Colorado and the West is running out of water . . . (Denver: electric, cities)

[smdensbcs]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

The real problem is that, no matter whether it is me, you, or an official study that says it, nobody wants to acknowledge the truth: there is inadequate water for the population already in place in most of the West, much less any more. Hell, that truth was evident to me when I read "Cadillac Desert" way back in the 1980's.

A modern variant of "Cadillac Desert" I read a few weeks ago is called "Dam Nation: How Water Shaped the West and Will Determine Its Future" by Stephen Grace. Very, very interesting. Nobody has clean hands in this century-old mismanagement. Everybody is and has been greedy and self-interested, going back to the very beginning of non-native settlement. The "tragedy of the commons" on a grand scale. It's just what we do. Several thin strands of hope emerge toward the end of the book, but I'll not give that part away!

Review
Kirkus Reviews

A concerned, observant “citizen of the West” spins tales of our chronic mismanagement of the only natural resource for which there’s no alternative: water.
The American West’s relentless aridity doomed civilizations for centuries. Nevertheless, thanks to gold fever, Manifest Destiny and the railroads, the Great American Desert began filling up with people, entirely, it seems, without regard for limits to expansion imposed by the lack of precipitation. Today, we know better than to think “rain follows the plow,” but we don’t appear even close to developing a water sustainability program to keep cities like Las Vegas, Denver and Phoenix from drying up. Claiming no special expertise—indeed, the West’s water story cuts across too many disciplines for even specialists to wholly absorb—Grace (Shanghai: Life, Love and Infrastructure in China's City of the Future, 2010, etc.) has nevertheless traveled widely and read broadly. He effectively, even humorously at times, captures the highlights of the West’s liquid history: the engineering wonders (and unintentional consequences) of New Deal–era dam projects; the tortuous web of law, regulations, treaties and compacts that govern Western water rights; and the political, bureaucratic and industrial power grabs that have accompanied all reclamation projects. The author covers a lot of territory: geologist John Wesley Powell’s prescient observations and recommendations for watershed communities; the hydro-skullduggery that accounts for the city of Los Angeles; the winding tale of the Colorado, “the world’s most heavily litigated river”; the ongoing depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer; the rise and demise of the Bureau of Reclamation; the industrial and agricultural tainting of our water; and our meager efforts to conserve or create more by desalination and cloud seeding. Westerners long accustomed to the region’s water scarcity will discover nothing new here, but Grace’s dispatches will likely strike those east of the 100th meridian as from another country.
Though squarely on the side of environmental prudence, Grace is neither preachy nor accusatory in his descriptions of an impending tragedy and the need for action.

ForeWord Reviews

No one reading this book will ever look at a glass of water the same way again—especially if they live in the West.

[Mike from back east]

[quote=smdensbcs;27324730]....Nobody has clean hands in this century-old mismanagement. Everybody is and has been greedy and self-interested, going back to the very beginning of non-native settlement. .... /QUOTE]

Arguably THAT quote is the seminal statement summing up this thread and it's accidental companion, the Dust Bowl thread.

Hindsight is easy, seems clear-eyed to look back and say that the land rush giveaways never should've been allowed to happen, as that begat the thirst for ag water, which begat the dam building, which begat residential building, which.....

Harder though is the foresight to see the future and take steps to preserve natural resources, be it awesome forests, amazing canyons, grassy prairies, seashores, estuaries, or the water itself. Opinions, and vested interests with lots of money, come from all sides and little gets done except that we have a landscape which is a patchwork of stupidity reflective of congressional kneeling before wealthy donors.

The bitter state of our current politics, and a congress that's for sale, assures only more destruction. That we have no national policy for any key areas (energy, transport, water, etc) only leaves us open to more annual pork spending and favoritism. We are our own worst enemy and will someday crumble from within.

[Shuffler]

The status quo won't prevent more 'economic development', and the Kentucky Bluegrass that comes with it...

[smdensbcs]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

We are our own worst enemy and will someday crumble from within.

Well ... true. Sorry to be a relatavist, but the same holds true for virtually every thing, does it not, from single-cell organisms to galaxies? Certainly for humans and our various constructs. In the meantime each individual does the best they can within the framework of a constantly changing world.

Historical philosophy is nice, but I'd recommend that book (Dam Nation) above for anyone interested in the past/present/future of water in the West. Not that our online complaining about things here isn't also fun!

[proveick]

Just hear our neighbors (Kansas) are in 100% severe drought. Water restrictions here we come.

[CosmicWizard]

smdensbcs wrote: Not that our online complaining about things here isn't also fun!

If it wasn't fun we wouldn't do it! The whole forum thing, including c-d is entertainment above all else.

[Idunn]

The 5th IPCC Report on our changing climate has been leaked in advance; the formal report is scheduled to be publicly released in September 2013. The full report, in preliminary form, is (for now) available here:

Full AR5 draft leaked here

This report is divided into chapters, each available as free download as pdf.

An excerpt from the summary:

"More comprehensive and improved observations strengthen the evidence that the ice sheets are losing mass, glaciers are shrinking globally, sea ice cover is reducing in the Arctic, and snow cover is decreasing and permafrost is thawing in the Northern Hemisphere. Ice is being lost from many of the components of the cryosphere, although there are significant regional differences in the rates of loss."

[GoldenZephyr]

Originally Posted by Idunn

The 5th IPCC Report on our changing climate has been leaked in advance; the formal report is scheduled to be publicly released in September 2013. The full report, in preliminary form, is (for now) available here:

Full AR5 draft leaked here

This report is divided into chapters, each available as free download as pdf.

An excerpt from the summary:

"More comprehensive and improved observations strengthen the evidence that the ice sheets are losing mass, glaciers are shrinking globally, sea ice cover is reducing in the Arctic, and snow cover is decreasing and permafrost is thawing in the Northern Hemisphere. Ice is being lost from many of the components of the cryosphere, although there are significant regional differences in the rates of loss."

Which means what? Anything put forward is speculation. We know that the world was much warmer 1000 years ago and we are in the middle of an interglacial period. How do you know that warming will be all bad? Some things will change for the worse, some for the better. That has always been my problem is that much of the debate is politically motivated to create an economic apartheid to challenge growth through artificial restrictions to increase the property values of the entrenched incumbents, ala yourself, jazzlover, others etc who preach the gospel of impending doom. If you look closely, they always have something to gain from it.

For example, by limiting growth and restricting future growth, you and other entrenched incumbents can profit handsomely through crisis, by limiting future supply, you increase the value of your property holdings/interests through scarcity. Its classic, that is why Boulder has some of the most restrictive land use in the country, it makes the property of the incumbents worth oh so much more. I've seen it in so many places, and when you really dive in, you see the true motive is personal gain neatly wrapped in a positive social trend. Lovely!

I've always found that those who advocate restrictions, never offer to give up their own property, lead by example and make the personal sacrifice and return it to nature, move far far away to stop their burden on the poor "parched" west, they simply want to stop others from having a slice of the pie they've enjoyed. Its the heinous "I've got mine, but I'll keep you from getting yours" syndrome.

False piety through crisis exploitation. Its all been done so many times, its almost cliche.

[jazzlover]

Ah, the person, from the state that we should all look to as the shining example of the way to do thinks right, speaks. Yeah, right. I don't have anything to gain personally from limiting growth, etc., etc., as you insinuate. In fact, such growth does more to endanger my livelihood and quality of life than it could ever do to enhance. So, don't put your words in my mouth. I'm also doing what I can to minimize my impact on where I live. I also believe there may come a day when even that may not be enough and I, and a whole lot of people who have invested their whole lives here, may have to leave.

[fr8train]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

Ah, the person, from the state that we should all look to as the shining example of the way to do thinks right, speaks. Yeah, right.

Ad hominem.