Why it matters:
Because these guys put a man on the moon back when computers were the size of a house. And because the benefits of a collaboration like this are bound to reach far beyond Los Angeles.
Recap:
According to a recent announcement from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Pasadena institution (and its governing body Caltech) will be partnering with the City of Los Angeles and the Department of Water and Power to develop new water and energy-saving projects.
Los Angeles and its Department of Water and Power have been on a bit of an eco-friendly binge lately. After enacting mandatory water rationing this Spring, the City and its utility celebrated the 4th of July by declaring independence…from coal. This article by Mother Nature Network introduces the City’s plan to be coal-free by 2020.
And now this: the three year agreement will allow the DWP direct access to JPL’s “extensive expertise in climate change science, remote sensing, environmental engineering and systems design.” Additionally, the utility will tap USC and UCLA to gather pertinent data and, if necessary, to develop the tools and tests to gather that data.
One of the partnership’s first collaborations will be a computer controlled system designed to protect Lake Owens (one of LA’s endangered water sources) from dust.
Commentary:
What perfect timing…the 40th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing; an endeavor some might consider the greatest extreme sports stunt in the history of mankind.
It may not be immediately clear how NASA is going to help LA with its water and power crisis. (Rocket-powered solar panels! Or hello, even better… Solar-powered jet packs!) Well one of the purposes of manned (and unmanned) space flight is to develop new technologies with real world application. Creating water and energy efficiency projects for the country’s largest utility, for example.
Conservation at home is an important step toward sustainability. The DWP provides water and power to more than 3.8 million homes and businesses. This partnership will not only create new systems and services, but will compound the effects of individual efforts. But the results of this partnership go beyond you (no offense), beyond LA, beyond Southern California…to water and power-poor areas the world over.
In the meantime…
Creative Solutions:
- Buy Green Power
- Use Energy Efficient Appliances
- Ease Up on the AC
- Put a Brick in Your Toilet
- (Laundry) Water Your Plants
- Wash Your Clothes in Cold Water
- Install a Low-Flow Shower Head
