... water.
Not a pleasant prospect for anyone or anywhere.
Not a pleasant prospect for anyone or anywhere.
So, it is very disturbing to read that it would appear that the western states of the USA definitely are running out of both. This is official and details of it can be found here.
But, it goes much, much deeper than that - it appears that the western states of the USA are not just suffering a (rainfall) drought - it goes much, much deeper than that. Click on the link under the photo credit to read more.
Considering that California is the bread basket of the US of A, this is indeed not good news. And - in addition - some bright spark signed a bill allowing fracking to proceed in the Monterey shale there - without an environmental review. Thank goodness the City of Los Angeles stepped in and placed a moratorium on fracking there in February this year. But who is going to look after the rest of the western states?
The City of Los Angeles obviously has foresight. Pity our government does not!
No water, no life.
And then the worldwide gravy trains will definitely run out of tracks...
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| Photo credit: http://phys.org/news/2014-07-underground-loss-drought.htmlThis picture taken from a helicopter shows a drought affected area on the outskirts of San Francisco, California, on July 23, 2014 |
Considering that California is the bread basket of the US of A, this is indeed not good news. And - in addition - some bright spark signed a bill allowing fracking to proceed in the Monterey shale there - without an environmental review. Thank goodness the City of Los Angeles stepped in and placed a moratorium on fracking there in February this year. But who is going to look after the rest of the western states?
The City of Los Angeles obviously has foresight. Pity our government does not!
No water, no life.
And then the worldwide gravy trains will definitely run out of tracks...
We are seeing the effects of the drought in grocery prices. They go up week to week. Many ranchers are selling off livestock because they can't afford to buy feed and it is too dry to grow it themselves. Here in Minnesota, much of our produce comes from our West Coast. Our growing season here is so short that we can't raise many of the crops that take time to mature. Even though we are not in the heavy drought region, we are still affected. And I hate to think of the consequences when water becomes even more scarce.
ReplyDeleteVicki - It goes much deeper than grocery prices rising. No water is like bad weather - it means no crops. Are the people at the top only going to take notice when it's too late...?
DeleteI am very much afraid that they will take notice only if they can use the situation for their own profit or as another means to try to control the population. If they run true to form, plans are probably already in the works for at least the control part. Judging by the way our government is working on our behalf to control the flow of illegals across our southern border (said with sarcasm), I would guess that they would apply the same to a water crisis.
DeleteThat is a true, sad reflection of the state of afffairs. Governments have lost their accountability - except when it comes to election time - then the promises run free and wild...
DeleteIndeed very worrying Dani. Either the ones at the top know something we don't or else they just don't give a hoot. In our neck of the woods we have not had our share of winter rain yet, so things are looking grim... thank goodness for our borehole which we use only for our fruit trees and veggies, our neighbor on the other hand... that's another story!!
ReplyDeleteThe farmers in the area keep clearing further and further into the mountains and planting more and more orchards to stay competitive with international markets. The result is they need more water so that means more boreholes and taxation of our already depleted rivers. Being the eastern cape the farmers get away with murder when it comes to illegally obtaining water or else a bribe usually sorts things out.
AB - I fear the second option is the correct one.
DeleteYeah, we too have had very little rain - only 18;5 mm for the whole of July!! It seems that it has mainly fallen in Cape Town from the looks of it. Thankfully, our rain water tanks are helping tremendously - don't know what we would've done without them.
Eastern Cape - that is another story... It would appear to be the forgotten province due to the lack of resources / tourism / national stadiums / sports events, etc. That is actually a prime example of how we are all being manipulated - except in the case of the Eastern Cape, it is completely apparent.
Sad, sad, sad.
In July we got 113 mm, which as it happens is exactly what we got in 2013. Wondering if our August will be wetter or drier?
ReplyDeleteDiana - Wow - I thought the west coast was the drier side? We only got 18.5 mm during the entire month. I only started keeping a rainfall record in November last year, so have no idea if we are above or below lasts year amount. I do recall the year (2012) we arrived here that July was a particularly wet month - it was the first month of our build, and work had to keep stopping due to inclement weather.
Deletebut the 3 years before were only half that. WE ARE the drier side, but it varies. Raining today.
DeleteLucky you. We have had 1/2 mm this month so far. The oats aren't doing so well...
DeleteCalifornia is pumping the aquifer dry, and the snow packs in the Sierra Nevadas are consistently less and less. Already in Southern California, crops like almonds are being phased out. I saw a news program where hundreds of almond trees were being bulldozed as there wasn't enough water for them. The population of Southern California swells by thousands literally every month. The water distribution system of L.A. is very old, and millions of gallons of water are lost through leaks and breaks. In Arizona and Las Vegas, the big reservoirs are getting down to the bottom. I think people out there are going to be drinking dust before very much longer.
ReplyDeleteHarry - It seems that everywhere the rural dwellers are moving en masse to the brighter lights, and creating problems with that move. The growth of "informal" townships (squatter camps) here is most concerning, and can only lead to the increased breeding of discontent, as basic services, money, food and secure accomodation is in very short supply. I agree - in the case of Las Vegas they are very generous" with water - if anyone cared a whit those famous water statues should be replaced with "solid" artwork a.s.a.p. I'd love to know how much water is wasted / evapourated per day because of those fountains...
DeleteIn the Texas Panhandle where I live all of the water comes from an ancient underground aquifer which does not recharge, when it's gone ....it's gone. There are a few man-made lakes that have been used to supplement the aquifer but almost all of them are classified as dead lakes now. Still under these circumstances, the government is allowing oil companies to use this water for fracking which take millions of gallons for each well and pollute the environment at the same time. Money talks!!!
ReplyDeleteMarlin - Welcome - and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
DeleteI wonder - is it money, or is it greed which is talking? Empty aquifers is a hectic situation and one which has no solution. And we're talking about lives now, not money or greed...
Your right and that's what I meant when I said money talks. Our government is so corrupt that they will take money for votes from their supporters, and sell off our drinking water, and in the U.S. not even protect our food supply. Thanks.
DeleteMarlin - The disease is highly contagious - it would appear that all governments are corrupt! Not a good position for voters to be in :(
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