....“Thoughts from Under the Palm”....: March 2014

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

"Water, Water Everywhere, Yet..."

I spent an evening recently with a neighbor who works for one of the local oil companies, one that works the oil platforms off the Goleta coast. As one who tends to vilify the oil companies for their use and potential abuse of enormous quantities of water in a drought stricken area, I was a bit nervous when our conversation began. But it took an interesting turn.

My neighbor’s truck glistens in his driveway. He washes his truck almost daily at the plant where he guides the inflow of oil through enormous pipes from the offshore wells. To wash his truck, he uses a special mineral free water that leaves absolutely no residue on the paint surfaces when it dries. Where does he get this water? They make it at the plant where he works. From what? From sea water.

Whoa, there. Aren’t we talking about desalination? The means for obtaining fresh water from sea water that the Central Coast of California so desperately needs? In fact, yes.

The city of Santa Barbara built a desalination plant. It was completed in the early 1990’s in a knee-jerk reaction to drought conditions at that time. But once nature replenished the water supply, the plant was left to go idle. To restore it would require $20 million and then the cost per acre-foot to filter the water would be $1500. When - if - it rains, water from Lake Cachuma Reservoir will be much cheaper. If.

A desalination plant requires a large amount of energy to run it. That is costly. But just down the road in Goleta, the oil company where my neighbor works has lot’s of energy. So much gas rolls in along with the oil through those pipes that they have to burn it off. That’s a lot of energy.

And they have their own desalination plant. Oil companies need large sources of water just a badly as farmers do. They need it for water flooding into reservoir formations to maintain pressure and to force oil out of the production wells. Some use sea water. But they have found that the high sulfate in sea water can combine over time with barium and strontium in original reservoirs to diminish output of the wells. Brine bacteria that feeds on sulfate can produce hydrogen sulfite and sour a well. Consequently, the oil companies have need of sulfur filtration systems.

But the oil and gas sector also have substantial wastewater treatment needs for the water issuing from the wells along with the oil and gas. As a well ages, the volume of this water increases and the need for water treatment increases as well. Finally, the oil companies have found that low salinity water actually increases oil recovery. The industry has begun to invest in low salinity membrane technology. But the costs are high.

You see where I’m going with this. There is enormous potential for partnering with oil companies in the production of desalinated potable water. Investing in the oil companies to invest in treating wastewater and desalinate sea water makes sense. The oil companies get to work closely with the communities that regulate them, gain financial support for their water treatment efforts, and build a potentially lucrative avenue for diversification. The cities gain the costly energy to power the desalination plants, a new water source for less, and assume a position more conducive toward encouraging the oil companies to transition to cleaner energy sources and means. It is a partnership in the best interests of everyone - and the planet.

Sources: Camillia Lanham; “Searching for Water”, The Sun 3/6/14.
“Changing Needs in Off Shore Oil Production”; Waterworld.com

Leadership Thoughts to Ponder

"If carbon dioxide continues to increase, the study group finds no reason to doubt that climate changes will result and no reason to believe that these changes will be negligible."

National Academy of Sciences Ad Hoc Study Group, 1979

"Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."

Abraham Lincoln

"Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones."

Winston Churchill

"…Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.”

Martin Luther King , Jr.

"If you wanted to create an educational environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you probably would design something like a classroom."

John Medina

"I am confident that if we change the way we think about the environment, the value we place on the planet from an economic standpoint and the role that powerful industries play in our political systems, we can make a bold step forward toward a clean-energy future."

Al Gore

"If those of us concerned about climate change turn out to be wrong - but we refocus America anyway...our country will have cleaner air and water, lower energy bills, and healthier people. And what if the climate skeptics...who say climate change is a hoax turn out to be wrong - but we listen and do nothing?"

Thomas Friedman: Hot, Flat, and Crowded.

"Make no mistake: catastrophic climate change represents a threat to human security, global stability, and - yes - even to American national security."

U.S. Senator John Kerry

Helpful Books for Thinking About Leadership Education

What is Leadership Education Resources (LER)?

LER, a division of Rich Gamble Associates, is a think tank and resource center for those endeavoring to teach leadership, character, and values in schools. Whether writing, introducing, or administering a full school curriculum, a one year program, or seeking methods to enhance the skills of your current student leaders, Leadership Education Resources offers the organization, planning concepts, individual lesson plans, training methods, and even complete leadership curricula specific to your needs. Read Rich's article "Fostering Future Leaders" published in Independent School Magazine in Spring of 2009.