Sachin Shah
There’s only 3 months left in 2015 and it’s been a doozy in the environmental world to say the least. Climate treaties, continued droughts, unprecedented flooding, and technology advances in solar power and water treatment have all taken center stage. Sure, scientists know the nuances of these issues, but these problems are complex and are going to be around … Read more
The Lower Colorado River Authority, the largest water and power supplier in Central Texas, has authoritatively said NO to releasing data backing their claim that a $255 million reservoir it is building in southeast Texas won’t reduce freshwater flows into Matagorda Bay enough to hurt aquatic life. That’s right. Aquatic life that is essential for a … Read more
This week I’ve been traveling through Northern California. What started as a simple visit to see my sister ended up as an opportunity to learn about the massive California drought and the state’s water conservation efforts. We think of the drought as being a Southern California issue but Northern California is experiencing water shortages as … Read more
Rarely are sprinkler systems researched to determine nuanced solutions for a widespread drought. But in Southern California, that is exactly what the Fontana Public Works Department is doing. I was skeptical at first. How does a small municipal department collect enough data to measure current water application and compare it to a scientifically determined target? You’d have … Read more
A VERY cool open source visualization tool of real-time global weather conditions forecast by supercomputers is now available. The data is updated every three hours. Features of the tool include: ocean surface current estimates updated every five days ocean surface temperatures and anomaly from daily average (1981-2011) updated daily ocean waves updated every three hours A free version of … Read more
In just under 24 hours on Memorial Day 2015, more than 8 inches of rain swamped Houston, Texas. The Memorial Day flooding was yet another chapter in Houston’s long flood history. Freeways, homes and buildings were submerged, trapping vehicles and triggering gridlock in some areas. According to the Harris County Flood Control District’s network, rain totals … Read more
Water stress is growing worldwide. Over the past 10 years, water stress is more severe in China, South Asia, and the Western United States. Study after study proves that this increased stress is attributed to growing demand for freshwater and supply shortages. Shifting global precipitation patterns from climate change are the culprits. The graph below … Read more
There is no lack of environmental issues in Houston including floods, droughts and periods of poor air quality. Luckily, Houston has engaged citizens that build awareness and stimulate discussion about environmental issues in the region. I sat down with Rachel Powers, the executive director of the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition. She was gracious enough to talk to … Read more
We collect a lot of water data. From utility districts to the USGS, there are all sorts of agencies spending millions of dollars to collect information on streamflow, groundwater, subsidence, and soil moisture. Then they store this data in siloed databases. But these databases don’t speak the same language. Access to water data across states … Read more
The Houston Parks Board is embarking on an exciting capital project: Bayou Greenways 2020. It will significantly expand and enhance Houston’s parks system, creating a continuous network of 150 miles of parks and trails along Houston’s bayous. I sat down with Roksan Okan-Vick, the executive director of the Houston Parks Board, to talk about Bayou … Read more