LA Times article on the "future of Phoenix" (Tucson: hotels, house)

[jaredC]

Originally Posted by NorthStarDelight

I don't think the article is silly at all. 60% of readers who voted in the poll apparently agree that Phoenix will become too hot to be habitable, although I'm one to think it's not habitable now. 33 days above a 110? Lows above 90? Wayyyyy too hot for me. Just imagine an extended power outage in that city in the middle of a heat wave with temps pushing 120 - it very well could happen, and the death toll would be astronomical. Throw in some hellish dust storms and the lack of water - whew, if I was a resident of Phoenix, I'd be loading up that U-Haul right now, even it meant living as a pauper somewhere else.

Hopefully that article will serve as a wake-up call to current residents of Phoenix, and that the time for moving elsewhere should be sooner, rather than later.

I think your spot on! My fiance and I moved into a rental home in august 4 years ago. The house we moved into didn't have a/c, rather, it had swamp cooling. The water pump failed and burnt out while we were moving in. The temps inside reached over 105 degrees in a mere minutes. Summers in phoenix are hellish. Almost making this city near unlivable and uninhabitable. Some people like it, and others, like myself, have a new found deep dislike for the 115 temps. I'm working on moving. I think my body has taken a liking to the colder temps. I know the grass is not always greener on the other side, but in phoenix the grass is yellow and dead from the heat.

[rosco917]

This is a political driven article, some liberal based region attacking a conservative region with it's garbage left wing agenda. California and New Mexico where the author is from.

Why do so many Californians move to Phoenix? Last year they bought more Phoenix property than Canadians.

I've read this post in it entirety...The above quote hits the nail on the head. Man..this Country is so divided I dare say the "hate" word is beginning to show its ugly little head.

When someone writes an extreme article such as this, with an obvious axe to grind, its bound to bring the reaction it has. Note: Arizona seams to be the target state. I dare say the opinions of the author include, the envy of the lower taxes, a repulsion of the gun culture, and the fact that Arizona is... "gulp" a red state.

With that being said, take a breath, examine the possibility that some of what was said actually may hold some truth, and keep it in mind.

[youthinkso]

Originally Posted by rosco917

I've read this post in it entirety...The above quote hits the nail on the head. Man..this Country is so divided I dare say the "hate" word is beginning to show its ugly little head.

When someone writes an extreme article such as this, with an obvious axe to grind, its bound to bring the reaction it has. Note: Arizona seams to be the target state. I dare say the opinions of the author include, the envy of the lower taxes, a repulsion of the gun culture, and the fact that Arizona is... "gulp" a red state.

With that being said, take a breath, examine the possibility that some of what was said actually may hold some truth, and keep it in mind.

It happens every where including up here in Alberta, the economic engine of Canada. Every major Liberal city and region constantly attacks Alberta and it's industry yet they can't move here fast enough to get a JOB , enjoy lower taxes and a higher standard of living.

[youthinkso]

Originally Posted by jaredC

I think your spot on! My fiance and I moved into a rental home in august 4 years ago. The house we moved into didn't have a/c, rather, it had swamp cooling. The water pump failed and burnt out while we were moving in. The temps inside reached over 105 degrees in a mere minutes. Summers in phoenix are hellish. Almost making this city near unlivable and uninhabitable. Some people like it, and others, like myself, have a new found deep dislike for the 115 temps. I'm working on moving. I think my body has taken a liking to the colder temps. I know the grass is not always greener on the other side, but in phoenix the grass is yellow and dead from the heat.

-40C kills....life goes on at +40C..... Grass doesn't belong in the desert just like palm trees don't belong in the north.

[cacto]

Originally Posted by NorthStarDelight

I don't think the article is silly at all. 60% of readers who voted in the poll apparently agree that Phoenix will become too hot to be habitable, although I'm one to think it's not habitable now. 33 days above a 110? Lows above 90? Wayyyyy too hot for me. Just imagine an extended power outage in that city in the middle of a heat wave with temps pushing 120 - it very well could happen, and the death toll would be astronomical. Throw in some hellish dust storms and the lack of water - whew, if I was a resident of Phoenix, I'd be loading up that U-Haul right now, even it meant living as a pauper somewhere else.

Hopefully that article will serve as a wake-up call to current residents of Phoenix, and that the time for moving elsewhere should be sooner, rather than later.

I guess all those millions of people in the Middle East and North Africa without electricity or AC don't know they're supposed to be dead.

[kremit]

Originally Posted by corydon

Phoenix, or better, Maricopa county pours a large amount on the land too.... Look at al the golf courses, lakes, trees and greenery everywhere.

I always wondered why they never built a pipeline from the great lakes going south west, it is work to built, and bring more work.
Right now it pours in the ocean, anybody seen the Niagra falls?? Say you take 3% away...

I think it would be easier to partner up with California or Mexico and port distilled water over. I'm sure California wouldn't mind trading electricity for water.

But how much of that is gray water? I know in Chandler most of the landscaping done around the city is drip and gray. Just look for the purple signs. As far as climate change in regards to Phoenix being too hot. I don't believe the Phoenix area will become hotter then it usually is. The desert gets hot, that's how it is here. You can drive 7000 ft and get out of it. Though downtown has heat island effect, I think the light rail will help with that. How? They have trees and plants throughout the line, once those trees become mature, it will shade the pavement and help against the heat island problem. I don't know how much skyscrapers play into the heat island problem.

As far as Phoenix running out of water. The article writer may have based his article on this:

Per CAP:

The Bureau of Reclamation released a study which concludes that with implementation of additional measures, projected future imbalances in supply and demand on the Colorado River can be successfully managed. The study concludes that by 2060, and in some cases by 2025, future demands on Colorado River water may exceed the available supplies. The study shows prudent planning and targeted investments in additional water supplies and conservation efforts will sustain the Colorado River system into the future.

If we run into a situation where demand is higher then the supply, all states will be effected, including California.

Per CAP:

If we had a drought tomorrow or next year, there is enough water stored behind dams to provide the needs for all the upper and lower basin states for three to five years depending on their usage. If low flows continued for years, all the users of Colorado River water in the different states would suffer cutbacks."

Phoenix and it's surrounding cities are not getting smaller. I think right now would be a great time to look at porting water to the desert southwest before we have another spike in population like this place always does.

[stephen431]

Originally Posted by Goober13

Global warming is a real phenomenon. We are having more devastaing weather patterns everywhere, not just here in Phoenix.

Phoenix is not self sufficient for it's energy needs. We get maybe 7-8 inches of rain a year.

If there is one city in the United States that is built to handle global warming, it's Phoenix.

In other cities, when the temperature breaks 105, people start dying and utilities start to fail. That's not the case here. We know how to handle heat and lack of rain. Our problems happen when we have too much water and/or cold weather. If I recall, the last real major disaster this city had was the flood in 1980.
The city and its infrastructure was built to withstand heat. All those houses, businesses & schools you see with the solar panels on their roofs aren't going to be too affected by sustained power outages.

As far as the water situation, the projections have at least 50 years of sustained water supply without any dramatic problems. Besides that, residential greywater systems are fairly cheap, Xeriscaping is easy to install, the CAP could be modified to reduce evaporation, etc. There are all kinds of small adjustments we could make as they become necessary. As soon as we have to deal with some citywide water restrictions, people will start installing those systems, and our overall water usage will drop. It's really not residential users that need to worry. It's the farmers that do. They're the first users who will get cut off when water levels drop.

The dust storms are not really a big deal. They look crazy and ominous on the evening news, but the actual impact is pretty minor. You have to clean your pool, change your air filters, and wash your car.

The heat island is what it is. It's not like people cut down a forest or paved over wetlands to build a city here. It's a desert. The whole area was already a heat island before the first parking lot was ever paved. All the concrete has added 10 degrees to the city's average temperatures since the 1960's? Okay... It seems like we've managed.

I read this article and it just didn't do anything for me.

[Scottay]

Originally Posted by liz451

Phoenix has its challenges but talking about Phoenix being a "masonry world with asphalt and concrete everywhere" when the writer comes from LA is beyond laughable.

What are talking about???? This is a masonry and concrete jungle. Have you ever lived in another city? Most dont have yards fenced by 8' high masonry block walls that give neighborhoods that closed off, prison block look.

Originally Posted by Goober13

We get maybe 7-8 inches of rain a year.

There's more than enough aquifer and Colorado River water to sustain us for years and years to come.

[corydon]

Originally Posted by stephen431

It's really not residential users that need to worry. It's the farmers that do. They're the first users who will get cut off when water levels drop.

.

Yes... those pesky farmers, who needs them, the supermarket has everything we need......

Don't believe these folks who will try to tel you icecream comes from cows, ever seen a cow producing vanilla ice cream????

[Packard fan]

Originally Posted by NorthStarDelight

I don't think the article is silly at all. 60% of readers who voted in the poll apparently agree that Phoenix will become too hot to be habitable, although I'm one to think it's not habitable now. 33 days above a 110? Lows above 90? Wayyyyy too hot for me. Just imagine an extended power outage in that city in the middle of a heat wave with temps pushing 120 - it very well could happen, and the death toll would be astronomical. Throw in some hellish dust storms and the lack of water - whew, if I was a resident of Phoenix, I'd be loading up that U-Haul right now, even it meant living as a pauper somewhere else.

Hopefully that article will serve as a wake-up call to current residents of Phoenix, and that the time for moving elsewhere should be sooner, rather than later.

Uh; you need to remember out 110F temps are no worse than your 90F temps in Georgia or Chicago. Not long ago several 100 people DIED in Chicago because of its week or so of 95F plus temps.