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I worked for a very well known scientist who once told me not to look at properties in the SW if I want my children to inherit my land and still be able to live on it. He said with the climate change and the depleting water supplies, look at areas around Michigan and the great lakes. They will get warmer with time (shorter winters) and they are green and have much more water.
If by "live on it" you mean grow crops, then I can see that being a problem. But most people aren't going to leave here because farming and water intensive industries cease to be viable. You'll still be able to get all the water you want for residential use at a reasonable price... unless the *politics* decides otherwise.
If by "live on it" you mean grow crops, then I can see that being a problem. But most people aren't going to leave here because farming and water intensive industries cease to be viable. You'll still be able to get all the water you want for residential use at a reasonable price... unless the *politics* decides otherwise.
Correct. Should have been more specific - if you intend to live (more or less) off the land, you would be better off seeking out a different locale.
"Last summer’s central Great Plains drought was caused primarily by natural climate variability, not human-caused climate change, a team of federal scientists concluded in a report released Thursday.
The study did not look at the deeper, multiyear drought that has gripped most of New Mexico, with a lack of winter precipitation and hot spring weather has left the state’s reservoirs and rivers parched for three consecutive years. But it does help explain the extreme summer of 2012 in northeast New Mexico."
You can have anything you like that doesn't require large amounts of water... so sure, you can have electricity.
There is a hopeful, long-term project going on outside of Taos, where rainwater-harvesting, solar/wind energy, small livestock/crops, and creativity may spread through New Mexico.
It's lovely here. And I find myself wishing I could stay. However, a big problem is that we're in a severe drought. Seven years ago the head of our water authority said he was losing sleep over our lack of water. It's now seven years later, and things are worse. Throughout the whole state. Water conservation activists say that if the drought continues, the water shortage will severely impact our ability to live here, and that will happen within the next 3-5 years. I don't know how true that is, but it has made me think. I love the SW too, but I'm moving out of NM. And if you look at the state statistics (I'll try to find the link), more people are moving out of NM every year than moving in. And it's so sad. This has to be one of the top 5 more beautiful states in The US.
Well if enough people leave there won't be a water shortage, so maybe that's a reason to stay. How do you think the water shortage will impact your ability to live there?
I did a little research into the drought in NM. It seems that 80% of water usage is agriculture. I read that much less water could be used in exchange for only a small drop in farming revenue, by changing crop type. I see a lot of lawns in ABQ. I see golf courses. So I'm thinking the water shortage is really a pricing issue, hence a political issue. People are using water to the extent there's a shortage, because water is cheap enough. At a higher price there wouldn't be a shortage. Not that there should be a higher price; rather people should get used to the idea that the drought isn't real to the extent that basic needs are threatened.
I think in the long run the water limits in ABQ could be good for living there. If there was a lot more water then you'd expect ABQ to grow to millions more people, especially since the weather is mild. You want limits on resources to keep a lid on population growth. We have ample water in Western WA, and we have 3 million people, someday to double and then triple. There's too many people here as it is.
Last edited by Jalhop; 04-19-2013 at 12:20 PM..
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"flash drought" last year?
