Chris Iovenko
Chris Iovenko is a Los Angeles-based science and environmental writer who has published in The Atlantic, HuffPost, The New Republic, The Washington Post, Vice, Slate, The National Geographic, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and elsewhere.
Support Provided By
As Southern California goes through an extreme drought, desalination plants have become a bigger part of the conversation. These facilities, however, are controversial, seen by many as harmful to marine ecosystems, too expensive, and too energy intensive compared to other water conservation approaches.
California’s offshore oil rigs are covered in sea life from top to bottom. Some environmentalists argue that these rigs should be left in place once they are decommissioned, but creating a path to turn rigs into reefs has so far proven difficult.