California
coastal power plants have been instructed to reduce their impact on
marine wildlife by phasing out a process known as "once-through"
cooling. In its circulation of billions of gallons of ocean and estuary
water every day, this process has been inadvertently destroying
countless fish, larvae and eggs, as well as causing the loss of 62,000
endangered delta smelt every year.
Following a nine-hour public
hearing, the Water Resources Control Board voted unanimously to adopt
new regulations for the state’s 19 power plants, which are being offered
alternative cooling methods such as closed-cycle cooling systems or
other structural changes.
Many thanks, California state
regulators for your commitment to protecting the health of aquatic
habitats. May such eco-friendly processes become the norm for the
flourishing of all life in California's waters, and beyond.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi.f=/n/a/2010/05/04/state/n152538D73.DTLhttp://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100504-722438.html.mod=WSJ_latestheadlines