That should be in the dictionary under idiotic ideas…
3 Likes
Should I Leave San Francisco Bay Area?
California water rights are complicated. I live in the SF Bay Area and get my water from the big Hetch Hetchy system. Although there’s never been a disruption and the reservoir is at 75%, I expect that to be strained in the future. I’m thinking about moving or at least buying a Rust Belt bug out home while they’re still cheap.
Meanwhile, smaller water agencies are devastated by a few dry years because they don’t have the economic heft and/or storage capacity. So counter-intuitively, places like Mendocino in the (normally) rainforest north are hurting while bone dry San Diego is OK because they had the money to invest in desalination.
2 Likes
Are Nasa’s (and Other) Satellites & Ground Stations Affecting The Weather And Climate?
“NASA to launch six small satellites to monitor and study tropical cyclones”:https://phys.org/news/2022-06-nasa-small-satellites-tropical-cyclones.html
NASA’s weather satellites and ground stations are stated to use microwave radiometers to detect thermo-radiation naturally emitted by oxygen and water vapor in the air. However, microwave radiometers often are installed and work hand in hand with lidar, lasers, radar, high power phased array antennas, etc.,:
https://sbir.nasa.gov/content/lidar-radar-and-passive-microwave
How can we know for certain that all these frequencies being generated and lasers being focused around the earth, on storms and precise areas, are not having effects on the weather and storm patterns themselves? (This is momentarily disregarding the 1000-100,000+ other frequency-generating satellites currently already in place or planned, which are used for other purposes.)
“The increased use of advanced lidar and microwave radiometer systems would help to warn of impending storms”:https://www.rikasensor.com/the-increased-use-of-advanced-lidar-and-microwave-radiometer-systems-would-help-to-warn-of-impending-storms.html
I don’t think an honest conversation about climate change can be had without directing serious attention to the exponential increase in non-native frequencies that are being generated, broadcast, focused and blanketed on the earth, in space and even underwater in our oceans.
1 Like
Depletion
A related reading recommendation (especially Olgallala) – “Running Out: In Search of Water on the High Plains” - https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691212647/running-out
2 Likes
Peak Water
I think what we’re experiencing out west could be called “Peak Water”, similar to peak oil. There is a finite amount of life-critical water to meet all needs, both human and ecological, but an ever-increasing demand for the limited water. Unfortunately, the amount of available water has been steadily decreasing over the last two decades, as Chris pointed out, while population growth is exponentially pushing the demand. “We’ve got a problem Houston”.
Water supply in the Colorado River basin, the Rio Grande basin, the Arkansas, the Platte, the upper Missouri, etc. comes primarily from snow. Very little comes from rain. Summer rains are needed and helpful, but they don’t do much for the water supply. The rains mostly reduce wildfire danger and help agriculture. The key to the following year’s water supply is how much snow fell in the Rockies the preceding winter. A winter’s worth of snowpack has far more water content stored in it than even a very wet summer of rain can provide. Reservoirs like Lake Mead and Lake Powell store the spring runoff from snow melt to be used throughout the following year. Our mountain snow pack is generally in decline while increasing average temperatures increase evaporation and evapotranspiration. Therefore, available water supply for beneficial use has been decreasing on both sides of the Rockies.
Then population growth in the southwest U.S. and Front Range urban corridor in Colorado is booming. These cities are either in a natural desert or at best a high plains arid environment. Without irrigation, few crops outside of dryland winter wheat would grow. I believe that the limit on population growth in the west and Rockies will not be available land, but available water. I know of one town that had to halt new residential building permits this past year due to a lack of available water to supply those new homes. And the homes that are getting built have skyrocketing water tap fees.
In the short and long term, the solutions will have to lean more and more on water conservation, completely changing people’s habits, reducing residential landscaping like water hungry bluegrass lawns, no more golf courses, developing water re-use treatment systems (very expensive), and increasing storage capacity where allowed. Much of this is currently not acceptable politically to either side. I’m trying to think through how all this also connects to energy, especially cheap energy. Doesn’t look good, but the energy challenges are likely going to hit first.
If one is thinking about long term resiliency, grid down or other disaster scenarios, then living in a desert or arid environment with little to no water outside of complex systems means big trouble. I’m trying to figure out what to do about that for my family too. There’s not much water in the first place. Except for rural wells, that water travels through complex SCADA controlled delivery systems, is treated at energy intensive water treatment plants, sometimes pumped, then those plants back-up diesel generators typically only have a 3 day supply of fuel. Hmm… What could possibly go wrong!
8 Likes
Phoenix Water Situation?
Chris, I was hoping you would do a deeper dive on the Phoenix area. On the mega drought map, most of central Arizona doesn’t look that bad. Are the Salt and Gila river systems still in good shape compared to the Colorado system?
Passing The Peaks
Seems were are passing peak oil, peak soil health, peak cheap food, and now peak water… what’s next?
1 Like
I also grew up in SoCal, part of that time in Coachella Valley, the rest in Riverside. My sisters are both still in the area. I saw the same things, I see its continuation. During Chris’ presentation I was thinking back to the water restrictions we occasionally faced in summer ca 1970, when we were to not water our lawns - those early experiences tuned me to climate in the largest sense - the climates we create around ourselves and what it costs in resources to do that.
I remember learning that Liberace’s Palm Springs patio was air conditioned by way of a system that sprayed atomized water into the air. It evaporated in the hot air, causing cooler air to descend onto guests. I remember thinking about the well-off Palm Springs residents who moved from air conditioned homes to air conditioned garages to air conditioned cars to air conditioned malls, and so who very rarely felt the 120 F mid-summer heat. Even then, such disconnection from reality bemused me; since then I’ve become convinced such separation makes people go subtly crazy. We start to think we can do anything we want to anything we want at no sustained cost.
I watched as Palm Desert built high-end golf resorts on Bob Hope Drive where desert sands had previously existed. I experienced the gradual increase of moisture in the Valley, combining with smog that rolled in from the Los Angeles basin, creating a fog-like inversion layer of brownish, lung-polluting air. (Speaking of: In high school in Riverside, I joined the cross country and track teams as a freshman. We had a rule: if the distant mountains were hazy from smog, we had a lighter workout; if they were invisible we had no workout. By my senior year, we had to switch to the nearby Box Spring mountains because we very nearly never saw the distant hills.)
Already in the 1970s we could see the problem with the Colorado River. Today’s problems were flashing first signs before I was out of college.
Add in the development of Las Vegas - something that has never made any sense to me from a resource perspective. It’s a completely inappropriate place to build a large city meant to fund itself on tourism, and displays pure hubris. Of course we’re facing crises. But we keep doubling down on the attitudes and behaviors that have gotten us here.
All of this is why I think the only thing that causes us to change direction will be a die-back. We don’t learn, we repeat our base selfishness. It might even be biologically hardwired into us. So, at some point we hit the limits of carrying capacity and millions of us die. I’ve wondered if we’d reduce our numbers by accident (war; Wuhan) or design (thanks, WEF) or simply because natural resource depletion leaves us without an adequate supply of food and water.
Looks like we’ve set the stage for all of the above.
6 Likes
wow. There’s some first-hand material, and from a guy that’s not really trying to chronicle shortages. Just a sports fisherman who noticed Mead’s water drop over just a few months and needed to share it. Great find; confirmation.
1 Like
While this is fairly speculative as far as causes of weather pattern changes go, we know, now, that as we denude soil we change cloud formation development by changing transpiration rates and patterns, thus reducing rainfall patterns and heating the near-earth atmosphere; all leading to changing weather patterns. Reversing that trend by capturing more carbon in the soil by keeping the earth covered in green not only stabilizes weather, it also builds soil life, permitting the growing of more nutrient-dense food with less amendments - themselves responsible for things like algae blooms that toxify fresh water and disrupt the natural life along and in waterways, increasing the fragility of the web of life we depend upon for our survival and thriving.
My preference: Let’s tackle the things we know we are doing that are destroying our habitat, then see what remains that might be attributable to relatively rare things like satellite emissions. Meanwhile, no harm done in building data, of course.
4 Likes
“compared to”? You mean, relatively speaking? As in, will we be able to live here longer than there?
The direction is not good. The trajectory is less water, therefore less life. That’s the macro scenario. At the micro, things change and fluctuate relative to similar settings. If the huge storm Chris said to pray for actually arrived and lingered, it still would not materially change the problem of the Ogallala Aquifer or the Colorado River. It would just marginally alter the timeline.
Plan and prepare accordingly. As @roosterrancher likes to say, collapse early and avoid the rush.
5 Likes
Seems were are passing peak oil, peak soil health, peak cheap food, and now peak water… what’s next?Peak human life.
4 Likes
I know of one town that had to halt new residential building permits this past year due to a lack of available water to supply those new homes.Here in Quebec (We are blessed with 25% of world's freshwater) we also have municipalities that decided to stop new buildings/developments because the water table is depleting. I used to live in places where water restrictions were the norm: a few hours of municipal water every other day. Talks about water and its importance are getting more frequent. People are questioning why multinational companies pay as little as 3M$ for 800B$ liters of water. We are basically giving away this precious resource. Our politicians must wake up and start take serious measures to preserve it.
1 Like
I meant 800B liters. No $ sign.
Fortunately, peak greed, peak insanity and peak stupidity are still far far far away. So, our die-back is our best bet to rebound for another cycle.
Took the words right out of my mouth, VT! I was going to say peak people.
The tree suvived a few fires, but not the humans. Of the two, I wonder which one is more destructive.
2 Likes
Agreed, but I have no hope whatsoever when it comes to political solutions…
At some point people themselves have to take personal responsibility for their choices. To continue to seek to build new developments in places where there is known existing water scarcity, no matter what region or country one is in, is beyond stupid. It is egregiously reckless!
People will not change until they turn on the tap and nothing comes out. And even then, they will likely only look for a band aid solution for their own predicament, and not see the big picture disaster that everyone is facing.
I remember back in 2003 driving the west coast from BC to southern California. The dominant, overwhelming feeling I had even back then was "boy, are they ever going to need our (Canada’s) water. I can definitely envision water refugees in the not too distant future.
2 Likes
So, not sure why this data driven up/down group doesn’t discuss geo engineering. There are patents. There are for profit corporations that offer services. There are supply chains. There are whistleblowers. There are lines in the sky that have no correlation to commercial transport or passenger routes.
Yes, we are affecting the weather. It’s simply another form of controlled demolition.
4 Likes
Nice to hear from a fellow SoCalian. Yes, I recall all that you mention. The pass would fill up with LA smog, then spill into the valley which literallyhad zero industry, but we looked like China on a bad day.
The family moved there in 1964. I recall the large open swaths of open desert full of prairie dogs and purple, pink and white verbania. Those damn dogs would play dodge the car. Many didn’t win and then the rest of the crowd of them would rush out into the road and drag the victims back to the side of the road.
The crickets would flood the local grocery store automatic door area when monsoon rains would come in the summer. Their little corpses shoveled to the side of the doors like piles of snow. And aluminum foil would cover store windows with bleached out signs hanging in the front stating they’d reopen in late September or October after the hot summer ended.
It was an amazing time to experience that area. And for 50 years I watched it change, evolve and develop into an extension of LA and Orange County.
There’s hardly any desert left undeveloped. And areas formerly forbidden for development, which included the areas on the San Andreas fault line, are now fully paved and built. When that fault finally goes, there will be a east/west displacement of 54 feet. There won’t be much left. Yet families are living in homes on the fault. I have walked that fault line, which is very oxidized to a blue/purple/reddish and is full of oasis’s where there is fracturing at the surface. It is very large natural feature and should offer a healthy dose of humility to those in the area. But, the developers know no conscience.
We don’t learn, so we will suffer.
1 Like