Signs of Drought appear in Western Canada

[nik-]

basically we're all dead

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...-out-of-water/

Although, according to that graphic, the one which appears to be under Alberta is actually replenishing.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by nik-

basically we're all dead

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...-out-of-water/

Although, according to that graphic, the one which appears to be under Alberta is actually replenishing.

Can the world "run out" of water? Isn't there a fixed amount on the planet - shifting from one area to another? If one place is having a drought, another is flooding?

“The water table is dropping all over the world,” Famiglietti said. “There’s not an infinite supply of water.”

Is Earth a closed system, with a constant amount of water?

Some groundwater filters back down to aquifers, such as with field irrigation. But most of it is lost to evaporation or ends up being deposited in oceans, making it harder to use. A 2012 study by Japanese researchers attributed up to 40 percent of the observed sea-level rise in recent decades to groundwater that had been pumped out, used by humans and ended up in the ocean.

I guess that is my answer - fresh water is being lost into the oceans.

[nik-]

There are processes that use water and don't let it back into the system like beer and oil production. Plus there are population imbalances which cause the demand to outweigh the cycle.

I don't have enough scientific knowledge to say "no, it won't run out" even though I don't think it will. The issue is it where it gets drastically low, how big the army that landmass possesses and what type of water situation is its neighbour experiencing.

I think if we would ever get to the point of fighting for water on a state vs state scale, it would make what people think were wars for oil look like a mild skirmish.

[polak]

desalination will just take off.

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Zarley is correct, I have some friends that make their living solely on farming.

He is the first to say that farmer's complain, it is there thing.

I don't buy it. I think Farmers are like any other group. Some will be complainers, but some of them are damn good businessman who work hard, and don't have a lot of time to sit around complaining.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Do not, my friends, become addicted to water. It will take hold of you, and you will resent its absence!

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by mrmastodonfarm

do not, my friends, become addicted to water. It will take hold of you, and you will resent its absence!

I am awaited in Valhalla!!

[Canehdianman]

Originally Posted by nik-

There are processes that use water and don't let it back into the system like beer and oil production. Plus there are population imbalances which cause the demand to outweigh the cycle.

I don't have enough scientific knowledge to say "no, it won't run out" even though I don't think it will. The issue is it where it gets drastically low, how big the army that landmass possesses and what type of water situation is its neighbour experiencing.

I think if we would ever get to the point of fighting for water on a state vs state scale, it would make what people think were wars for oil look like a mild skirmish.

I think that this can only be true if you consider the 'system' to be something smaller than the entire Earth. Unless Molson is shooting water into the sun, then nothing we do on Earth takes water out of the system.

Now, whether we have the ability to desalinate/unpollute the water is another question...

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

I don't buy it. I think Farmers are like any other group. Some will be complainers, but some of them are damn good businessman who work hard, and don't have a lot of time to sit around complaining.

Can they be hardworking, good businessmen that complain?

My mate is at least 3rd generation that I know of and his family is well known around this area.

You perhaps read my post as a condemnation of farmers, it was not.

[kevman]

Originally Posted by Canehdianman

Now, whether we have the ability to desalinate/unpollute the water economically is another question...

Fixed your post.

You can purify any water if you're willing to pay for it.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by polak

desalination will just take off.

That takes massive amounts of energy.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

That takes massive amounts of energy.

Solar . . . energy?

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by kevman

Fixed your post.

You can purify any water if you're willing to pay for it.

Desalinization itself isn't that expensive. The latest plants are producing it for under $.50 per cubic meter. We're currently paying $1.77 per cubic meter in Calgary. Even if we assume the water in Calgary is produced for free (obviously false) and there was zero fresh water left in Calgary our bill for water would only go up 28%.

The problem is the location of the water source and how we'd handle the distribution issues.

[nik-]

Here's an article with a better picture direct from NASA

http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/grace/study-...ns-in-distress

[troutman]

Snowpack in Rockies melts four to six weeks earlier than normal

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...er-than-normal

June’s hot weather has completely wiped out this winter’s snowpack in the Rockies, prompting concerns Western Canada could be entering into a drought.

Last week, the mountain snowpack — already 10 to 25 per cent below normal — melted about four to six weeks earlier than expected by scientists monitoring the situation.

“It’s important to note we’re just getting into the time of year when we see a good amount of rain,” he said, adding all of the reservoirs capturing runoff in southern Alberta are full.

My poor trout!

[Ace]

Originally Posted by Dan02

Desalinization itself isn't that expensive. The latest plants are producing it for under $.50 per cubic meter. We're currently paying $1.77 per cubic meter in Calgary. Even if we assume the water in Calgary is produced for free (obviously false) and there was zero fresh water left in Calgary our bill for water would only go up 28%.

The problem is the location of the water source and how we'd handle the distribution issues.

Pipelines

[Flash Walken]

What do you do with the salt once you've desalinated the water?

[Dan02]

dump it back in the ocean. Most desalination plants only remove 33-50% of the water, so the brine is returned to the ocean where it is diluted almost instantaneously to the same level as the ocean around it.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Dan02

dump it back in the ocean. Most desalination plants only remove 33-50% of the water, so the brine is returned to the ocean where it is diluted almost instantaneously to the same level as the ocean around it.

This sounds very simplistic.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

What do you do with the salt once you've desalinated the water?

Load it Into a rocket and shoot it into the sun.