LA Times article on the "future of Phoenix" (2013, landscaping)

[liz451]

Phoenix's too hot future - latimes.com

What a biased, silly article. Funny how the article is lauding LA which has had frequent rolling blackouts and giving concerns Phoenix has power issues.

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.

[YAZ]

Upset 'cuz they're losing their most valuable asset:

Taxpayers.

[bluegrey]

My prediction: The LA Times will cease publication withing the next 10 years.

[Goober13]

I agree with the article. 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. People from around the country keep moving here to escape the weather, but snowy and rainy weather provides the water cities need for survival.

Urban sprawl here is ridiculous, due in some part to a metropolitan area which has tripled it's population since the 70's, but neighborhoods of old are not revitalized. These new citizens from cold country move into areas farther and farther from the city core, and all of the blacktop and desert landscaping does not provide for much cooling. Developers profit from the urban sprawl, and the motto of Phoenix is overbuild, and abandon older properties.

Good ole boys have always run this state, and they have little regard for the ecology, just money. They manage this state just like you would if you left your water faucet running at all times.

I was just thinking about this very thing the other day. How long can Phoenix be an area with massive growth and out of control urban sprawl, before it has to dial back like major cities of California did, and even more so, and property has premium value, and natural resource rationing becomes a requirement?

[Goober13]

Originally Posted by liz451

Phoenix's too hot future - latimes.com

What a biased, silly article. Funny how the article is lauding LA which has had frequent rolling blackouts and giving concerns Phoenix has power issues.

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.

The writer of this article just lives in LA, doesn't own the city. You just live here, you are not responsible for the development and politics of the city. The writer is just giving an analysis of what could happen if AZ leaders don't stop the sprawl with little concern for the long term consequences. It's not a silly article, if the natural resources of this city fail to keep up with population growth, is it?

Also, who cares how long the LA times will exist as a print publication. How long will any print publication exist, including the AZ Republic, when we live in the increasingly digital age of media?

[bluegrey]

I'm sure its employees will care. I know things may appear differently through the bottle bottoms of an NAU student, but perhaps you should visit one of the 25 or so historic neighborhoods in Phoenix and have a look. I think the suburban core of North Central would stack up well against the close in areas of any major city. People move here, and drive till they qualify, or simply want a new SFR........happens in every housing market that I have ever seen.

I didn't realize you needed to be on the grid to make solar energy. California will be underwater well before Phoenix is uninhabitable.

[Finger Laker]

It ties in though because the way these "newsoutlets" are now trying to drive readership is by garbage opinion pieces like this

Poor writer for a failing paper.........

[AZJoeD]

Interesting quote from this article which is directed at Phoenix, but should be directed at L.A.:

Longer term, if habits don't change, the Colorado River poses issues that no water claims can resolve. Beset by climate change, overuse and drought, the river and its reservoirs, according to various researchers, may decline to the point that water fails to pass Hoover Dam. In that case, the CAP system would dry up, but so would the Colorado Aqueduct, which serves greater Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as the All-American Canal, on which the factory farms of California's Imperial and Coachella valleys depend.

Californians have the worst habits with regard to water usage as they continue to pour billions of gallons into desert areas turning them green while AZ cities continue to promote conservation though native plants, xeriscaping, reclaimed water, etc. If anyone will be in trouble through loss of water it will be them.

[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.

[Finger Laker]

well if an internet poll from an LA newspaper says it's true and that is confirmed from someone from georia, then it must absolutely be true................