Photo by countess of maybe via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Today, our computer is not about to explode like it was for the past two days in the sweltering heat. "The National Weather Service forecast highs for Thursday of between 69 and 79 near the Los Angeles County coast, 86 to 94 inland, 84 to 94 in the San Fernando Valley, 87 to 92 in the San Gabriel Valley, 88 and 93 in......

As temperatures reached high temperatures today, the LA Department of Water & Power announced spiked energy usage by residents this afternoon and is urging energy conservation. "Any time energy demand exceeds 5000 megawatts we need to begin conserving wherever possible, while not jeopardizing anyone's health or safety," said David Nahai, LADWP General Manager and Chief Executive Officer, in a e-mail notice. The DWP expects demand to reach up to 5500 megawatts. Has anyone run over......

Native Grass | Photo by Donnaphoto via Flickr In the name of water conservation, the high desert city of Palmdale is expected to pass a new ordinance banning traditional grass front lawns on any new residential projects, according to the Daily News. Instead, only city-approved drought-tolerant landscaping, native plants and rocks will be legal to use. Ordinances must be heard and voted upon by the City Council twice. On Wednesday, they passed the first......

Photo by Tyler S Andrews via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The forecast for California for the coming months is drought--no surprises here. In fact, it's going to be the "the fourth driest year in the last 114 years," according to KNBC.com, and we're expected to have "below-average rainfall for the third year in a row." So the Department of Water Resources is trying to get resourceful by setting up a program for growers......

Photo by scottfeldstein via Flickr Even with the new water conservation law, the city's Recreation and Parks Department was caught on video by the LA Times hosing down tennis courts (and not using a water broom). "We had a couple of gardeners who weren't following directions," the department's Public Information Officer Jane Kolb said the Times. "They were violating our rules." She told the paper that workers had been trained in water conservation procedures......

Yes, lazily hosing down your sidewalk instead of using a broom is now illegal, thanks to a recent water conservation passed by the city last month. Since then the DWP has been sending out weekly tips and today was about the hosing. "As much as 150 gallons of water are used every time someone washes down a driveway, sidewalk, walkway or parking area, leading to gross amounts of wasted drinking water each time," wrote the......

The city's Energy and the Environment Committee met this morning and passed a water waste crackdown plan, making way for a full city council approval, which will likely occur in September. "The 'drought busters' plan crafted by the Department of Water and Power seeks to punish residents who water their lawns between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., car owners who wash their cars without 'shut-off devices' on their hoses and restaurants that serve water without......

Time to hunker down and flex your power, so says state officials. "The California Independent System Operator (CAISO), charged with managing the electricity grid in California, has issued a Flex Alert for Tuesday, July 8th through Thursday, July 10th," an e-mail alert states. "Due to the current hot weather, electricity conservation is necessary."......

For six weeks, ex-LA City Beat writer Alan Mittelstaedt has been trying to get a hold of DWP's CEO and General Manager's personal water bills, something that must be released by law within 10 days of request. The reporter was ready to bring the DWP to court, but before that, the Daily News printed a story about Nahai's bills but left out the backstory on why Nahai was all of the sudden releasing this info.......

Ex-LA City Beat writer Alan Mittelstaedt (known as the LA Sniper) might sue the LA Dept. of Water & Power General Manager and CEO David Nahai over a California Public Records Request violation -- Nahai won't give up his personal water bills for his 6,012-square foot Benedict Canyon mansion. Mittelstaedt thinks the bills will show Nahai's lifestyle is opposite the one his department preaches: sustainability and green. "We’re in ongoing discussions with DWP’s attorneys and......

What the LA Department of Water & Power is saying today during the heatwave: "Yesterday's energy peak reached 5856 megawatts, and was the second highest load in June. Today's peak demand is expected to reach or exceed the record of 6165 megawatts, set on July 24, 2006. While the LADWP has enough power to meet the city's needs, extraordinary demand during prolonged hot temperatures puts a tremendous strain on the city's electrical distribution equipment. Customers......

With temperatures soaring past 100 degrees in the Valley and with other parts of Los Angeles feeling sticky, it's no surprise that energy use spiked yesterday. "The energy peak topped out at 5509 megawatts, making it the second highest June load on record," stated an LA Department of Water & Power press release from today that "urges" residents to conserve energy. "The record load for June is 5531 megawatts, set on June 28, 2006. The......

Photo by Unhindered by Talent via Flickr You can't fight the funk: scientists are just beginning to discover some of the more insidious effects of creeping global warming, which is about to put polar bears on the endangered species list -- and wild Alaskan salmon may be next. Alaskan fisheries, long been overflowing with magnificent salmon supplies, are now threatened with a sticky situation: warmer waters in the northern climes are breeding yucky bacteria......

Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power says that most households in Los Angeles use between 30-40 percent of water outdoors and in some neighborhoods located in zones with warmer temperatures or with homes on larger lots, households use as much as 70% of their water outdoors. And after a hot weekend, this weekend looks to be much cooler and wetter. "Now is the time for customers to cut......

Photo by aussiegall via Flickr Today LA will be taking another look at a water recycling program that could help the city become not only more efficient in usage but lead us towards freedom from costly and precious state-level water sources. Currently, 80% of our city's water is imported. The LA Times reports that this plan "would invest in projects to capture and store rainfall and clean up a sprawling, contaminated water supply beneath......

Photo by Matt McGee via Flickr It's certainly not new news, but still worth a mention: Conserve water, people! This time the urging comes from the folks who work in water at the state level, and who hope to avert a "water crisis," reports abc7.com. We've endured some mighty high temperatures in the past week or so, and with the scorching some may be tempted to soak their lawns and gardens, which happens to be......

Last weekend, the homeowners, docents, and designers who are taking part in today's Green Gardens Tour gathered in the beautiful Santa Monica library to talk with each other and to be honored by the tour organizers at a thank you breakfast. The event was highlighted by brief talks from actress Amy Brenneman and TreePeople's Andy Lipkis, both of whom spoke about the power of conservation, and in appreciation of a few individuals who are doing......

This upcoming Saturday, April 26th, marks the 4th Annual Green Gardens Tour, which gives attendees a backstage pass to see six home gardens on the Westside that "demonstrate sustainable designs, practices, and technologies." With conservation issues a hot-topic in the Los Angeles area--and all over the world--the tour is a wonderful hands-on opportunity to see what some people have done in their own yards to pitch in to save our precious resources while creating beautiful......

Tomorrow night, cities all over the world will be participating in Earth Hour, when citizens are asked to turn out the lights and go unplugged for one hour to inspire awareness about global climate change and energy conservation. The annual event originated in Sydney, Australia, and is being championed in major metropolitan areas world-wide. But a quick check of the official participating cities list reveals that LA has opted to be in the dark for......

Yesterday at a press conference with Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard regarding the renewal of a Sister City relationship, Mayor Villaraigosa went off topic, but with good reason: water woes could be ahead, according to the Daily News. With the fires, extreme water drought and light snowpack this year, water is tight. Earlier this summer, the mayor made a call for the public to voluntarily reduce water use, hoping for a 10% decrease (even......

Although water conservation certainly isn't at the top of everyone's 'scintillating conversation' list, an article about Long Beach's declared water emergency in today's LA Times might move the topic up just a bit. Los Angeles doesn't lie in a naturally wet region - annually, we can only expect about 16 inches of rain (which makes it sort of understandable that no one who lives out here seems to be able to drive on wet......

Mayor Villa (will his soon-to-be-ex-wife really let him keep the Raigosa?) is proving to be quite the crafty politician this summer, weaseling his way through some rather public, personal crises. We can now add the Gopher Issue to the list of Tony V's lamest and greatest excuses. In spite of his call this summer for Angelenos to consciously conserve 10% more water, the LA Times scoured DWP records and found that the mayor and......

In the midst of our driest rain season to date, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is urging the people of Los Angeles cut back on water consumption by 10%. Along with the drought here in LA (just 3.21 inches of rain in downtown since July 1 of last year, down 12 inches from the average) eastern Sierra Nevada which supplies Angelenos with about half of our water is also experiencing record low rainfall and an abnormally small......