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posted by Cactus on Monday February 17 2014, @07:01PM   Printer-friendly
from the It's-getting-hot-in-here dept.
similar_name writes:

As part of a project developed by San Francisco area start-up WaterFX, a giant solar receiver in Firebaugh, CA, rotates to track the sun and capture its energy. The 377-foot array, however, does not generate electricity, but instead creates heat used to desalinate water. The goal is to tap the abundant, if contaminated, resource in this parched region: the billions of gallons of water that lie just below the surface.

The water is tainted with toxic levels of salt, selenium and other heavy metals that wash down from the nearby Panoche foothills, and is so polluted that it must be constantly drained to keep it from poisoning crops. This, coupled with the record-breaking drought that California is facing means that irrigation costs are going to double or triple as farms are forced to buy water on the spot market.

"Food prices are going to go up, absolutely", said Dennis Falaschi, manager of the Panoche Water District. "This year, farmers in the Panoche district will receive no water. Last year, they received only 20 percent of their allocation", Mr. Falaschi said. In 2012, the allocation was 40 percent. Farmers elsewhere who rely on the State Water Project to irrigate 750,000 acres of farmland will also receive no water in 2014.

 
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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by SurvivorZ on Monday February 17 2014, @07:37PM

    by SurvivorZ (792) on Monday February 17 2014, @07:37PM (#984)

    California is so dry that the ocean is receding [/sarcasm].

    Most of my parents' neighbors have resulted to ripping up their grass and converting their yards into rock gardens, which is much more apropos for the climate than the water-hungry Bermuda grass.

    The HOA is having a fit, tho.

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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by cwix on Monday February 17 2014, @07:52PM

    by cwix (873) on Monday February 17 2014, @07:52PM (#994)

    HOA too often cause more problems then they solve.

  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Vanderhoth on Monday February 17 2014, @07:54PM

    by Vanderhoth (61) on Monday February 17 2014, @07:54PM (#995)

    Grass looks nice, but it's a pain to keep healthy. I just grow weeds instead. Actually violets and clover are really nice. Clover especially gets soft and think with no extra work. I don't have to do anything to them and they don't get very tall so less mowing in the summer.

    I have one or two weeks a year where my yard is embarrassingly yellow from dandelions and I have to mow them down every other day, but otherwise it's not bad. I feel bad for my neighbor who spends 3+ hours a day, 6+ hours on weekends, caring for his lawn. Probably because of the jerks in the neighborhood that let their dandelions grow and go to seed. The first year I owned my house I spent every waking moment (rain or shine) out in the yard pulling dandelions, I had my yard looking really good, then I noticed the guy across from me just let his yard go to seed. The dandelions grew back with a vengeance the following year.

    --
    "Now we know", "And knowing is half the battle". -G.I. Joooooe
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by hemocyanin on Monday February 17 2014, @08:41PM

      by hemocyanin (186) on Monday February 17 2014, @08:41PM (#1051) Journal

      Dandelions are flowers. Why does everyone hate flowers so much?

      • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Vanderhoth on Monday February 17 2014, @09:04PM

        by Vanderhoth (61) on Monday February 17 2014, @09:04PM (#1078)

        I like them. I made a good wine with the crop from year two. The dried roots make good coffee.

        --
        "Now we know", "And knowing is half the battle". -G.I. Joooooe
      • (Score: 3, Informative) by dry on Tuesday February 18 2014, @03:19AM

        by dry (223) on Tuesday February 18 2014, @03:19AM (#1348) Journal

        They're also really good for the ground. The tap roots break through any layers of hard pan and such and reach into the subsoil. This brings nutrients up and also creates passages for earthworms which then also brings up nutrition. Helps keep oxygen in the soil as well. Roots need oxygen.
        As well as mentioned the flowers are good for wine, the leaves and roots are edible though bitter.

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  • (Score: 1) by Cactus on Monday February 17 2014, @09:13PM

    by Cactus (32) on Monday February 17 2014, @09:13PM (#1088) Journal

    A lot of Cali lawns are going to look like AZ and NM lawns pretty soon, I think.