topic Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century.... in Community Chat

NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

BaileyandBella — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 22:42:03 GMT

I would like to know what they think of our current drought

http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/february/nasa-study-finds-carbon-emissions-could-dramatically-increase-risk-of-us/#.VOEEaS5tA_p

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

Kachina624 — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 23:50:34 GMT

I think water is precious, should be carefully used and it's time to shut down big wasters like Las Vegas. Yes, I know they recycle the water in those fountains and on the golf courses, but in a desert climate a huge amount is lost to evaporation.

There are big, high rolling, investors now buying water rights the way they used to buy oil rights, especially in Texas. In Albuquerque they urged people to conserve water. They did such a good job that the water company had to raise its rates to cover the loss in operating revenue.

The last year we had "normal" rainfall was 2006. Normally I'd get about 7" a year at my house. Since 2006, I've gotten less than half that amount annually. Every year seems to be worse than the last.

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

BaileyandBella — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 04:19:19 GMT

I am in So Cal.

Our Fall/Winter started great with lots of rain, but then came to a screeching halt.

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

foundinlv — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 04:58:13 GMT

On 2/15/2015 Kachina624 said:
I think water is precious, should be carefully used and it's time to shut down big wasters like Las Vegas. Yes, I know they recycle the water in those fountains and on the golf courses, but in a desert climate a huge amount is lost to evaporation.

There are big, high rolling, investors now buying water rights the way they used to buy oil rights, especially in Texas. In Albuquerque they urged people to conserve water. They did such a good job that the water company had to raise its rates to cover the loss in operating revenue.

The last year we had "normal" rainfall was 2006. Normally I'd get about 7" a year at my house. Since 2006, I've gotten less than half that amount annually. Every year seems to be worse than the last.

Kachina....what shocked us was there was never a moratorium on building. Instead, just unbridled growth of new homes. We have a schedule that we follow per the water authority to water our lawn but if they made it mandatory that all residences have a desert landscape, I would not be opposed to that. There's already a law about not washing your car on your driveway...one must go to an approved car wash that uses recycled water. And I think we were a little surprised at the continued growth on Las Vegas Blvd....we always thought there were enough rooms for the visitors but I guess not.

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

sylviahomeatlast — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 05:24:15 GMT

We have drought here, it seems continually. But the, it's always been an almost arid climate. We're on the edge of the plains and mountains. After California diverted water from the Colorado River and created Lake POwell for recreation, it hasn't been the same

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

Kachina624 — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 05:56:28 GMT

Sylvia, they didn't divert the Colorado River, they damed it to create Lake Powell, then they damed it to create Lake Meade. A reservoir like these lakes has a limited lifespan because the water is full of silt and it settles to the bottom, filling the lake with dirt. I've heard 100 years tossed about as the lifespan of Lake Powell from its inception. Both of these lakes are pitifully low on water right now. I don't see how it would affect Colorado though as the dams are far downstream from Colorado. There is also supposed to be a big to-do about water in the artesian wells in the San Luis Valley...you've probably heard all about that.

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

Lila Belle — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 05:56:30 GMT

The thought is that the current drought will continue.

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

bells4me — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 06:33:07 GMT

I'll ask my brother for you.

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

hckynut — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 09:47:28 GMT

is this because of global warming or climate change?

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

esmeraldagooch — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 12:34:36 GMT

Since when are they forecasting weather in 85 years? Perhaps they should go back to space exploration and leave the weather to NOAA.

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

Luv2Decorate — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 13:28:49 GMT

On 2/16/2015 esmeraldagooch said: Since when are they forecasting weather in 85 years? Perhaps they should go back to space exploration and leave the weather to NOAA.

To create hype to get more money from taxpayer's perhaps??

IF this is true, maybe they should quit spending billions on green energy and come up with an economical way to desalinate the sea water.

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

BaileyandBella — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 19:24:20 GMT

I haven't heard about much snow this year in Denver or Salt Lake City.....is Colorado and Utah starting to have drought issues too?

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

gardenman — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 19:24:55 GMT

Aren't we all supposed to be under water from the rise in seawater by then too? If the seawater rises and we have a drought we could have the unique experience of drowning in a drought. I've seen way too many long range forecasts go horribly wrong to trust them. Back in the seventies (I think) after a few bad winters in a row there was talk that we were in a new ice age and we had to act immediately to prevent a disaster. There was talk of building massive manmade concrete mountain ranges to shield the bigger northern cities from the inevitable advance of the glaciers. There's always some massive danger lurking in the distant future that we must act now to prevent. The funny thing is these dangers never seem to arrive.

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

BaileyandBella — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 19:27:44 GMT

OK..help me understand..... I am in So Cal.

So, we won't get rain when there is a High Pressure system over us, blocking storms from coming.....correct?

So, how does Greenhouse Emissions affect High or Low Pressures?

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

BaileyandBella — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 19:29:07 GMT

On 2/16/2015 gardenman said: Aren't we all supposed to be under water from the rise in seawater by then too? If the seawater rises and we have a drought we could have the unique experience of drowning in a drought. I've seen way too many long range forecasts go horribly wrong to trust them. Back in the seventies (I think) after a few bad winters in a row there was talk that we were in a new ice age and we had to act immediately to prevent a disaster. There was talk of building massive manmade concrete mountain ranges to shield the bigger northern cities from the inevitable advance of the glaciers. There's always some massive danger lurking in the distant future that we must act now to prevent. The funny thing is these dangers never seem to arrive.

Really?

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

RainCityGirl — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 19:31:14 GMT

Unless we get a record snowfall in the next two months in the mountains of my state, we may be in for a drought, even though the rains here have caused flooding on and off. In the summers, we depend on the melted run off for not only water, but for water power to bring us electricity. Right now, there isn't even enough snow for skiing, which is a big winter industry. It's February and the temps are in the high 50's and low 60's. With the global warming at the poles, we ARE experiencing climate extremes in many places. I have noticed even a huge change in my area just since I came over here for college and stayed.

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

BaileyandBella — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 19:31:24 GMT

My son asked why we cannot get all the rain and snow from back East out here to CA.

I told him it would cost a FORTUNE and by the time they were done, the drought would be over.....

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

BaileyandBella — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 19:33:48 GMT

Our weather is getting crazy.

Mammoth (the High Sierras) recently had a storm where it snowed for a few hours and then they had massive RAIN!!!!

It never rains in Mammoth in February.

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

Free2be — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 19:44:23 GMT

That's hilarious that anyone could think a wall of concrete would stop a glacier. Apart from that bit of wisdom, studies on glacier melting reflects continuing melting even with precipitation.

Re: NASA predicts MegaDroughts by the end of the Century....

goodstuff — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 19:57:11 GMT

It makes sense to take sensible measures to preserve our water supply and environment.

On the other hand, our local weather "experts" predicted snow today, and so far there's nothing here but cold, drizzling rain. They often miss weather predictions just hours or days ahead......so how much confidence should we have in forecasts that are years or decades ahead?