Don’t read this post until well after breakfast:
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s plan to slow California’s drought by covering a reservoir with 96 million “shade balls” is sparking debate among experts, who say that the black balls could lead to disaster.
According to Fox News, Garcetti said that the balls, which cost $34.5 million, would block the evaporation of 300 million gallons of reservoir water. The plan is projected to save taxpayers $250 million.
Despite the projected savings, experts have dubbed the balls a “disaster.”
Matt MacLeod, founder of the California biotech firm Modern Moon Farms, said that the black color of the balls would create a “bacterial nightmare.”
“Black spheres resting in the hot sun will form a thermal blanket speeding evaporation as well as providing a huge amount of new surface area for the hot water to breed bacteria,” said MacLeod.
Ew.
You know, they could just build another nuke plant and wire it up to a few desalinization plants, but I suppose that would make too much sense.
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