The weather in the USA...
- Thread starter London_Calling
- Start date
Rebecca Solnit is a good antidote to pessism. It's not about being zombie mind less consumers. It's not about individual consumer choice, except for the billionaire class.
The world's largest institutional user of fossil fuels is the US Military. The majority of the world's pollution is caused by 100 companies. Donella Meadows' Leverage Points shows how it works.
The world's largest institutional user of fossil fuels is the US Military. The majority of the world's pollution is caused by 100 companies. Donella Meadows' Leverage Points shows how it works.
story
Changing the facts
story
Changing the facts
Recent satellite pictures of Lake Mead show the extent of water loss.
This link has a picture where you can slide the picture from one side to the other to compare the old extent of the lake with how it looks now.
news.sky.com
Some more links to the same story.
www.theguardian.com
www.nytimes.com
This LA Times gives more detail about the local impact of water loss.
www.latimes.com
This link has a picture where you can slide the picture from one side to the other to compare the old extent of the lake with how it looks now.
NASA satellite images reveal impact of severe drought on US's largest reservoir Lake Mead
New satellite images from NASA have shown historic low levels of water at the United States' largest reservoir, due to severe drought.
news.sky.com
Some more links to the same story.
Nasa images show extreme withering of Lake Mead over 22 years
The pictures from 2000, 2021 and 2022 offer a new view into its dramatically low water levels, now at just 27% capacity
See How Far Water Levels in Lake Mead Have Fallen
New satellite images of the reservoir, a critical source of water for 25 million people, reveal dangerously low water levels.
This LA Times gives more detail about the local impact of water loss.
Dramatic NASA photos reveal Lake Mead water levels at lowest point since 1937
Satellite images from NASA show the dramatic water loss at drought-stricken Lake Mead, a lifeline for California, neighboring states and Mexico.
www.latimes.com
story
Changing the facts
Those golf courses are still permitted to keep their greens green, but they’re now using reclaimed and recycled water. So that’s alright then.
abcnews.go.com
How Southern California golf courses are adjusting to new water restrictions
Water restrictions in the West are becoming commonplace as the megadrought intensifies and reservoir levels continue to recede -- including on golf courses.
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story
Changing the facts
Meanwhile....
www.independent.co.uk
And discussion has started about how, and whether, to use increasingly scanty water to put out wildfires caused by drought and excessive heat.
www.latimes.com
‘Explosive’ wildfire near Yosemite burns more than 6,000 acres within hours
A fast-moving California wildfire has grown to more than 10 square miles (26.5 km) since it sparked on Friday afternoon, burning more than 6,500 acres and partially blocking access to Yosemite National Park. “Emergency personnel are working to safely evacuate people and are actively engaged in...
www.independent.co.uk
Oak Fire: Emergency declared as wildfire rages near Yosemite National Park
More than 3,000 people have been evacuated as the wildfire rages near Yosemite National Park.
www.bbc.co.uk
And discussion has started about how, and whether, to use increasingly scanty water to put out wildfires caused by drought and excessive heat.
Will water restrictions bring more destructive SoCal brush fires? Some demand more water
Some water districts say new drought restrictions raise wildfire risks. They are demanding that the state give them more water for outdoor irrigation.
www.latimes.com
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story
Changing the facts
The current wildfires in California are part of the weather and climate catastrophe.
Depending on how up to date the list is and where you look, the fine detail is unclear but it’s safe to say that the great majority of the worst fires in Californian history have occurred in the last 8-10 years.
So it’s either five out of eight, or eight out of ten or…
A twenty year drought -> death of trees and stress on surviving vegetation -> increase of dry tinder in dry woodlands + trees being prone to attack by predatory insects -> more dead trees -> more dry tinder.
Lightening strike, arson, human accident / foolishness -> fire + higher ambient temperatures for longer periods of time -> fires that burn hotter, faster and are more explosive than before + ongoing drought x insufficient water to give to humans and their golf courses and to forest fires.
Irresponsible agricultural/irrigation practices.
There is catastrophic destruction of habitat for animals & insects. Humans still get priority over all else.
There is a high and increasing likelihood of desertification in SoCal.
At some point this thread will link in very tight and strong to the political threads about America. The one asking “Is America burning?” may as well get merged with this one at some point.
Some say that civil war is impossible over there. I’m still seeing increased chances of that happening. Add in water poverty, their obsession with property rights, the need for irrigation and watering for farm animals, loss of viable agricultural land with decreased capacity to grow the food they throw away in obscene quantities. It can only get worse.
How is this salvageable now?
Depending on how up to date the list is and where you look, the fine detail is unclear but it’s safe to say that the great majority of the worst fires in Californian history have occurred in the last 8-10 years.
So it’s either five out of eight, or eight out of ten or…
A twenty year drought -> death of trees and stress on surviving vegetation -> increase of dry tinder in dry woodlands + trees being prone to attack by predatory insects -> more dead trees -> more dry tinder.
Lightening strike, arson, human accident / foolishness -> fire + higher ambient temperatures for longer periods of time -> fires that burn hotter, faster and are more explosive than before + ongoing drought x insufficient water to give to humans and their golf courses and to forest fires.
Irresponsible agricultural/irrigation practices.
There is catastrophic destruction of habitat for animals & insects. Humans still get priority over all else.
There is a high and increasing likelihood of desertification in SoCal.
At some point this thread will link in very tight and strong to the political threads about America. The one asking “Is America burning?” may as well get merged with this one at some point.
Some say that civil war is impossible over there. I’m still seeing increased chances of that happening. Add in water poverty, their obsession with property rights, the need for irrigation and watering for farm animals, loss of viable agricultural land with decreased capacity to grow the food they throw away in obscene quantities. It can only get worse.
How is this salvageable now?
planetgeli
There's no future in England's dreaming
Well I couldn't find anything 'international' in the thread listing so I'm merging this post here. Talking of things burning.
That's the result of impoverished Mexicans burning water pipes. The story is here.
Incendian tuberías para evitar envío de agua a Monterrey
Señalan a comunidades de área citrícola de Allende y Montemorelos. Autoridades buscan sacar líquido del río Ramos para la zona metropolitana.
And here.
‘It’s plunder’: Mexico desperate for water while drinks companies use billions of litres
As drought grips cities like Monterrey, people queue with buckets for brackish water. But Coca-Cola and other firms are still extracting groundwater
The drought in North Mexico means taps are dry in the city of Monterrey so pipas, primarily run by the city authority, are the only way to deliver water to homes and businesses. As people who cannot afford bottled water are drinking the brackish water from the trucks, anger is growing here that beverage companies with bottling plants here, including Coca Cola and Heineken, are extracting billions of litres of water from public reservoirs.
There has been no running water in low-income homes in Monterrey for over a month. Meanwhile Coca-Cola take 50% of their water from public reservoirs. Monterrey's director of water and drainage is the founder of one of the companies who bottle coca-cola. Poorer Mexicans are having to drink water unfit for consumption while the richer districts maintain their supplies.
It's a class issue as the climate issue will more and more become.
On 16 July, residents of two impoverished Monterrey suburbs learned that a portion of the remaining water from a nearby reservoir would be diverted to the city. In response, they blocked a highway with a barricade of cars, tyres, rocks and tree branches, stalling traffic for two days. Then they burned the water pipes.
State security forces guard a dam in Mexico. This isn't the future, this is now.
story
Changing the facts
Las Vegas New Mexico has just announced that they have about 50 days worth of clean water. The supply has been contaminated by a wildfire.
And they had flash flooding after the huge wildfire.
boingboing.net
apnews.com
Meanwhile, Las Vegas Arizona has also had freak thunderstorms and flooding.
Also, as an aside, the water level in Lake Mead is still going down and a third set of human remains in a barrel has been exposed.
www.thetimes.co.uk
And they had flash flooding after the huge wildfire.
Las Vegas, NM says it only has 50 days of clean water before it runs out. Meanwhile Las Vegas, NV is flooded | Boing Boing
The City of Las Vegas, New Mexico, says it only has a 50-day supply of clean water and has declared a state of emergency. According to city officials the entire water supply is dependent on thr Gal…
boingboing.net
Body of a man missing in New Mexico floodwaters is recovered
LAS VEGAS, N.M. (AP) — The body of a man reported missing after flash floods hit the wildfire burn scar in northern New Mexico last week has been recovered, authorities said Tuesday.
apnews.com
Meanwhile, Las Vegas Arizona has also had freak thunderstorms and flooding.
Also, as an aside, the water level in Lake Mead is still going down and a third set of human remains in a barrel has been exposed.
Body in barrel was ‘casino boss who angered Las Vegas mob’
One afternoon Matt Blanchard and Shawn Rosen entered Lake Mead on their boat, tempted on to the water by rumours of riches buried beneath the waves.They had b
www.thetimes.co.uk
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story
Changing the facts
The stuff about Coca-Cola stealing water from the local population has been going on, and been ignored, for a really long time.
From 2017
www.independent.co.uk
From 2007
waronwant.org
And they impact the local population in other ways than stealing water
www.nytimes.com
And they do it all over the world.
qz.com
ETA
I‘m not going to provide links but there are also claims from Coca-Cola that they preserve protect and replenish local water supplies. They’ve been in the news for some of that too. On balance though, I think it’s pretty clear that they’re fucking things up.
From 2017
Coca-Cola sucking wells dry in indigenous Mexican town - forcing residents to buy bottled water
Bottling plant 'consumes more than a million litres of water a day'
www.independent.co.uk
From 2007
Coca-Cola: drinking the world dry
Coca-Cola has been accused of dehydrating communities in its pursuit of water resources
And they impact the local population in other ways than stealing water
In Town With Little Water, Coca-Cola Is Everywhere. So Is Diabetes. (Published 2018)
Residents of one of Mexico’s rainiest regions often have no water to drink, so many hydrate with soda. The impact on public health has been devastating.
And they do it all over the world.
Cape Town’s bottlers and brewers are coming under fire for guzzling water in a drought
Cape Town's water crisis has seen resident worry as its get cleriport
qz.com
ETA
I‘m not going to provide links but there are also claims from Coca-Cola that they preserve protect and replenish local water supplies. They’ve been in the news for some of that too. On balance though, I think it’s pretty clear that they’re fucking things up.
bcuster
Well-Known Member
Kentucky Flooding: Bodies Found Of Four Children Swept From Parents' Arms | The Weather Channel
The death toll in Kentucky continued to rise Saturday. - Articles from The Weather Channel | weather.com
weather.com
petee
no gods, no malarkey
maybe this will help
the whole article makes it sound as if this is a bad thing until the end.
The rain will also be beneficial for most of the Southwest as almost all of the region is in some stage of drought. Eighty-two percent of Utah and 60 percent of California are considered to be in either extreme or exceptional drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Even in Arizona, which has had some of the region's heaviest and most consistent rainfall, over 90 percent of the state still remains in some form of drought, proving that it will take a prolonged period of wet weather to break the drought conditions.
the whole article makes it sound as if this is a bad thing until the end.
The rain will also be beneficial for most of the Southwest as almost all of the region is in some stage of drought. Eighty-two percent of Utah and 60 percent of California are considered to be in either extreme or exceptional drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Even in Arizona, which has had some of the region's heaviest and most consistent rainfall, over 90 percent of the state still remains in some form of drought, proving that it will take a prolonged period of wet weather to break the drought conditions.
story
Changing the facts
One of the problems with heavy rains after prolonged dry weather is that it can’t soak into the baked land. Just runs off the surface, or washes the surface away, or saturates some places and so fast that it can’t soak in properly and loads the land to much. We could see erosion, landslides, floods etc. Some of that is already happening.
But other than that it’s very much needed and very welcome.
But other than that it’s very much needed and very welcome.
story
Changing the facts
Death toll has risen in the catastrophic floods in Kentucky last week .
Kentucky floods: Death toll rises to 37, hundreds still missing
Kentucky floods: Death toll rises to 37, hundreds still missing
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Changing the facts
And the Great Salt Lake is drying up.
www.theguardian.com
www.nytimes.com
If it does dry up, the remains could lead to toxic dust storms.
www.deseret.com
The current monsoon isn’t enough to replenish the lake.
www.deseret.com
Satellite images reveal shrinkage of Utah’s Great Salt Lake
Striking new images show lake has lost nearly half of its surface area from the historical average
As the Great Salt Lake Dries Up, Utah Faces An ‘Environmental Nuclear Bomb’
Climate change and rapid population growth are shrinking the lake, creating a bowl of toxic dust that could poison the air around Salt Lake City.
If it does dry up, the remains could lead to toxic dust storms.
Opinion: The toxic tale of the Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake is shrinking, and toxic metals contained in the exposed lakebed — cancer-causing toxins — are blown toward us with every dust storm.
www.deseret.com
The current monsoon isn’t enough to replenish the lake.
No. The rain is not going to cure Utah’s drought
But much needed moisture will help soils
www.deseret.com
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bcuster
Well-Known Member
Sand dune collapse kills photographer:
petee
no gods, no malarkey
And the Great Salt Lake is drying up.
Satellite images reveal shrinkage of Utah’s Great Salt Lake
Striking new images show lake has lost nearly half of its surface area from the historical average
As the Great Salt Lake Dries Up, Utah Faces An ‘Environmental Nuclear Bomb’
Climate change and rapid population growth are shrinking the lake, creating a bowl of toxic dust that could poison the air around Salt Lake City.
If it does dry up, the remains could lead to toxic dust storms.
Opinion: The toxic tale of the Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake is shrinking, and toxic metals contained in the exposed lakebed — cancer-causing toxins — are blown toward us with every dust storm.
The current monsoon isn’t enough to replenish the lake.
No. The rain is not going to cure Utah’s drought
But much needed moisture will help soils
the salt lake business is bad news. every source i've read says it;s a disaster in the making.
petee
no gods, no malarkey
this'll be interesting, there have been no hurricanes this year yet but 6 names had been used up by this time last year.
however ...
Weather Permitting: Hurricane season has been quiet so far in 2022. Will it stay that way?
For only the fourth time in the past 30 years, the stretch from July 4 to Aug. 4 has passed without any named storm activity.
www.fayobserver.com
bcuster
Well-Known Member
Many areas in eastern N. America could use the rainthis'll be interesting, there have been no hurricanes this year yet but 6 names had been used up by this time last year.
however ...
Weather Permitting: Hurricane season has been quiet so far in 2022. Will it stay that way?
For only the fourth time in the past 30 years, the stretch from July 4 to Aug. 4 has passed without any named storm activity.
petee
no gods, no malarkey
including ...
NYC Drought Hits ‘Severe' Levels for 1st Time in Decades: Here's What That Means
Nearly all of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are in varying levels of drought, with NYC and parts of surrounding counties in New Jersey hitting “severe” levels
www.nbcnewyork.com
bcuster
Well-Known Member
I've expressed my concerns about drought in the northern hemisphere on this and other threads. i see little reason to be optimistic about the situation... The hurricane season has, thus far, been described as "quiet" by the experts...including ...
NYC Drought Hits ‘Severe' Levels for 1st Time in Decades: Here's What That Means
Nearly all of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are in varying levels of drought, with NYC and parts of surrounding counties in New Jersey hitting “severe” levels
petee
no gods, no malarkey
meteorologists keep saying it's coming, and it's a good bet to cover yourself in case it does, but it's still been very calm here on the atlantic coast
story
Changing the facts
Update on Lake Mead.
This article gives a round up of the current situation. It’s a bit click-bait-ish and covers stuff already in this thread, but it’s a handy compendium with some good satellite snapshots.
www.vox.com
The levels are now at 27% despite recent downpours and floods, and despite water in the lake, which almost immediately disappeared, there are new restrictions on how much can be taken out.
The lake fails as a source of human use when it reaches 1000 foot deep. Right now it’s 1045 feet deep.
This article gives a round up of the current situation. It’s a bit click-bait-ish and covers stuff already in this thread, but it’s a handy compendium with some good satellite snapshots.
The Colorado River drought is so bad you can see it from space
More water cuts are coming as the nation’s largest reservoirs continue to dry up in the worst drought in 1,200 years.
www.vox.com
The levels are now at 27% despite recent downpours and floods, and despite water in the lake, which almost immediately disappeared, there are new restrictions on how much can be taken out.
Lake Mead Water Shortage
In January 2022, Southern Nevada’s water allocation was reduced by 7 billion gallons, enough water to serve 45,000 homes.
www.lasvegasnevada.gov
The lake fails as a source of human use when it reaches 1000 foot deep. Right now it’s 1045 feet deep.
petee
no gods, no malarkey
Update on Lake Mead.
This article gives a round up of the current situation. It’s a bit click-bait-ish and covers stuff already in this thread, but it’s a handy compendium with some good satellite snapshots.
The Colorado River drought is so bad you can see it from space
More water cuts are coming as the nation’s largest reservoirs continue to dry up in the worst drought in 1,200 years.
form a link in there
crikey i knew it was bad, but not that bad.
story
Changing the facts
An interesting theory about why it’s losing water so rapidly is about what’s going on beneath.
As there is less water, so there is less weight. Fissures and cracks that were formed when the lake was created (with the extra weight bearing down on the bedrock) are now shifting as the weight of water lessens. The cracks are opening uo and the water is running away. This theory allows the water to enter aquifers, which would be relatively good. But if you consider that a bath flowing out the plug hole empties faster than you can empty it by bailing water off the top, I can’t see how this theory (sorry….) holds much water,. If the cracks were large enough for water to run away beneath, I think we’d be seeing a lot more water running away.
I can’t find any science to support this theory. It’s been posted by someone on youtube and added here cos yunnow it’s part of the discussion out there.
ETA and I can’t now find the video that presented this theory. Never mind.
As there is less water, so there is less weight. Fissures and cracks that were formed when the lake was created (with the extra weight bearing down on the bedrock) are now shifting as the weight of water lessens. The cracks are opening uo and the water is running away. This theory allows the water to enter aquifers, which would be relatively good. But if you consider that a bath flowing out the plug hole empties faster than you can empty it by bailing water off the top, I can’t see how this theory (sorry….) holds much water,. If the cracks were large enough for water to run away beneath, I think we’d be seeing a lot more water running away.
I can’t find any science to support this theory. It’s been posted by someone on youtube and added here cos yunnow it’s part of the discussion out there.
ETA and I can’t now find the video that presented this theory. Never mind.
