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Old 02-14-2015, 10:04 AM
 
Location: Florida
11,669 posts, read 17,894,054 times
Reputation: 8239

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Risk of American 'megadroughts' for decades, NASA warns - CNN.com

Very scary indeed.

The video shows SoCal, Arizona, Las Vegas and much of the west and great plains being severely affected by megadroughts for up to 40 years. The worst droughts since 1,000 years ago. Do you think this will affect population growth in the region or do you think it will be resolved ASAP. It's scary, if you ask me.

I mean, it seems like the eastern U.S. is far more sustainable for human life over the long term.
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Old 02-14-2015, 11:05 AM
 
545 posts, read 1,096,588 times
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there will only be one way to sustain life in the west. desalination. if the technology takes off to convert sea water into fresh water, the west will be fine. in fact it will probably grow even more. however, if this doesn't take off, they may be screwed, and all move up towards seattle/portland, or come east.
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Old 02-14-2015, 11:14 AM
 
542 posts, read 1,679,292 times
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That's because all the precipitation is hitting Boston
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Old 02-14-2015, 11:14 AM
 
Location: North Idaho
2,394 posts, read 3,001,450 times
Reputation: 2934
Quote:
Originally Posted by gottaq View Post
there will only be one way to sustain life in the west. desalination. if the technology takes off to convert sea water into fresh water, the west will be fine. in fact it will probably grow even more. however, if this doesn't take off, they may be screwed, and all move up towards seattle/portland, or come east.
No, you've got it all wrong. The only way to sustain live in the west is to build a high speed train from southern California to northern California. It is so vital to the sustenance of life here that we must build this with a tremendous sense of urgency allowing LA to be connected with San Francisco by 2029.

I mean seriously, what would you rather have us do, spend $80 or $90B on a train, or build desalinization plants so we have drinking water?

Dave

Last edited by Cnynrat; 02-14-2015 at 11:28 AM..
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Old 02-14-2015, 02:20 PM
 
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,734 posts, read 23,728,028 times
Reputation: 14594
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cnynrat View Post
No, you've got it all wrong. The only way to sustain live in the west is to build a high speed train from southern California to northern California. It is so vital to the sustenance of life here that we must build this with a tremendous sense of urgency allowing LA to be connected with San Francisco by 2029.

I mean seriously, what would you rather have us do, spend $80 or $90B on a train, or build desalinization plants so we have drinking water?

Dave
Why not both? Americas apathy towards new, modern, and upgraded infrastructure is so pathetic. So much to be proud of in 21st century engineering achievement. Go America! But hey, thanks for that tea party "get off my lawn" moment.

Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 02-14-2015 at 02:30 PM..
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Old 02-14-2015, 02:26 PM
 
7,800 posts, read 4,385,547 times
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Of course, as I understand it, the megadrought could be alleviated if we took serious action on climate change. It is time to stop dithering around on the issue, and debating in the settled science of whether it is occuring, and start implementing and finding solutions.

Last edited by TreeBeard; 02-14-2015 at 03:10 PM..
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Old 02-14-2015, 04:56 PM
 
Location: North Idaho
2,394 posts, read 3,001,450 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Desert_SW_77 View Post
Why not both? Americas apathy towards new, modern, and upgraded infrastructure is so pathetic. So much to be proud of in 21st century engineering achievement. Go America! But hey, thanks for that tea party "get off my lawn" moment.
In case you haven't noticed, California is deeply in the red. We have not made significant investments in our water infrastructure in many years, all while the population has continued to grow. Water is more important than a train that travels between places that already have other acceptable transportation options. Desalinization plants would be a sensible investment in California's future. I seriously doubt the $80B investment that it will take to build the train will ever be recouped.

Dave
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Old 02-14-2015, 05:07 PM
 
Location: Boilermaker Territory
26,400 posts, read 46,389,722 times
Reputation: 19524
California must invest dollars in an increased fashion for desalinization. The drought scenario depicted is actually increasing quite likely due to what is called a "positive feedback loop." Increased average temperatures cause more evaporation. Evapotranspiration (what green plants give off) is reduced when crop lands and orchards are taken out of production in areas of California that are irrigation dependent. The "Pacific Decadal Oscillation" is also now in its positive phase, meaning less precipitation for the western US. The outlook is not good for the western US for drought and water supplies.
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Old 02-14-2015, 07:12 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Morningside)
14,362 posts, read 16,946,112 times
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There are two main issues with desalinization.

One is it's generally more expensive than the alternatives. Yes, some countries like Israel get a large portion of their water from desalinization now, but within the U.S. context, people could just move to where there is more water, cutting their cost of living substantially.

The second issue is it can become totally cost ineffective if the desalinized seawater then has to be pumped hundreds of miles inland, particularly over mountains. Desalinization will probably work for Southern California eventually, but it won't help cities like Phoenix, or even Las Vegas.
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Old 02-14-2015, 08:01 PM
 
3,750 posts, read 4,947,930 times
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The West was settled during an era in which it was oddly well watered (the late 1800s/early 1900s) and now people are realizing how arid and inhospitable the region actually is.
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