Colorado and the West is running out of water . . . (estimated, health care)

[highplainsrus]

Originally Posted by Idunn

Per long range water planning in Colorado, this reference could be a place to begin.

1) 'Colorado Water Conservation Board,' Colorado Department of Natural Resources
Colorado Water Conservation Board

yep, thanks, that looks like the collection point for the somewhat fragmented and out of date information. at least, they are thinking through 2050. the recession might have slowed some of the negative curves, but if we assume the worst case scenarios, it looks bad for agriculture. and this is just the one state outlook, without considering the whole bio-region.

either the state gov servers are really poor or there is a LOT of traffic going through them - very slow at 3am CST. or maybe my servers aren't up to snuff.
a good overview and easiest to load file looks like the 2010 legislative update document:

http://cwcb.state.co.us/water-manage...pplyFuture.pdf

it's a good read. i'm trying to think through some of the underlying conceptual social presumptions, looking for flaws in the planning process. so far, the most obvious thing appears to be a lack of clarity and structure for ongoing planning, but i can't get into all the links yet. there's a lot of material to digest.

[Shuffler]

I don't have kids, but if I did, I'd be encouraging them to look at getting a water/environmental law degree ... probably a solid occupation here for the next few decades as we take on more and more people, which in turn will accelerate depletion of the most important natural resource.

[lovethehighcountry]

I wouldn't be sending any kids into the meat grinder that is law school right now. Even the ABA says they have enough lawyers to fill every open job for the next ten years.

Law School by the Numbers: 300K Additional Law Grads by 2020; 73K New Jobs Forecast for Decade - ABA Journal

[Shuffler]

Originally Posted by lovethehighcountry

I wouldn't be sending any kids into the meat grinder that is law school right now. Even the ABA says they have enough lawyers to fill every open job for the next ten years.

Law School by the Numbers: 300K Additional Law Grads by 2020; 73K New Jobs Forecast for Decade - ABA Journal

Yikes...good point. Perhaps something in the realm of planning and natural resource management, then.

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by Idunn

"The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) was created nearly 75 years ago to provide policy direction on water issues. The CWCB is Colorado’s most comprehensive water information resource. The agency maintains expertise in a broad range of programs and provides technical assistance to further the utilization of Colorado’s waters." [1]

Per long range water planning in Colorado, this reference could be a place to begin.

1) 'Colorado Water Conservation Board,' Colorado Department of Natural Resources
Colorado Water Conservation Board

The problem with long range planning like this is they don't take into account technology advancing at a exponential rate and the implications it will have. Take water for instance. There is plenty of water so its not that we don't have enough of it but with current technology its expensive to make most of it drinkable. That will not be in the case in 20 years. So while today it looks like the west, including Colorado, will run out of water the reality is very different.

This video is from TED Speaks, a speaker series dedicated to new ideas, and I posted it here because he talks about water and how it will become abundant in the next few decades and that includes us in Colorado and the west.

Originally Posted by Seeker5in1

Hopefully, but desal costs energy ($) and they get our water from gravity alone. It just runs right down the hill to them. Does Colorado have the political clout to turn off California's water? Or will Cali do it just out of goodness of heart and because it's the right thing to do?

This video, also, answers your question. They won't do it because its the "right thing to do" but because in the near future it will make the most sense to get their water from the ocean as there is more then they could ever need or want. That will give us more water then we will need.

[CosmicWizard]

^^^^^^@Josseppie....ever the optimist you are!

[brightdoglover]

I trust Joss is investing all he can in the new technology for the long term, then?

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

I trust Joss is investing all he can in the new technology for the long term, then?

I do have investments in different areas but its not as easy as you might think. Just because we can look at the data and say information technology is advancing at a exponential rate and say when certain technologies will be viable its impossible to know what companies will be successful at it. Will water be cheaper and more available in Colorado in the next 20 years? Yes but do I know exactly what company will be behind it? No.

[CosmicWizard]

Josseppie wrote: I do have investments in different areas but its not as easy as you might think. Just because we can look at the data and say information technology is advancing at a exponential rate and say when certain technologies will be viable its impossible to know what companies will be successful at it. Will water be cheaper and more available in Colorado in the next 20 years? Yes but do I know exactly what company will be behind it? No.

Gets more complicated where the rubber meets the road, eh? Your inner realist speaks up!

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

Gets more complicated where the rubber meets the road, eh? Your inner realist speaks up!

I can't tell if you are joking or being serious so I will go as if you are being serious.

Everything I say is "being a realist" just look at what computers and information technology have done since the 1970's. The I phone I use is thousands of times smaller and thousands of times more powerful then the supercomputers in the 1970's. The same thing is happening now only faster with the new 3D chips coming out and that includes solar and water technology as they are a form of information technology thus advance exponentially. My point is its easy to look at the trend lines and say where the industry will be in 10 or 20 years its just impossible to know for certain what companies will be behind it and what companies will not be successful.