Another wonderful weekly post from her! It's fun to build a post around her work.
But first things first...
I frittered away a few hours yesterday (at least I did 60 minutes on the treadmill) watching Canada and the USA play in the gold medal men's hockey game . The Canadians won in overtime, 3-2, on a goal by 22-year old star Sidney "Sid the Kid" Crosby after the USA's Zach Parise had tied the game on a goal with 24 seconds left in regulation. I was hoping to see the USA pull it out, but I can't be too disappointed to see the Canadians win the gold medal.
No regrets - it was one of the best hockey games I had seen in a long time.
And the Canadian women won the gold medal, beating the USA as well.
Finland won the bronze in both men's and women's hockey.
I was reminded of Jerry Seinfeld's bit on why it's better to win the bronze medal than the silver medal. For the bronze medal you often have to win your final game and you're also glad you got something. When you win the silver, you have likely lost your last game and the medal is a constant reminder that you fell short and were a loser. Silver medalists will always wonder 'what might have been.' Bummer. There is actually some research to support this.
Lest you think the above items have no place in a water blog, remember that hockey is played on water.
Back to the matter at hand - water.
Emily's post spent some time on the Chilean earthquake and the tsunami it generated. Solomon Yin, the Director of OSU's Wave Laboratory is quoted. Yes, we have one - one of the best in the world.
The Chilean quake was real biggie - magnitude 8.8 - releasing about 500 times more energy than the Haitian quake. It occurred at the Nazca subduction zone, where the Nazca plate is moving beneath the South American plate.
Subduction zone quakes have the potential to be really huge ones, and here in Oregon we live knowing that one day, we are going to get one, as the Cascadia subduction zone is just offshore. The last big quake occurred in 1700, and history suggests a return period of 300-600 years.
But back to water now - I promise.
The killer whale (I thought we were supposed to call them 'orcas' now?) Tilikum who killed a trainer at San Diego's Sea World made Emily's news. Not the kind of news we like to see.
And speaking of sea life, the aquarium in the Dubai Mall sprung a leak. I believe the tank had sharks. Must have been an exciting shopping day over there.
And a horror movie made the grade, as the producers of 'An Inconvenient Truth' remade George Romero's 'The Crazies.' Can't wait.
And there is the usual 'fun stuff' on the Bay-Delta/California water situation, with the Westlands Water District and DiFi taking front and center. But the the Fresno City Council is right up there. The FCC seems somewhat cool to a proposed water conservation law. Makes sense to me; why should there be a strict water conservation law in Fresno? Let them be as wasteful as the City of Sacramento.
By the way, I'm pleased to report that the NAS Bay-Delta Committee, on which I serve, is nearing completion of its report on the two BiOps. It should go out for review this week.
And how's this for a mixed metaphor:
“We are not yet out of the woods, but the light at the end of the tunnel is getting very bright.” – Contra Costa Water District Assistant General Manager Kurt Ladensack.
Perhaps that light is an oncoming train, Kurt.
There is a good piece on Pakistan and its water woes in the Indus basin. Mismanagement, siltation, and the prospect of reduced water availability. So what are they doing about it? Deflecting attention towards India, of course.
And there is still more: da Vinci, Australia, Florida, soil moisture, and of course, the President of Venezuela.
Happy Birthday, Emily!
“Any cloud that comes my way, I’ll hurl a lightning bolt at it.” – President Hugo Chávez
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