California Activists Want Water Restrictions On Oil Industry -- April 2, 2015

Yesterday Governor Brown announced state-wide water restrictions in California. The oil and gas industry was not mentioned; I was curious. A reader sent a link confirming that the California oil and gas industry was not mentioned with regard to water restrictions which has activists upset. The Jamestown Sun is reporting:

California’s oil and gas industry uses more than 2 million gallons of fresh water a day to produce oil through well stimulation practices including fracking, acidizing and steam injection, according to estimates by environmentalists. The state is expected to release official numbers on the industry’s water consumption in the coming days.

It turns out that much of the water used by the oil and gas industry in California is returned to agriculture.

Regardless, I doubt the California oil industry can sustain many more hits. Be that as it may, I have no dog in this fight, either.

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When The Wind Doesn't Blow, The Sun Doesn't Shine, The Water Doesn't Flow

FoxNews is reporting:

This winter's record-low snowfall means less hydroelectricity for California.

Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada stands at 12 percent of average. Energy officials say that means less melting snow throughout the year to run the turbines at dams.

California Energy Commission Chairman Robert Weisenmiller says it will force the state to increase its use of fossil-fuel-burning power plants. The state says it will also seek to import more electricity from states not hit as hard by drought.

The nonprofit Pacific Institute calculates that California ratepayers have already paid $1.4 billion more in utility costs because of the falling snowpack and hydro power. The center says using more natural-gas-fired power plants has increased greenhouse-gas emissions by 8 percent.

Global warming death spiral? No, even warmists say that the continuing California drought has nothing to do with global warming.