DEVELOPING WATER UTILITY TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES

For countless centuries, humans, and pre-humans, have drunk and used untreated water from rivers, lakes, springs and other raw sources. As a result, they often fell victim to water borne illnesses such as typhoid and cholera. Finally, at the start of the 20th Century in the United States, water utilities began to employ a disinfection treatment technology called chlorination.

Subsequently, because of chlorination, drinking water generally was perceived as safe. However, with the advent of more extensive regulation of drinking water by states and ultimately by the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, new technologies were developed as alternative disinfection protocols and also to control other contaminants. These technologies, many of which today are employed either instead of chlorination or in addition to it, include ultraviolet light, ozone, membranes, reverse osmosis and ion exchange.

A recent published article advises that notwithstanding these existing technologies, testing of new treatment protocols continues today.* Examples discussed in the article include:

* application of ferrate, an ion of iron. It can work as a disinfectant and can breakdown carbon chemical contaminants for easier filtration.

* using electrochemical membranes which filter and also break down contaminants through chemical reactions.

* breaking down certain industrial chemicals called PFAS using ultraviolet light and sulfite.

The ongoing advances in treatment technology research is both impressive and comforting, when one reflects on a comparison with water treatment prior to 1900.

__________________________________________

* Hamers, "Drinkability", Science News,
November 24, 2018, p.18

© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

LET'S ALL DO THE TWIST

Those who may be considered to be mid-century modern in age may recall a brief dance craze in the early 1960s made popular by Chubby Checker's "The Twist." It was a rather simple gyration procedure for teenagers, but as one would age, bending the body repeatedly into a pretzel was not necessarily knee and hip friendly. Who knows, maybe the twist helped to generate the joint replacement industry of today--an ironic twist in its own right.

Science has produced countless achievements which have enhanced our lives in many ways. Consider the following recent development. In eating spaghetti, many people apparently are troubled by the long noodles. Sometimes, it is a challenge to get them into the mouth without slobbering over one's shirt, face or table. To mitigate this issue, some meal preparers seek to break the raw noodles in half prior to cooking. The shorter lengths then would become more mouth friendly. However, when long, raw spaghetti noodles are hacked in half, they tend to splinter into small fragments. Apparently, for some, the result just is not spaghetti.

Now, scientists have discovered that vibration of the long raw noodles when broken in half causes the splintering into small pieces. However, scientists also have discovered that when the long, dry noodles are first twisted before being broken in half, the resulting vibration is weakened by the twisting and does not cause further fragments.*

So, doing the twist before bending each long dry noodle in half will do the trick. And there should be no strain on the knees or hips. Thank you science.

_________________________________________

*Temming, "How Not To Shatter Spaghetti",
Science News, September 29, 2018, p. 5

© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

GO CHEESE NECKS!

Mention "Cheese Heads", and we automatically think of Wisconsin and exurberant fans of the Green Bay Packers wearing their quaint headgear resembling huge slabs of cheese. Presumably, cheese head hats are derived from the well earned native reputation for making of all things cheese, not to mention beer, of course.

According to a recent published report, the concept of wearing a cheese head hat may actually have evolved, as Darwin might say, from an ancient Chinese ritual.* The report states that archaeologists found 3,600 year old cheese curds draped around the necks of Bronze Age mummies in China. So, should these mummies be called "Cheese Necks" with their expectation of enjoying curds in the afterlife? In Wisconsin, one may find curds available for consumption at bars and groceries, but there does not seem to be any report of wearing curds around necks.

The same article reports the find of a 3,200 year old slab of solid cheese in the Egyptian tomb of the mayor of the city of Memphis. There was no indication that the slab was around his neck or even on his head. Oh well, that's how the world curds.

*Martin, "Egyptian Tomb Held 3,200-year-old cheese." Science News, Sept. 15, 2018, p.5
© Daniel J. Kucera

SIMPLER TIMES

We were driving on a vacation in one of the western U.S. states, enjoying stunning scenery, great accommodations and delicious food. Some of the small towns through which we passed appeared to be frozen in a prior time--and in a good way. For some-the 1950s perhaps.

For example, outside a coffee break cafe,in a picture perfect how-the-American west-should look kind of town, I grabbed a local newspaper--one of those bulging with grocery and other advertising inserts, and peppered with chatty mom and pop stories and detailed high school football scores. Front page advertised a Garlic Festival I think. It had a page called "police blotter." You can tell a lot about a town simply by reading its police blotter. I was intrigued by the following excerpts:


Tuesday,9:30am A resident reported seeing someone trying to break into a vehicle. Turns out the person was just locked out of their own car.

Tuesday,12:02pm A man reported that the person he hired to rebuild the roof of his house called it quits halfway through the project.

Tuesday,3:30pm Transients were camping down by the river.

Sunday,7:23 am A couple's marriage of just 48 hours went south when the groom apparently drove off with the couple's U-Haul full of belongings never to be seen again.

Sunday,7:45 am A man in a red hat was walking in the middle of the road.

Sunday,11:52 am A man called 911 because his grandson was "tipping things over."

Sunday,1:10 A man was wandering around his neighborhood screaming, "Everyone can burn in hell". It was clear he was not having a great Sunday.

Sunday,7:08 pm A man reported that someone stole his long board and he knows who did it. Soon after he called back to report that he had found his long board. Apparently he just misplaced it.

Sunday,7:58 am A woman who doesn't know much about technology" accidentally called 911.

Monday, 5:28 am A man called to report that his neighbor's dog had been barking for more than a week. He thinks the neighbor has gone on vacation.


There was something appealing about this police blotter. There was no mention of the now common urban stresses such as serious crimes, riots, protests and general displays of anger--things commonly encountered in print, television, radio and internet these days. Small towns have plenty of stresses-- alcohol and drug abuse, domestic problems and often in the mining west, high unemployment. But this blotter had none of that. I feel really bad for the woman who's husband left. I wonder if he was the same guy wearing the red hat.


© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

ARE SMART METERS CONSTITUTIONAL?

The United States Court of Appeals,7th Circuit, addressed this question last month.*

A city owns and operates an electric utility system that serves its residents. The city embarked upon a program to replace all electric meters with digital smart meters. With these meters, the city collects usage data every 15 minutes. Accordingly, the meter can not only show the amount of electricity usage but also when it was used. The Court noted "this data reveals information about the happenings inside a home."

Plaintiffs, a group of customers, asserted that smart meters disclose "intimate personal details of the City's electric customers such as when people are home and when the home is vacant, sleeping routines, eating routines, specific appliance types in the home and when used." They contended that collection of such data is an unreasonable search under the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution and an unreasonable search and invasion of privacy under the Illinois Constitution. The Fourth Amendment protects the right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects from unreasonable searches. The Illinois provision is similar, but also refers to invasions of privacy. The Court said that these assertions raised two questions: is data collection by smart meters a "search".. If so, is the search "unreasonable."

Is Data Collection A Search?

The Court stated that at the core of the Fourth Amendment is "the right of a man to retreat into his own home and there be free from unreasonable government intrusion." The Court discussed a 2001 US Supreme Court decision** that held law enforcement had searched a home when it collected thermal images of the home. The Supreme Court stated "Where...the Government uses a device that is not in general public use, to explore details of the home that previously have been unknowable without physical intrusion, the surveillance is a 'search.'

The Court of Appeals concluded that collection of data by the smart meters is a "search." It stated: "The ever-accelerating pace of technological development carries serious privacy implications. Smart meters are no exception. Their data, even when collected at fifteen minute intervals reveals details about the home that would be otherwise unavailable to government officials with physical search."

Is The Search Reasonable?

The Court stated that if the search is reasonable, the city may collect data from the meters without a warrant. It noted that collection of the data is less invasive that the typical Fourth Amendment search of a home. It also said the city did not have a law enforcement intent because the data was collected and reviewed by its public utility personnel. The Court concluded that the search is reasonable. "Smart meters allow utilities to reduce costs, provide cheaper power to consumers, encourage energy efficiency, and increase grid stability. We hold that these interests render the city's search reasonable, where the search is unrelated to law enforcement, is minimally invasive, and presents little risk of corollary criminal consequences."

So, the Court summarized its holding: "this collection constitutes a search. But because of the significant government interests in the program, and the diminished privacy interests*k at stake, the search is reasonable."

______________________________________

*Naperville Smart Meter Awareness
v. City of Naperville, No. 16-3766,
August 16, 2018

**Kyllo v. United States,
533 U.S. 27 (2001)

© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

WHERE HAVE ALL THE BUGS GONE!

Pop...splat...another bug splashes across the windshield as we drive along a country road. Soon, the glass resembles a bad case of measles. That is the way it always has been, forcing one to squint between the debris.

For example, years ago, I was driving in Minnesota one early evening in our 1954 Ford Ranch Wagon. We did not have a ranch and the car did not have a radio, air conditioning and, most importantly, a windshield washer. Suddenly, there came a cloud of grasshoppers--like a plague of locusts in olden Egypt. The windshield wipers only smeared body parts into a thick mesentery, causing us to pull over every few miles and attempt to clean the mess.

Once in South Dakota, we stopped at an anonymous hamburger joint for a luncheon hamburger, of course. Declining to dine inside due to prevalent flies, we decided to dine in the car. There we enjoyed watching hordes of huge flies themselves dining on all the bugs splatted on the windshield. The view was not appetizing, matching the nature of the sandwich, so we offered them to the flies, as well.

Fast forward to last weekend. We were driving through southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois for two days. Not a single bug tarnished our windshield during that trip. When we returned home, the windshield was perfectly clear-- or, I should say--as clear as it was when we began the trip. So, where have all the bugs gone?

One explanation might be that modern cars have more of a slant in the windshield and are more aerodynamic--bugs are blown away before they can splat. Perhaps another explanation could be that we were driving on roads that ran along farm fields of corn and soybeans. Could it be that pesticides applied in those fields affected the bug population?

Of course, there does not appear to be a bug shortage generally. This Summer, for example, the Japanese beetle population was thriving on our bushes. All that they seem to do is eat the leaves and have sex, generally it seems doing both at the same time.

And, in the Fall, we share our house with stink bugs and Asian fake ladybugs (orange, not red) which somehow find ways to enter. Thankfully, some spiders seem to come along, too.

I find the clear windshield phenomenon to be perplexing. I suppose I should be happy there are no bug splats. Nevertheless, it bugs me. Why are there no bugs hitting the windshield? Like everything else that we cannot explain--it must be climate change.


© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

CLIMATE CHANGE: NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN?

Many agonize that the Earth today is experiencing climate change which will have adverse impacts. These believers may wish to refresh their understanding of observations made by a wise man named Solomon:

"Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
All streams flow into the sea,
and yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
the eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
What has been will be again;
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there any thing of which one can say,
'Look! This is something new?'
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
No one remembers the former generations,
and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow them."*

It is undeniable that the Earth has experienced countless climate changes since its creation. Climate change is in its DNA. A simple example is evidenced in a recent article which discusses a project to inspect annual growth rings of oaks, pines and junipers across the northern Great Plains. Growth rings were measured by extracting cores with incremental borers. The article states that tree rings reflect patterns of temperature and rainfall, providing a centuries long record of climate changes in the area. The rings indicate that the Dust Bowl, 1933-1942, was dwarfed by droughts in prior periods since 1600: 1710-1725, 1780-1791, and 1859-1873. Based on a limited sample, the project also suggested that the longest droughts occurred 1325-1344 and 1531-1551.**

So, it would appear the climate change is nothing new under the sum. Climate on the Earth does not stand still, is not cast in stone. As Solomon suggests, "what has been will be again." One may assume that, if climate change is taking place, something more than computer simulations is needed to establish that this is nothing more than what has occured repeatedly though out history. Ended, one can note that current weather forecasts appear to be based primarily on disparate computer "models" resulting in apparent inaccuracies at times.

Speaking of wisdom, who is wiser--a climate change soothsayer or Solomon? We remember Solomon after thousands of years. Who will remember today's soothsayer tomorrow?


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*Ecclesiastes 1 (NIV), v. 4-11)

**Purintun,"The Oldest Trees In South Dakota",
South Dakota Conservation Digest,
Summer 2018, p. 31


© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

IS A SEARCH FOR THE ORIGIN OF WATER ON EARTH ALL WET?

The asteroid hypothesis for how water appeared on Earth has found support, according to a recently published article.* Basically, the assertion is that asteroids bombing Earth brought the water here.

The new support comes from laboratory experiments said to re-create asteroid crashes on a miniature scale. Scientists made marble sized pellets of antigorite, which is found in the kind of rocks that it is believed may have delivered water to Earth. Pumice was baked to a high temperature and then bombarded by the pellets at 5 km per second. Some water vapor released by the impacts apparently was captured by the melted rock and glass formed from the impacts. The article goes on to say that it is yet to be determined how the captured water could escape from rocks and actually form oceans.

One reasonably could ask how many asteroids hitting the Earth it would take to create all the surface water, ground water and atmosphere water that Earth has. Then again, maybe the point is that where water came from doesn't really matter because we have all the water on Earth that we are going to have.

________________________________________________

*Grossman, "Fake Asteroids Buoy Water theory,"
Science News, May 26,2018, p.12


© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

SHOULD MUSHROOM HUNTING BE REGULATED?

Recently, I was shocked to read in a newspaper article that no license is required in Illinois for mushroom collecting. Governmental regulation seems to permeate all aspects of human activity , down to the smallest details. Therefore, how could government miss the opportunity to charge a licensing fee, particularly given that debt burdened budgets cry for revenue?

How could a wild mushroom hunting licensing scheme work? Probably, there would be a written test based upon a government produced book such as "Rules of the Fungus Road." In the test, a license applicant would have to identify types of mushrooms, whether edible or not, proper manner of cooking, and best venues for finding particular species. Most important, an applicant would have to explain how to hunt for mushrooms on private land without getting caught.

Presumably, an applicant also would have to pass a vision test and an in the forest test. Under supervision of an experienced mushroom hunter official, the applicant would have to identify an actual mushroom in the woods and demonstrate proper removal technique from the ground or a stump. Of course, a license would be subject to annual renewal. The daily limit on number of mushrooms taken would be strictly enforced.

Mushroom hunting on private land would require landowner consent. Here is another opportunity for governmental regulation and revenue. Landowners would be required to obtain permits to allow mushroom hunting on their land. If a landowner charged a fee for hunting, a sales tax also would be collected.

Since mushroom hunters may seek to cross state lines to forage, federal governmental regulation also may be necessary. Congress could authorize a Wild Mushroom Protection Agency ("WMPA") to adopt and enforce permits and rules for such interstate toad stool prospecting.

Simply stated, regulation of mushrooming--like all governmental regulation--would mushroom.


© 2018 Daniel J. Kucera

DID THEY COME FROM OUTER SPACE?

Scientists now are zeroing in on the origin of sweet potatoes. For many centuries, sweet potatoes have been cultivated in Central and South America.

However, in the 1700s, explorers of the South Pacific from Europe, such as Captain Cook, were surprised to find that sweet potatoes also were grown in Polynesia for centuries. Indeed, Captain Cook brought a sample Polynesian sweet potato home with him in 1769. Indeed, one might speculate whether Captain Bligh's HMS Bounty actually could have been carrying a load of sweet potatoes from Tahiti, mis-named as breadfruit. Whatever, Mr. Christian's mutiny makes the question moot.

For years, scientists thought that sailors from Polynesia sailed to South America and transported sweet potatoes back to their homelands. I suppose, the sweet potatoes became known as "sea potatoes."

However, in our technology-driven world, scientists now have analyzed the DNA of sweet potato specimens, including the well-preserved 250 year old one from Captain Cook's 1769 voyage.* They have concluded that the Polynesian sweet potato has a different genetic make-up compared to the South American version, casting doubt on the Polynesian sailor spud story.

However, despite this advancement in science, disagreement still persists as to the origin of Polynesian sweet potatoes. For example, one scientist asserts that Captain Cook's single ancient sweet potato does not offer sufficient data to reject the sailor explanation. And, another scientist points out that the Polynesian word for sweet potato is similar to the South American word.*

As an aside, sweet potatoes were introduced in China in the late 1500s. Today, in addition to just about everything else, China produces two-thirds of the world's sweet potatoes.

No doubt, the origin of Polynesian sweet potatoes will continue to be studied and debated by scientists, along with other pressing issues such as alleged climate change. Perhaps, we are looking for sweet potatoes in all the wrong places. After all, only God can make a sweet potato.

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*Garisto,"Polynesian Sailings to America
Doubted", Science News, April 28 and
May 12, 2018, p.18

© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

IS CLIMATE CHANGE GOOD?

Climate change generally has been perceived as causing adverse impacts upon the earth. For example, assertions of rising global temperatures predict drought in some regions and flooding in others. Climate change believers urge both the public and businesses, including water utilities, to prepare for negative effects from changes to come.

Surprising, a recent published report now suggests that climate change actually may be beneficial.* Based upon excavations of middle Stone Age tools and pigments found in Kenya, scientists have concluded that climate change drove innovation in toolmaking and development of trading networks among Homo sapiens or their close relatives. Presumably, advancement of toolmaking could be viewed as technology of the day and advancement of trading as globalization of the day.

The article states that climate change made food sources unpredictable. People responded by foraging over greater distances and making smaller tools, resulting in meeting and trading with other populations. Paleoanthropologist Rick Potts is quoted as saying, "Social networking during a long period of climate variability was a key to success for early Homo sapiens....Greater mobility encouraged inventive thinking about how to acquire resources."

If climate change led to success of humans, could it now lead to less success? Is innovation and social networking today less likely than it was 320,000 years ago, or is the internet of things just a Stone Age fantasy?

_______________________________________

*Bower, "Changing Climate Drove
Innovation," Science News, April 14,
2018, p.8

© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

SHRINKING TOWNS AND THEIR WATER SYSTEMS

Water can evaporate. Can towns also?

A drive through portions of rural Midwest and Great Plains can be revealing to an urbanite. One can pass by old, abandoned farm houses and barns, crumbling like weathered gray gravestones in a long forgotten and overgrown cemetery--monuments to an earlier time, their adjoining individual land parcel consolidated into much larger agricultural ownership.

One also can drive into, and pass through literally in seconds, small farm towns, often bearing a few peeling paint houses, perhaps a gas station, maybe a tiny "oil can" elevated water storage tank, and a rusting, idle grain elevator along a long abandoned rail bed. Such towns were built and populated to serve all the farmers living in all the now abandoned farm houses years ago.

These scenes are not apparent from an interstate highway at 75 miles per hour. Rather, they are a reality available only from narrow two-lane roads which roll through the countryside like capillaries in an aging body--the "blue highways", as it once was stated.

For example, there is a small town in western Montana that was formed in 1912 as a farm products shipping point on the Great Northern railroad line. Today, the town in owned and populated by one family; the grocery store is a bed and breakfast; the bank is an antique shop; and the school house and the grain elevator are empty memories of past days.

Another town, larger and busier, is Browning, Montana located just east of Glacier National Park. Last August, a court ordered the receiver for the town to accept the offer of the Blackfeet Indian tribe, a creditor of the town, to purchase all of the infrastructure assets of the town to settle the claims of the tribe against the town.* Among the assets ordered to be transferred to the Tribe are all of the town's water and sewer infrastructure.

Today, there is a substantial national focus on the acknowledged need to replace and upgrade infrastructure, include water and waste water system assets. Estimates soar into billions of dollars as to the cost of of such work. There is talk of possible grant and loan programs as well as increasing rates to fund such work. However, how do small towns in rural areas, with their diminishing population and diminishing economic base, to afford infrastructure replacements and upgrades? This situation arises not only when farmers leave their farms and towns shrink. It also arises when a one factory or one business town suffers that factory or business closing. Who will think about of all this?

____________________________________________

* Kavanagh, "Judge Orders Denning To Accept
Blackfeet Tribe's Offer To Purchase Town
Of Browning's Assets," Glacier Reporter,
September 20, 2017, p.1

© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

THE EASTER FISH

Who is the creature known as the Easter Bunny?

According to legend, Pope Gregory the Great, in AD 600, proclaimed that fetal rabbits were fish and could be eaten during Lent.* In response, it is said, southern French monks domesticated rabbits to assure their supply.

Now, it is reported that the legend may not be true.* It is claimed that the statement actually may have been made by St. Gregory of Tours, not the Pope. St. Gregory is said to have referred to Roccolenus, a man who ate young rabbits during Lent.

However, is it true that rabbits are not fish? In point of fact, there is a genus of fish named "Rabbitfish." They have large, dark eyes and mouths resembling rabbit mouths. Rabbitfish are herbivorous, eating algae in the wild. If kept in aquaria, they eat fresh vegetables, much like rabbits.

Let me advance a theory. Suppose that over millions of years certain fish evolved into rabbitfish. Then, suppose that climate change caused some lakes and rivers to dry up. As a result, some rabbitfish evolved into land living creatures now called rabbits. Thus, by reason of two prominent earth forces acknowledged by scientific communities and the media, rabbits are the result of Darwinian evolution and climate change.

May the Easter Fishy bring you a big basket of candy and eggs.

______________________________________

*Saey, "Fishy Rabbit Tale Debunked
For Lent", Science News, March 17,
2018, p.5

© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

RAW WATER: BEVERAGE DE JOUR

I watched a robin splashing to its delight in our bird bath. Moments after it flew away, another robin arrived to drink to its delight. When I was a young child, my parents rented a vacation cottage in the north woods of Wisconsin, along a lovely lake. One morning, I saw the owner leave her cabin, walk to the shore and fill her coffee pot with lake water. "I always use this water for coffee" she explained to my parents. "The lake water is so clear."

It seems that the new drink craze has discovered "Raw Water". Of course, the dietary buzzword these days is "organic." To be healthful, food must be organically grown. So, for example, a carrot qualifies as organic if it is free of everything, except for high price.

However, in addition to being organic, it also seems that food must be either undercooked or more likely, RAW. Thus, we have raw vegetables, raw milk, raw honey and possibly even raw meat. Frankly, it is retro hunter-gatherer before discovery of fire.

So, now we have raw water as the "drink". What makes water "raw"? Clearly, raw water is water in its natural, untreated state--as it comes from a well, or a spring, or even a lake in Wisconsin. It contains all of the naturally occurring substances, dissolved or in suspension, added by its source.

For most of history, humans and robins have been drinking raw water. At the same time, many have become ill or died from contaminants in raw water. For example, in the United States cholera caused by drinking water was all too common. It was not until approximately the beginning of the Twentieth Century that chlorination was implemented to treat public water supplies to more safe levels.

Today, of course, thanks to the Environmental Protection Act public water supplies receive treatment for all sorts of contaminants identified by EPA, in compliance with standards promulgated by EPA.

On the other hand, raw water remains available via wells serving residential, commercial and farm buildings where central water systems do not exist; and, of course, bottled spring water is generally available.

One situation where raw water has been long promoted for health are spas such as in Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad), Czech Republic. Indeed, doctors send their patients there to drink the waters, which are deemed curative. Speaking from personal experience, hordes of visits can be seen carrying small vessels of the "water" seeking its restorative qualities, but never wandering too far from the soon needed water closet (toilet). I am aware of a water utility in the United States whose well water contained a high amount of a sulphur compound, resulting in a high level of customer complaints about the need for frequent bathroom visits.

Public water supplies are treated for a reason: for health and safety. Raw water can taste good and make good coffee. However, not all raw water is equal. Its drinker must know its drink.

__________________________________

© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

RIVERS RUN THROUGH THE SUPREME COURT

In 1801, when John Marshall was appointed the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Court was not the authoritative and powerful branch of the U.S. government that it is today. Over Marshall's 34 year tenure on the bench, his opinions molded the scope of the Court's jurisdiction. In doing so, he established concepts that we take for granted today.

For example, one of his more famous opinions was in Marbury v. Madison*, where the Court determined that legislation can be voided as being unconstitutional. Thus, the Court evolved to become the "final arbiter" of the constitutionality of federal and state laws, regulations and actions.

Another Marshall opinion, McCulloch v. Maryland**, held that Congress has the power to pass all laws necessary and proper to carry out its delegated powers. Thus, over the years, the "necessary and proper" clause of the Constitution has been a "workhorse" to sustain legislation.

Today, the Supreme Court takes on many thorny issues which grab media headlines and germinate talking heads chatter. However, there are certain cases before the Court that seem to draw little attention except from the immediate parties. Specifically, the Court has original jurisdiction, not appellate jurisdiction, in disputes between the states. This means that litigation begins and ends in the Court. Typically, fact finding may be before a special master appointed by the Court.

Recently, the Supreme Court has entered rulings in two cases involving compacts between states for the use of river water available to them. In Montana v. Wyoming***, the Court entered judgment against Wyoming in favor of Montana for violation of the Yellowstone River Compact The violations resulted form Wyoming's reduction of a volume of water available in the Tongue River at the state line between the two states. The Court awarded Montana $67,270.87. In addition, the Court entered a decree detailing the terms of the Compact to be followed.

In another recent case before the Court, Texas complained that New Mexico allegedly was taking more water than permitted under the Rio Grande Compact****. However, the decision involved the limited issue whether the United States could intervene in this dispute between states. The Court stated that it has authority to mold original actions before it. It said that the federal government may participate in state compact suits in order to defend "distinctively federal interests" in a way that litigants in traditional litigation may not be permitted. The Court, however, did not deal with the question whether the United states could begin litigation against a state to compel a state to performs its obligations under a compact.

So, while the Court's rulings for the most part get great attention, some cases, like rivers, quietly meander through the judicial process at the highest court in the land.

______________________________________

* 5 U.S. 137 (1803)

** 17 U.S. 316 (1819)

*** 583 U.S.__(February 20, 2018)

**** 583 U.S. __(March 5, 2018)

© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

THINGS MY MOTHER DIDN'T TELL ME AND SCIENTISTS DON'T KNOW

As young children grow up, it seems that their mothers tend to be their repository and dispensary for all information and advice. That certainly was true for me. However, as one ages, one realizes that my mother certainly did not tell me everything. And, as I have looked elsewhere for answers to many questions , I find that science, despite many advances and discoveries, does not know everything either, especially as related to some very basic issues. For example:

WATER

My mother's information about water generally was limited to "take a bath and wash behind the ears." Her explanation of where water came from was to point to the faucet. So, now, when I turn to science to learn the origins of water on earth, I discover that science does not know where water came from. Some scientists think it came from asteroids bombarding the earth. Some believe it originated from the primordial dust that created the earth. They appear to have no explanation any more certain than pointing to the faucet.

LIFE

All that my mother told me about the origins of life was that the stork brought me. Since I still believed in Santa Claus at the time, I accepted this avian explanation as plausible. Thankfully, science has explained everything with great certainty: I evolved from something. However, it is not clear what that something was-- it could have ranged from some minerals washing off rock and the chemicals mixing to create some single-cell creature to some amorphous blob swimming in aquatic life central. Since it is claimed that evolution is ongoing, I wonder what is coming after me. Thank you Darwin.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Mother's dictates on climate change were limited to "put on your boots" in frigid winter and "change your clothes" in sweaty summer. In my world, there was no climate change, but only weather change as the seasons changed. Now, science asserts that we have climate change, not weather change all because their computers say so. I still put on my boots in frigid winter and change my clothes in sweaty summer, so I really don't know what the distinction is between weather change and climate change, and I am not sure whether science knows either.

CONCLUSION

There is one thing that my mother did tell me with clarity: "God made everything and still is in control. That's all you need to know," she said.

_________________________________

© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

DROOL IS COOL

Scientists have discovered that blowflies cool themselves by drooling.* They (blowflies, not scientists) release a droplet of saliva which then hangs onto the outside of its their mouth. The droplet apparently cools by evaporation, after which the blowfly draws the droplet back into its mouth. The droplet cycle is repeated several times, thereby cooling the body.

Mosquitoes seem to have a similar cooling system, only it is backwards. They get hot when sucking on warm-blooded bodies, such as ours. So, while drinking our hot blood, they release urine droplets from their posterior. The droplet dangles for a while to release heat from the body, then falls off to be replaced by another one. It is unclear whether vampires have a similar mechanism.

Before the advent of automobile air conditioning, old-timers may recall a device used to cool the passenger compartment. A tubular metal thing hung on the outside of the passenger window with a vent into the car. Filled with water, evaporative cooling took place when the car sped down the road. Of course, the passenger's window view was limited, as well as cooling in slow traffic.

What do blowflies, mosquitoes and politicians have in common? I will let you answer that one.

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*Milius,"Blowflies Use Drool To Keep
Their Cool",Science News,February 3,
2018, p.12

© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

PICK ONE: IS IT WEATHER CHANGE OR CLIMATE CHANGE?

In the past year, the United States has witnessed several natural disasters, including hurricanes, floods, wildfires, mudslides, etc. It is tempting to extrapolate from these short-term weather events to conclude that climate change is real and has caused such events.

Therefore, it is refreshing to read a recent article in the Wall Street Journal pointing out that destructive weather can be confused with climate change.* Parenthetically, one could be hard pressed to come up with an objective definition of "weather" and "climate change" that everyone could agree upon and which did not beg the question.

The article reviews several types of factors, including global temperatures, hurricanes, fires, droughts, floods and the like. It concludes that while extreme short-term weather changes can have harsh impacts, these events do not demonstrate the reality of the earth's climate.

Here in the Midwest in recent weeks, the bone chilling, sub-zero arctic vortex has visited twice, and probably will do so again. As I huddle against a crackling fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate, I have to wonder whether our deep freeze is caused by weather or climate change. Maybe I will think about that more, after I thaw.

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*Peiser and Ridley, "Bad Weather Is No
Reason for Climate Alarm", Wall Street
Journal, January 13-14,2018, p.C3

© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

SMART METERS MEASURE UP

The Illinois Commerce Commission approved Commonwealth Edison's advanced metering infrastructure plan and ordered the utility to install smart meters for all its customers. The smart meter measures a customer's electricity usage and wirelessly sends the information to the utility. Thus, a smart meter eliminates the necessity for a meter reader to come to the premises to read the meter. The Commission also approved an additional monthly charge of $21.53 to customers who refuse to permit installation of a smart meter on their premises. The additional charge is cost-based,including the cost of having a meter reader visiting premises to read a non-smart meter.

A customer refused to permit installation of a smart meter and also refused to pay the smart meter refusal charge. The customer filed a complaint with the Commission challenging the legality of the charge. After the Commission dismissed the complaint, the customer appealed the decision to the Appellate Court.*

On appeal, the question before the Court was whether a customer can refuse installation of a smart meter without paying the refusal charge. The customer argued that the Commission denied due process because it dismissed the complaint without holding an evidentiary hearing. The Court rejected this argument, indicating that a hearing does not need to be held in every situation of dismissal. It concluded that the customer's complaint before the Commission raised only legal issues, not factual issues, and that the legal issues were fully briefed.

The Court also held that there was no violation of state law. It stated that a smart meter simply is an upgrade replacement of an old meter. In addition, the refusal charge is a reimbursement of the additional cost for a manual meter read, not an additional metering fee. Moreover, the refusal charge was in a tariff approved by the Commission, and thereby, was a law.

The customer also asserted that the refusal charge violated federal law because there was no federal law mandating smart meters. The Court found no conflict with federal law.

Accordingly, the Court affirmed the Commission's decision rejecting the challenge to the smart meter refusal charge.

Although this decision involves an electric utility, it can be instructive for water utilities. For investor-owned utilities, it demonstrates the importance of prior approval by the regulatory agency for innovations such as smart meters or other infrastructure upgrades. For all types of water utilities, the issues can be relevant. For example, technology innovations may suggest replacement of conventional meters with some form of "smart" water meter. Access to change meters may come into question. Further, a refusal charge may be proposed in the event a customer declines to permit a meter change. Such a charge, it would seem, must be justified based on cost factors.

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*Wade v. Illinois Commerce Commission,
2017 IL. App (1st) 171230

© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

RESOLVING NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

It is a New Year! Your favorite sport team's season now is over, with its dismal losing record. The celebratory parties are over, possibly leaving sobering concerns about one's behavior at them. It is time to confront 2018. As T.S. Eliot put it, "For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice."

Traditionally, people make resolutions at the first of a new year to improve behavior or to set goals for the coming twelve months. According to G.K. Chesterton, "Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things he will certainly do nothing effective."

The problem is that, while it may be easy to make New Year resolutions, it seems downright impossible to actually keep or even to implement them. Easy to make, easy to break. So this year I have decided that it is far more realistic to make resolutions for other people rather than for myself. This could offer joy to all concerned. As Tennyson said, "Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering 'It will be happier.'"

I offer to all the following four resolutions concerning water:

RESOLUTION 1: To drink more water. Mark twain said "Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody." On a more positive note, Thoreau uttered "Water is the only drink for a wise man."

RESOLUTION 2: To conserve water by using less when circumstances permit.

RESOLUTION 3: To avoid wasting water, for example from such causes as leaking faucets, spigots and toilets, and the like.

RESOLUTION 4: To avoid flushing things into drains and toilets that could be detrimental to the wastewater system.

The fact is that these resolutions, and all other possible resolutions in general, in reality simply are a matter of common sense. Perhaps the most important resolution that anyone could make is to resolve to use one's own common sense. De Vinci stated "Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation...even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind." Or, as Tennyson exclaimed, "Ring out the false, ring in the true."


© Daniel J. Kucera 2018