In a long read published in Places, Austin Troy delves into the complicated nexus between the need to increase water resources and decrease energy use, which are both exacerbated by, and exacerbate, climate change.
Troy explores in depth the water needs of Southern California and Arizona, and the power hungry infrastructure needed to deliver that water. In the process he delivers some startling information.
For Southern California, "to get from the Sacramento River to the crest of the Tehachapi Mountains, one year's worth of water requires just slightly less electricity than the combined amount used by all residences in the city of Los Angeles."
"But despite modern materials and engineering methods, the water delivery system of the American West is comparatively ephemeral - for the sole reason that it depends so heavily on energy. We have built major cities in response to the engineered availability of water, and we did so in an era when energy was cheap and apparently plentiful. But ultimately the price of energy might be as destructive to our public water supplies as invading barbarians were to Rome's."
FULL STORY: Thirsty City

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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