h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hello, Bob!!

Good to see you. Hope you're doing well, sir!!
Desalination plants are a good solution,Paul. But there is opposition here due to environmental concerns, and it is costly. There is a plant being built in Carlsbad, but it is for brackish water only.

Oh.word!!

I got that mixed up. Carlsbad is indeed an ocean plant. The water made will be costing at least double to produce, though. Most of the other projects deal with brackish saline water.
The other projects are being funded by the state with millions, not billions of dollars at present.

I am all butterfingers this morning.
Heading off for now to keep myself from crashing the site!!

Google "desalination plants in california 2019", and check out the article at Grist.org for a bit of good information.

I don't claim it to be completely authoritative, and I'm not promoting the site, BTW.

Thanks for the link.

You're welcome, Paul.

I'm trying to read a bit more about what's going on in my state. After I finished reading the story on the desalination issue, I read something about how the distinctive odour of growing cannabis has become a major irritant to many residents of Santa Barbara. Seems like Wine Country also has some very angry words for the " weed" farmers up there.

evening mate

email update on something, coming soon ok

Do the green leaves of the Cannabis have a strong smell? I though the smell was mostly a question of the smell of the smoke.

Apparently so, Paul. Either that. or the flower buds which contain the higher content of THC. All I can tell you is that this odour problem is just another in a long list of concerns about the State's legalization process.

We have yet to see a healthy set of revenues from the legal industry, because it's so heavily regulated and expensive. Meanwhile, we're producing so much black market product that is flooded the rest of the country, that our crooks are getting quite rich.

Not what was envisioned here, but likely a logical consequence of the process.

BTW, the smell of the offending crops is compared to that of a skunk. Not something that adds to the enjoyment of tourists.

I grew up in a a swamp. We always had a lot of skunk cabbages growing along the brook. After awhile, you just get used to the odor and even start to like it. The same goes for the odor f chlorine in the pool I swim in. I kind of like it now, after swimming regularly for forty years.

Hmmm...

Sounds logical, mate.

This current use of farmland is new, though, and my guess is it's going to take a lot of time for people up there to get accustomed to the smell.
But, the surrounding homeowners are also concerned about the kind of people that cannibis farming and processing will bring in.

There have been accusations from people about foreign organized crime involvement in the industry, supposedly Russian and Armenian.
I've heard that from other sources as well, but nothing proved yet.

It is interesting how people get used to things like the smells that nature produces.
I was brought up on the south coast of the UK, the smell of the sea was ever-present. You do get to miss it.

It's something that brings back memories,Bob.
In my neighbourhood, we get a lovely smell of honeysuckle and orange blossom every Spring. It helps alleviate the smells that waft in from the local meat processing and fertilizer plants.

I can't complain, they're important parts of the local economy.

Here's a thought

how many times to you hear anyone say - "you can tell the weather" ?


You CAN'T tell the weather
Mother nature is the boss, so it does what it wants