WaterWired

AWRA Annual Conference Information Online

The Preliminary Program of the 2007 American Water Resources Association's Annual Meeting is now online here. Join us in Albuquerque at the Embassy Suites Hotel, November 12-15 [Disclosure notice: I am the Conference Chair].

You can click on "Conference Info" for the drop-down menu to see the program and view abstracts. You can also register online and get linked to the hotel for reservations.

There will be 81 concurrent oral sessions (300+ presentations) and 6 poster sessions with 100 posters. We set an all-time record with over 430 abstracts received. Download the Sessions-at-a-Glance below.

Download awra_sessions_at_glance.pdf

Featured speakers will be Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-NM) and Oregon State Rep. Jackie Dingfelder (D).

There will be sessions on: Developing Countries, Hydrophilanthropy, Climate Change, Stormwater Management, Water Policy, TMDLs, Water Quality, Water Planning, Water and Energy, Water Marketing, and many more! There will be panel discussions, and pre-meeting (11 November 2007) workshops and field trips. We will also have a showing of the film Waterbuster, with filmmaker J. Carlos Peinado.

The entire spectrum of water resources will be represented.

Join us in Albuquerque this November for the water event of the year!

"Albuquerque: Next 17 Exits" -- suggested City of Albuquerque motto

Geotimes: Error in NASA Temperature Data Sparks Climate Debate

The magazine Geotimes reported in an article on its WWW site that an error in NASA temperature data has led to a reevaluation of the hottest year in USA history. It is now 1934, not 1998, and global warming skeptics have seized upon this.

The article by Carolyn Gramling reported that NASA claims the revised calculations do not alter USA temperature trends nor do they change the fact that 2005 remains the hottest year worldwide, with 1998 still in second place. The mean annual USA temperatures for 2000-2006 were reduced by about 0.15 degrees Celsius.

NASA noted that the difference between the two years, 0.1 degrees Celsius, is and always has been, within the realm of uncertainty.

The article also has links to some climate blogs and a September 2006 article about the controversy over the "hockey stick" graph by Michael Mann, Raymond Bradley, and Malcolm Hughes.

Definitely worth reading.

Note added after posting (24 August 2007): The 23 August 2007 issue of the Christian Science Monitor also addresses this issue.

"If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?" -- Albert Einstein

Two EPA Climate Change Draft Reports: Comments Requested by 9/10/2007

EPA has just released two draft climate change reports and is requesting comments on them. It is releasing these draft documents solely for the purpose of pre-dissemination peer review under applicable information quality guidelines. The 30-day public comment period for each begins August 10, 2007, and ends September 10, 2007. Technical comments should be in writing and must be received by EPA by September 10, 2007.

1) Climate and Land Use Change Effects on Ecological Resources in Three Watersheds: A Synthesis Report [click here]

2) Preliminary Assessment of Climate Change Effects on Stream and
River Biological Indicators [click here]

NGWA Volunteer Database Now Online

The NGWA’s (National Ground Water Association) Developing Countries Interest Group (DCIG) is developing a searchable database of interested persons who wish to work as volunteers and/or business consultants on water, sanitation, and related projects in developing countries.

The main reason for the development of this database is the overwhelming desire of water professionals to perform pro bono work in developing countries by working with NGOs, PVOs, faith-based, and other organizations. We hope the database will link individuals who wish to donate expertise and/or materials with those organizations who are seeking professional help (volunteer or paid) with water, sanitation, and related projects in developing countries.

Contact information can be submitted directly online including such items as field of expertise, credentials, type of participation, interest level, geographic area of interest, any previous experience working in developing countries, and level of language fluency. This database can be searched using any criteria to find possible contacts.

To post your information to this database or to search for a possible contact, visit: http://info.ngwa.org/dcig/index.aspx. You do not need to be a member of NGWA nor a resident of a particular country (USA, Canada) to use this service. It is open to all.

The mission of our NGWA Interest Group program is to share information and exchange ideas to advance the provision and protection of ground water. For more information about joining our NGWA Developing Countries Interest Group, visit: http://www.ngwa.org/sig/developing/index.aspx. You must be a member of NGWA to join the DCIG.

Steve Schneider (Vice Chair), Randy Taylor (Secretary), and Michael E. Campana (Chair) are the current DCIG officers.

"Handguns allowed; semi-automatic weapons must be checked at reception." -- sign on the door of the Metechi Palace Hotel in Tbilisi, Georgia (before it became a Sheraton).

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) Site: Water Resources

I just got this information from the Enviro-News listserv, a service of USDA's National Agricultural Library (NAL).

Check out this site with downloads and links to FOSS (100+ software applications) in water quality, hydrology, hydraulics. Take a look here.

Enjoy!