Okay, this ain't about water, but don't forget the energy-water nexus.
Here's a report you may find interesting: Renewable Energy on Tribal Lands, by Trevor Erberich and Peter Meisen of the Global Energy Network Institute (GENI).
The requisite blurb that Peter sent in an email:
Historically, Native Americans have been concentrated to sun-baked and
wind-swept lands considered to have marginal value. Now, with the
improvements in renewable technologies, these Tribal lands have vast and
extremely valuable natural resources that Native American Tribes can
develop.
The potential of these resources is enormous. With current wind
technology the Tribal Reservations in the Great Plains could potentially
supply over one-fifth of the United States' total electrical energy
needs. Additionally, Tribes in the southwest desert have an almost
unlimited supply of solar power, and have the potential to power both
homes and buildings on the reservations and provide the Tribes with a
valuable export commodity - clean electricity.
High-voltage transmission enables wind and solar farms on reservations
to be sold to neighboring utilities and make a profit. The wind and sun
are there every day -- an untapped resource that can be harvested for
personal use by the Tribe and derive income by selling the excess.
This kind of development raises the living standards for all members.
Renewable energy provides jobs, a source of rural electrification, and
capital that the Tribe can then reinvest into other projects to benefit
their members. The development of renewable energy on Tribal lands gives Tribes valuable experience in managing a large project which can then be used in other projects that require Tribal cooperation over many years.
Here is our Executive Summary on the development of Renewable Energy on Tribal Lands and the issues surrounding this complex topic.
Hey! Maybe we could use this energy bounty to pump water from the Mississippi River to Las Vegas!
"Treat the earth well. It was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children." -- Native American proverb
It wouldn't be too hard to stretch this concept into something about the WATER/ENERGY nexus ...
The native tribes are undoubtedly entitled to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of acre feet of WATER from the Colorado River...
It would be interesting to offer them part/all of a new NON-TRIBUTARY million acre feet/year fresh water Source that could be developed and stored/ACCUMULATED in the 28.5 million acre foot existing/paid-for Lake Mead for the continued generation of 2000 MEGAWATTS of RENEWABLE ENERGY ...EACH YEAR !
The annual power revenue would be several BILLION DOLLARS plus the marketing of water to California, Arizona and Nevada !
Obviously, there would be lots of other possible beneficiaries of such a procedure to keep Lake MEAD ... FULL... Las Vegas comes to mind ...it would eliminate the need for that giant sucking sound of their forever extending intake pipes in Lake Mead and soon to be last slurps from the critical habitat of the neighboring desert environments NW of the sin city.
The native tribes could also take credit for the restoration of the Colorado River Delta without damage to the environment elsewhere or the water rights of anyone, anywhere ... Something to think about ??
WaterSource/WaterBank waterrdw@yahoo.com
Posted by: Ray Walker | Sunday, 07 June 2009 at 04:55 AM