AZ liveable after the Climate-change? (Phoenix, Tucson: ski resort, crime, houses) - Arizona - City-Data Forum

Najt · 05-01-2007, 08:16 PM

If nothing improves, does anybody have any idea how the Climate-change will hit Phx and Tucson, when it may not be liveable?

We up north will get milder winters, Spain will get hotter summers, similar to AZ I guess and within decades.

irwin · 05-01-2007, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Najt

If nothing improves, does anybody have any idea how the Climate-change will hit Phx and Tucson, when it may not be liveable?

We up north will get milder winters, Spain will get hotter summers, similar to AZ I guess and within decades.

Arizona's biggest future problem is water. We are in the greatest drought in recorded history. Phoenix shares water with California through an agreement but California's water supplies are decreasing from other sources because of reduced snow fall in the mountains. Similar thing is happening in the Arizona mountains. In fact, Arizona's main ski resort is likely to close because of lack of snow fall.

Tucson already has serious water issues. That is only going to get worse in the next 20-30 years.

azloafer · 05-02-2007, 08:57 AM

Quality water is already a big problem here in Green Valley. The mines have polluted our water. I now live about 1 mile from an open pit copper mine in Green Valley, AZ. I would locate further away in the future. It is hard to get away from the effects of mine pollution in this entire section of the country. "The Santa Cruz Valley" which includes GV is supposed to have the world's largest aquifer. The aquifer has now been determined to be polluted with the run-off from the mine tailings. Every time it rains, the rain washes the tailing stuff off the piles and into the ground. So eventually the water gets contaminated. Two of the community wells have been closed here and the mine is being pushed into helping. They drilled two wells farther away but they have admitted that the contaminated plume in the water will reach them soon. We, like a lot of communities, have an entire section in the grocery stores devoted to bottled water. Each grocery store also has filtered water machines outside. There are several bottled water companies in town. I predict that we will eventually have to buy all our drinking water from other states because there is no reclamation law in Arizona. We also have a huge dust problem from the mine tailings. The dust is like a fine gray powder which contains Arsenic and a lot of other chemicals. Many of the compounds are not controlled by the government. The mines recently offered to have cleaning crews go to houses that were involved in a terrible dust cloud from the tailings. They are paying to have two hundred houses cleaned. When the dust is bad, people on the north end of town use their windshield wipers when they drive. We live on the south end and do not suffer from the dust as much but we all have that same water.

This entire area, including Tucson and even Phoenix is on CAP water. That is the Central Arizona Project. It brings Colorado River water to the area and dumps it into ponds. The water drains into the ground and to the wells that supply our community.{and other communities} As soon as the silt covers the pond bottoms, they use other ponds while the ones recently used are dried and then bladed to remove the silt. We have been told that the WELL WATER used in Green Valley is unsafe for young people and old people BUT supposedly OK for the middle age. Isn't that a statement! That is because of the mines here. Since Green Valley is a retirement community, we are all in trouble. [You have to be 55 years of age to live here.] We have three open mine pits in our town. They are all copper mines. For years the mines never admitted what they used to extract the copper. Now they have been forced to because of the contamination. The tailings are huge and cover MILES! I can't see any way that our water will ever get better; just worse.

Except for the pollution and hot summers Green Valley is a great place to live. Boy, even I think that is a crazy statement! But it is true. It is very safe here as far as crime. I guess the bottom line is that we have little to fear as far as crime goes but will be killed by the water. It is not just my opinion; it is fact and known to everyone here now. I feel bad that the situation has gotten this bad but out here "COPPER IS KING." This is a statement that Senator John McCain made when I called his office several years ago. I have lived here for twenty-one years so I know what I am talking about.

topjimmy · 05-08-2007, 01:04 AM

When the ice caps melt and cool the ocean and the temperature drops worldwide, AZ will be the place to be.

Najt · 05-08-2007, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by topjimmy

When the ice caps melt and cool the ocean and the temperature drops worldwide, AZ will be the place to be.

Ah thats a new theory for me, first down and then up, got any link?

But its already melting and temps are going up. Are You by any chance in realestate?

Steve-o · 05-08-2007, 10:53 AM

If global warming temps hold true, AZ could be in big trouble. No doubt temps would raise to uninhabitable levels and any remaining water would likely evaporate. Im no scientist of course, but Id imagine that would naturally occur.

sablebaby · 05-08-2007, 11:28 AM

This is something that I keep in the back of my mind. I do wonder about it and wonder if I should move somewhere more milder. I don't know?

Steve-o · 05-08-2007, 11:32 AM

I wouldnt be too concerned about it. If anything happens that is that drastic, Id imagine it wouldnt be for several hundred years. Im not a true believer of the global warming theory, but I always leave my ears open to learn new things. And if what they say is true, AZ will be completely inhospitable as will most of the western states (maybe spare Oregon and Washington). Who knows. haha

Najt · 05-08-2007, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve-o

I wouldnt be too concerned about it. If anything happens that is that drastic, Id imagine it wouldnt be for several hundred years. Im not a true believer of the global warming theory, but I always leave my ears open to learn new things. And if what they say is true, AZ will be completely inhospitable as will most of the western states (maybe spare Oregon and Washington). Who knows. haha

Termps are already going up, glaciers and poles are melting. Cold areas will get milder winters and more storms, hotter places will get hotter during summers, deserts will increase. Once people see its going on in ie AZ, houseprices will drop, within 50 years or less, perhaps in a decade.

We have apts in south of Spain, there are similar climate as AZ. I look att AZ for a need to live there but hesitate and will sell my apts in Spain.

If mankind survives as more doubt now, US will be ok in the north I guess. Also where we live it will be nicer, hot places will have at least +5-10 C more. Spain can reach 50 C and Africa 60 C

But if politicians can take those hard and relatively cheap antimeasures and reduce emissions, hope will arise. It will have to wait for Democrates to rule in US?

Ponderosa · 05-08-2007, 01:34 PM

The global models are complete nonsense and pure speculatation - grad student stuff. No one knows with even the most minimal certainty what impact global warming might have on climate. Looking even three months out is not much better than guesswork or the Farmer's Almanac. Look at last year's hurricane predictions and this year's "El Nino" - wrong on both counts. The mechanisms are simply too complex and poorly understood to develop reliable models. Properly initialized, the models can make for exciting headlines, though. About all that can be said is it'll be warmer, on average, with global warming. Anyone who makes a property decision based on today's global warming models is - well I won't even say it.