The US megadrought!

[Snuffleupagus]

This is getting crazy, the Colorado River has dropped 20 percent, Lake Powell is 177 feet below full pool or 23.8% of full pool and dropping by the day, Lake Mead is the same.

Countless millions of people are going to be affected from drinking water to electricity to farm lands. what a mess.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

This is getting crazy, the Colorado River has dropped 20 percent, Lake Powell is 177 feet below full pool or 23.8% of full pool and dropping by the day, Lake Mead is the same.

Countless millions of people are going to be affected from drinking water to electricity to farm lands. what a mess.

I always find it interesting and amazing to see the previous water level marks when flying over Lake Mead/Hoover Dam when visiting Vegas.

[Locke]

Dust Bowl: Part Deux

[Snuffleupagus]

Lake Powell

[nfotiu]

Interestingly, in Virginia, they just released a study saying our rainfall is trending upwards and is about 10% higher annually than 50 years ago.

Are there any answers to the problems in the west or are some areas just going to be uninhabitable?

[GGG]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

Interestingly, in Virginia, they just released a study saying our rainfall is trending upwards and is about 10% higher annually than 50 years ago.

Are there any answers to the problems in the west or are some areas just going to be uninhabitable?

Complete overhaul of water rights in California. Right now farmers just keep drilling deeper to compete for aquifers as they drop.

Also a rethinking of agriculture and what should be grown with irrigated water.

Also you could ban watering lawns and trees. Landscaping is something like 10% of all water use with half of that being lawns.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

Interestingly, in Virginia, they just released a study saying our rainfall is trending upwards and is about 10% higher annually than 50 years ago.

Are there any answers to the problems in the west or are some areas just going to be uninhabitable?

We have done significant work to make certain regions habitable via science and engineering but the reality is that we can't really out battle nature. Places like Vegas and much of California just aren't hospitable and we can only do so much for so long but the extremes in nature will kick our ass.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/01/...cientists-say/

https://psmag.com/social-justice/whe...r-californians

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by GGG

Complete overhaul of water rights in California. Right now farmers just keep drilling deeper to compete for aquifers as they drop.

Also a rethinking of agriculture and what should be grown with irrigated water.

Also you could ban watering lawns and trees. Landscaping is something like 10% of all water use with half of that being lawns.

Yeah, it seems crazy to me that they are irrigating alfalfa and exporting it from California.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

We have done significant work to make certain regions habitable via science and engineering but the reality is that we can't really out battle nature. Places like Vegas and much of California just aren't hospitable and we can only do so much for so long but the extremes in nature will kick our ass.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/01/...cientists-say/

https://psmag.com/social-justice/whe...r-californians

Yup

Sahara desert now


Sahara desert 4000 years ago

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

We have done significant work to make certain regions habitable via science and engineering but the reality is that we can't really out battle nature. Places like Vegas and much of California just aren't hospitable and we can only do so much for so long but the extremes in nature will kick our ass.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/01/...cientists-say/

https://psmag.com/social-justice/whe...r-californians

The deforestation of California’s coast certainly didn’t help.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

Yup

Sahara desert now


Sahara desert 4000 years ago

Makes a lot of sense why those ancient Egyptian and North African cultures were so powerful 4000 years ago

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Makes a lot of sense why those ancient Egyptian and North African cultures were so powerful 4000 years ago

To be fair that was the bronze age in Europe which was still in the migration stage anywhere north of Italy.

[Lanny_McDonald]

The Colorado watershed is under a great deal of stress and the states that rely on it have been put on notice to better manage its resources. In Arizona we are already feeling the pinch as feed lots and associated alfalfa fields are being shuttered. Alfalfa, used for cattle feed, is a very water intensive crop. The other plant in these fields, cycled in to keep the soil somewhat healthy, is cotton which is also very water intensive. There is a shift going on and farmers are now selling off their properties for development, which just increases urban sprawl and demand for water. Thankfully residential water use is a smaller impact and rationing in this regard is not expected. Industrial and agricultural use will feel the pinch as the State moves forward in protecting this precious resource. Of the seven states who gain benefit from this watershed, Arizona is listed as priority six, so we have to really manage our resources carefully. What makes the issue more difficult is the increase in soluble solids in the water because of additional runoff as a result of wild fires. Our aging critical infrastructure continues to be stressed because of changes in turbidity and the demand for clean drinking water. It is a significant concern, but one the state and municipalities are doing their best to manage. No panic yet, but agencies are keeping a very close eye on things.

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Makes a lot of sense why those ancient Egyptian and North African cultures were so powerful 4000 years ago

No wonder when you consider their satellite imagery back then was just as good as today's!

[zamler]

Is there less water or more usage of water?

[Wastedyouth]

Surprised they are looking at massive desalinization plants on the coasts to provide water for the sunbelt, arid desert areas.

Obviously it would be a massive undertaking, but if irrigation and water usage us a huge problem, do they not have the solution to that problem in the rising oceans beside them?

I'm no scientist though.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by zamler

Is there less water or more usage of water?

Well, with a growing population comes increase in livestock and agriculture which demands more irrigation as well as nominal day-to-day use of water.

I dont know the answer to your question, but I'd wager on 'both.'

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

Surprised they are looking at massive desalinization plants on the coasts to provide water for the sunbelt, arid desert areas.

Obviously it would be a massive undertaking, but if irrigation and water usage us a huge problem, do they not have the solution to that problem in the rising oceans beside them?

I'm no scientist though.

So...what you're saying is that we combat rising Ocean levels due to Climate Change by pumping the water out of the oceans to grow our food!

By God...this could just work!

[Samonadreau]

On large scales desalination can become dangerous because of the amount of energy required to run the Plants and also the Brine that can wreak havoc on the ocean ecosystems when pumped back into the ocean. Its a slippery slope.

[Harry Lime]

The one thing that the climate warriors have never really cared about to the same extent, are the oceans.

[Barnet Flame]

Originally Posted by Harry Lime

The one thing that the climate warriors have never really cared about to the same extent, are the oceans.

I’m not sure that is entirely accurate.