In California, 96 million plastic balls have been dumped into the Los Angeles reservoir. The project cost 36 cents a ball and 20,000 have been put into the reservoir. The idea behind these "shade balls", as they're called, is to conserve the water since California has been facing such serious droughts. The balls cover the entire reservoir which prevents evaporation, which saves alot of water. Along with conservation of the water, the balls help to keep the water clean. The plastic balls have previously been used to prevent water evaporation at oil sites, but never in such large of a scale. The usage of these plastic balls is said to help save over 300 million gallons of water a year.
I think that this is a great and very helpful idea. If other areas in California, and other states, can use these shade balls it will help everybody in the long run. Conserving our natural resources is a huge deal and this is helping that effort.
http://www.sciencealert.com/la-is-dumping-millions-of-small-plastic-balls-into-its-reservoir-to-tackle-the-drought
I agree that the conservation of water is important as the world continues to use more and more of it. With this new invention, water can be conserved and shared not only within America but around the world. Losing less water would mean overpopulated, third world countries could gain more access and eventually pull themselves slowly out of poverty. Not only this, but conserving water could also protect against droughts and other natural disasters. With even more technological advances to come, humans may be able to save the Earth with a little conservation and environmental knowledge.
ReplyDeleteJacob and Ciara made some awesome points about how these balls are an inventive solution to the luring water problem in California and other Western states. But I feel that each human decision has an equal environmental decision. By minimizing the open surface area of the reservoir, how is that going to limit animals (most probably birds would be the most impacted) from getting the water? In the article Jacob cited, Science Alert stated that: “they've been used to keep birds away from water tanks at airports.” (http://www.sciencealert.com/la-is-dumping-millions-of-small-plastic-balls-into-its-reservoir-to-tackle-the-drought) If these animals cannot gain access to water-which they have probably been using the Los Angeles Reservoir- they will die. Taking away water from animals to conserve water seems immoral. In addition, science lacks knowledge in regards to the impacts the balls might have on water quality. In recent years, our society has become aware of toxic chemicals released by plastics (mainly BPA). When Ed Oscann, one of the head analysts at the Natural Resource Defense Council, was questioned about the possible issues with the ball solution he stated: “that the shade balls probably won’t release any toxic materials into the water supply.” (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150812-shade-balls-los-angeles-California-drought-water-environment/) Los Angeles is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States. While I feel that the shade balls are an incredible idea, we lack the knowledge to effectively use them-especially when the impacts of a failed attempt could be catastrophic to such a large number of people.
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