎3 hours ago‎

Some 196 Countries have agreed a new international deal to tackle climate change following marathon United Nations talks in Paris. Delegates approved the historic agreement on Saturday, with the deal aiming to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas ...

Revolutionizing a Low-Carbon Energy Economy Worldwide: the arguments of Climate Change and Changing Public Opinion

As the United Nations climate change summit begins in Paris, there are optimistic signs of new initiatives. President Obama announced that 20 countries will double their R&D budgets over the next 5 years for clean energy with Mission Innovation. These countries on five continents produce 75% of the world's carbon emissions. Government investments are being made along with private-sector capital such as the Bill Gates led group of billionaire investors creating the Breakthrough Energy Coalition.

While many people remain skeptical that humans can cause global climates to change and if the billionaire investors and numerous governments who are calling for low-carbon energy sources is still not convincing -- consider some of the simple arguments that I have been making for decades. By the way, this controversial topic of global warming became the topic of great debate in my family:

* Burning coal and other fossil fuels causes air pollution smog which can emit radioactivity.

Look what's going on in China: Being outside for 1 hour can reduce your life expectancy by 20 minutes! And cold air inversions trapping pollution is common in many US cities like Denver!

* Scientist have known for 120 years that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide can cause warming and cooling of the atmosphere!

* Recall the concern and ultimate ban on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that caused huge holes in the ozone? I've seen Australian children required to wear sun hats due to increased cancer risk.

* What will happen if we do not take action? Are we seeing an irreversible global meltdown? I am amazed that many business channels  like Bloomberg are now advocating the science of climate change!

* Scientist like to discuss the uncertainty - will the earth warm 2,4, 6, or 8 degrees as various modeling scenarios are used to predict? However, the financial markets and politicians want absolute certainty before taking action. I've felt for a long time that by the time scientists can prove global warming it might be too late - consider that Plate Tectonics is still considered a theory! 

So what are some of the things that we can all do to help  reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions while saving money?  According to EPA there are many things we can do including replacing light fixtures, insulating your home, buying Energy Star appliances, and using water efficiently.

Check your energy provider to see if they offer home energy audits. Xcel Energy provides up to $200 in rebates for having energy audits conducted. Two 250 megawatt power plants have NOT been built in Colorado as a result of energy conservation!

Contact us at Conserve & Pro$per to take action!