The Green Team: competing in the Californian desert
California’s new heroes

They battle, sweat, laugh and cry: in the Californian desert, Awena, Grace and Soizic push themselves to the limit – and beyond. With the mercury rising above 30 degrees, they run through the desert, take on canoe races and battle against storms and sand on their mountain bikes. The extreme climate drains them of their strength. The region is ravaged by drought; the effects of climate change are omnipresent. California’s residents have come up with some clever ideas to preserve their land.

Soizic, Awena and Grace (f.l.t.r.) compete in the Californian desert. The race takes them through some extraordinary scenery.
(Photos: © Raid Amazones)

A 28-kilometre mountain-bike race – a strenuous struggle with sand, cactus needles and rocky bends for the athletes.
(Photos: © Raid Amazones)

A 15-kilometre canoe course awaits the women on the Salton Sea, California’s largest lake.
(Photos: © Raid Amazones)

The Amazons support each other and cheer on the three fledgling canoeists from Nantes.
(Photos: © Raid Amazones)

Grace, Soizic and Awena enjoy their adventure as Team 71.
(Photos: © Raid Amazones)

California’s residents are more aware of the challenges facing the region than anyone else. They see the effects of climate change every day: the ground is extremely dry, green spaces wither away, the residents are urged to save water. At the same time, the local inhabitants are creative: they are constantly putting pressure on decision-makers, coming up with new climate protection projects and demonstrating how every single person can help protect California.

Resident role models

GRACE – researchers measure up

What causes prolonged drought? And how much longer will groundwater be a viable resource? These are the questions driving the work of water scientist Jay Famiglietti. On behalf of NASA, he is looking at how the earth’s water reserves are changing. Famiglietti's home state of California is a particular concern. (Photo: Riley Kern)

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GRACE – researchers measure up

The expert

Jay Famiglietti lives for his science; he has been researching climate change for more than 25 years, looking at the effects it has on the hydrological cycle and groundwater reserves. “We take water for granted, yet we can’t live without it.” The respected researcher is the senior water scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The laboratory builds satellites for the US Space Administration; Famiglietti and his team evaluate the data. He lectures at the UCI University of California, Irvine, and hopes to pique his students’ interest in hydrology, the science of water on the earth’s surface.

The project

Famiglietti and his team track water resources on the earth’s surface and watch how they change. They are currently analysing data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), a mission involving both NASA and the German Aerospace Center. “GRACE is like a scale in the atmosphere that we can use to measure the rise and fall in water resources all around the world,” explains Famiglietti. His research team wants to use GRACE to measure the thickness of snow coverage and to find out how quickly glaciers and the poles are melting.

The goals

Many people still reject the idea of climate change, especially in the US. Famiglietti wants to open their eyes and make them see the consequences of global warming. “My aim is to understand how climate change and population growth impact on the drinking water we have at our disposal,” explains Famiglietti. “Like many other large cultivation regions around the world, California suffers from a chronic shortage of water: for a long time now, there has been an imbalance between the availability of and demand for water.” He hopes to use the results of his NASA research to persuade politicians and decision-makers to do more to protect water resources.

The results

Initial findings: since 2011, California’s river basins have been losing 15 cubic kilometres of water every year – more than what the local residents consume annually. Two thirds of this loss are a result of the declining groundwater level. Snow coverage in the Sierra Nevada is the thinnest it has been in 500 years. The groundwater level is at an all-time low and is dropping further – by up to five centimetres a month. “Our work portrays an unsettling image of a future in which the fight for drinking water will become increasingly difficult,” summarises Famiglietti in view of his initial findings.

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Cash for Grass – the new green

Lush green lawns right in the middle of Nevada’s desert: a sight John J. Entsminger can no longer stand. His non-profit organisation awards up to 300,000 US dollars per year to people who replace their lawns with desert plants, thus saving a great deal of water. (Photo: Southern Nevada Water Authority)

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Cash for Grass – the new green

The expert

John J Entsminger is passionate about protecting water: he set up Cash for Grass in Southern Nevada in 1999. The lawyer promotes the economical use of water in the desert region and was involved in drawing up an international agreement to protect Lake Mead. He advises the Southern Nevada Water Authority in his role as legal representative and has headed up the non-profit organisation since 2014. With its progressive water saving programmes, the organisation is a real pioneer; many towns in the dry western region of the US have since adopted the Cash for Grass project.

The project

The Southern Nevada Water Authority has declared war on green spaces: it pays households and companies more than 20 dollars per square metre to part from their lush green lawns. Instead of thirsty grasses and flowers, Entsminger and his colleagues want to see more plants that are native to the desert: they give participants advice on alternative planting, show them model gardens and regularly honour the most beautiful gardens.

The goals

Las Vegas is ruled by excess. Magnificent gardens are as much part of the desert metropolis as blackjack and roulette. But rich greenery pushes the demand for water sky high: every square metre of lawn guzzles more than 1,100 litres per year. By way of comparison: watering four square metres with a sprinkler consumes the same amount of water as taking a shower. Entsminger’s organisation was no longer prepared to sit back and watch this extravagance, which is why it encourages the use of plants native to the desert. “People tend to associate drought-tolerant landscapes with the kind of scenery featured in westerns,” explains Entsminger. “We want to show that water-saving planting can look good too.”

The results

„The residents and local businesses in Southern Nevada are the real climate heroes,“ comments Entsminger. Since Cash for Grass was set up, 48,000 households have already got involved and more than 17 square kilometres have been replaced – that’s an area five times the size of New York’s Central Park. This has resulted in a saving of 37 billion litres of water over the past year – roughly the same amount as what the residents of Frankfurt am Main use annually. By 2035, the Southern Nevada Water Authority wants to reduce water consumption in Las Vegas by 60 per cent – they have already managed to achieve 37 per cent.

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Shade balls – protecting water

An oversized ball pool is set to protect the largest reservoir in Los Angeles from drying up. Millions of shade balls – black balls the size of apples – cover the entire surface of the Sylmar reservoir. (Photo: Flickr / Eric Garcetti / CC BY 2.0)

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Shade balls – protecting water

The expert

He has been representing the interests of Hollywood stars since 2013: Eric Garcetti is the first Jewish and, aged 45, youngest mayor of Los Angeles. The politician is an active campaigner when it comes to climate protection and calls on his residents to save energy and water. In August 2015 he successfully released the final 20,000 shade balls into the Sylmar reservoir. “In the midst of California’s historic drought, we need bold ideas to protect our drinking water,” says Garcetti. His family are already in their fourth generation in Los Angeles. He and his wife have seven children.

The project

A total of 96 million shade balls were released into the Sylmar reservoir – a chain linking all these balls would stretch from Los Angeles to Prague. The hollow black balls are filled with water to stop them from blowing away. They are made of polyethylene and therefore pose no harm when coming into contact with drinking water. The shade balls will remain in the water for ten years before being recycled. The balls were inspired by the use of “bird balls” at airports, which deter birds from landing in ponds. It was a retired biologist who came up with the idea of repurposing them. Between 2008 and 2012 the city was already trialling the concept in three smaller reservoirs.

The goals

Shade balls are intended to protect the water’s surface from the sun’s rays, thus preventing valuable drinking water from evaporating. They also prevent pollution caused by algae, animals or rubbish.

The results

In the enormous Sylmar reservoir, the shade balls safeguard 1.2 billion litres of water from evaporation every year – around the same amount that would be needed to fill 480 Olympic swimming pools. “That’s more than a billion litres that can be used to combat drought,” praises Mayor Garcetti. Moreover, the balls prevent harmful substances from forming in the water. “The shade balls are working just as intended,” comes the summary from the waste water authority. Los Angeles was also able to save money with the little balls: the project cost a total of 34.5 million dollars; covering the reservoir with tarpaulin would have cost at least 250 million dollars more.

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Photos: ©Raid Amazones