Droughts cause more than just water restriction in your city or small letters from the water district to conserve. For example, as groundwater is extracted and aquifers dry up, cavities are created that are left unfilled, and we know that’s a problem with earthquakes, as cavities collapse. Imagine a situation like the one that happened in Utah during the Winter Olympics causing a landslide big enough to trigger the Big Fault line under the city? Is this a crazy idea? Did it happen in the Coalinga, California earthquake in the Central Valley after all the oil was removed from the ground? How bad is the drought;
http://www.drought.noaa.gov/
Some may deny Climate Change and Global Warming, even Solar Cycles, and say it’s not as bad as it seems, but the statistics keep coming in and indicate a situation is brewing. May 2001 was the hottest in 137 years in northern Nevada. Las Vegas had 27 consecutive days in the 100. In 2001, Phoenix, also the hottest Reno, set a record of 113 years; Average 8 degrees hotter that year in Nevada. Causing a situation for hydroelectric plants due to record low levels of rainfall this year in Nevada and also other places in Oregon, California, Arizona, etc. Elko Nevada set two records in one month in 2001. Another problem is that less water means hydroelectric plants can’t produce the peak power needed to offset peak usage with air conditioning units in hotter climates causing looming blackouts.
I have always wondered how everything that affects the flows of our civilization is internally related to each other. While studying this problem of water supplies affecting hydroelectricity and looking at the problems in Arizona, I visited the Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant, which is the largest producer of energy in the US. I applauded the expansion, which took place there with the construction of another six additional reactors to put energy into the grid. There are currently three fully operational reactors there.
Meanwhile, during the construction of upgraded power systems, we need to find ways to conserve power during droughts, as it is also hotter, which means heavy use of electrical power. With these issues at hand, there is also an opportunity to conserve energy in HVAC air conditioning units on top of buildings. When drive flanges are clean, they stay cool longer and prevent drives from running constantly and drawing power. A clean HVAC unit is said to be 15-20% more efficient and therefore uses 15-20% less energy. We think this is a great service business in and of itself helping customers save money and helping temporary West Coast power issues. Perhaps many small businesses can help us by improving efficiency and conserving energy.
If energy costs are nearly triple in some markets like San Diego, California, then the 15-20% most efficient units use 45-60% fewer dollars to operate. So a consistent cleanup of 20% cost savings is more than feasible and beneficial for smaller, badder corporations looking to save money and increase shareholder equity and quarterly profits. Companies like Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Big Hotel Chains will have to buy these services. But small business owners can make money doing this and we all save energy. Think of the savings for the government, educational facilities, hospitals and big houses. Think about these factors as everything affects everything else.