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20 Signs The Terrible Drought In The Western US Is Starting To Become Catastrophic

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Submitted by Michael Snyder of The Economic Collapse blog,

When scientists start using phrases such as "the worst drought" and "as bad as you can imagine" to describe what is going on in the western half of the country, you know that things are bad.  Thanks to an epic drought that never seems to end, we are witnessing the beginning of a water crisis that most people never even dreamed was possible in this day and age.  The state of California is getting ready to ban people from watering their lawns and washing their cars, but if this drought persists we will eventually see far more extreme water conservation measures than that.  And the fact that nearly half of all of the produce in America comes out of the state of California means that ultimately this drought is going to deeply affect all of us.  Food prices have already been rising at an alarming rate, and the longer this drought goes on the higher they will go.   Let us hope and pray that this drought is permanently broken at some point, because otherwise we could very well be entering an era of extreme water rationing, gigantic dust storms and crippling food prices.

 

The following are 20 signs that the epic drought in the western half of the United States is starting to become apocalyptic...

#1 According to the Los Angeles Times, downtown Los Angeles is now the driest that it has been since records began being kept all the way back in 1877.

#2 The California State Water Resources Control Board says that nearly 50 communities are already on the verge of running out of water.

#3 In a desperate attempt to conserve water, the state of California is considering banning watering lawns and washing cars.  Once implemented, violators will be slapped with a $500 fine for each offense.

#4 It has been reported that a new social media phenomenon known as "drought shaming" has begun in California.  People are taking videos and photos of their neighbors wasting water and posting them to Facebook and Twitter.

#5 Climate scientist Tim Barnett says that the water situation in Las Vegas "is as bad as you can imagine", and he believes that unless the city "can find a way to get more water from somewhere" it will soon be "out of business".

#6 The water level in Lake Mead has now fallen to the lowest level since 1937, and it continues to drop at a frightening pace.  You can see some incredible photos of what has happened to Lake Mead right here.

#7 Rob Mrowka of the Center for Biological Diversity believes that the city of Las Vegas is going to be forced to downsize because of the lack of water...

The drought is like a slow spreading cancer across the desert. It's not like a tornado or a tsunami, bang. The effects are playing out over decades. And as the water situation becomes more dire we are going to start having to talk about the removal of people (from Las Vegas).

#8 In some areas of southern Nevada, officials are actually paying people to remove their lawns in a desperate attempt to conserve water.

#9 According to Accuweather, "more than a decade of drought" along the Colorado River has set up an "impending Southwest water shortage" which could ultimately affect tens of millions of people.

#10 Most people don't realize this, but the once mighty Colorado River has become so depleted that it no longer runs all the way to the ocean.

#11 Lake Powell is less than half full at this point.

#12 It is being projected that the current drought in California will end up costing the state more than 2 billion dollars this year alone.

#13 Farmers in California are allowing nearly half a million acres to lie fallow this year due to the extreme lack of water.

#14 The lack of produce coming from the state of California will ultimately affect food prices in the entire nation.  Just consider the following statistics from a recent Business Insider article...

California is one of the U.S.'s biggest food producers — responsible for almost half the country's produce and nuts and 25% of our milk and cream. Eighty percent of the world's almonds come from the state, and they take an extraordinary amount of water to produce — 1.1 gallons per almond.

#15 As underground aquifers are being relentlessly drained in California, some areas of the San Joaquin Valley are sinking by 11 inches a year.

#16 It is being projected that the Kansas wheat harvest will be the worst that we have seen since 1989.

#17 The extended drought has created ideal conditions for massive dust storms to form.  You can see video of one female reporter bravely reporting from the middle of a massive dust storm in Phoenix right here.

#18 Things are so dry in California right now that people are actually starting to steal water.  For example, one Mendocino County couple recently had 3,000 gallons of water stolen from them.  It was the second time this year that they had been hit.

#19 At the moment, close to 80 percent of the state of California is experiencing either "extreme" or "exceptional" drought.

#20 National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Boldt says that this is "the worst drought we probably have seen in our lifetime".

Most people just assume that this drought will be temporary, but experts tell us that there have been "megadroughts" throughout history in the western half of the United States that have lasted for more than 100 years.

If we have entered one of those eras, it is going to fundamentally change life in America.

And the frightening thing is that much of the rest of the world is dealing with water scarcity issues right now as well.  In fact, North America is actually in better shape than much of Africa and Asia.  For much more on this, please see my previous article entitled "25 Shocking Facts About The Earth’s Dwindling Water Resources".

Without plenty of fresh water, modern civilization is not possible.

And right now, the western United States and much of the rest of the world is starting to come to grips with the fact that we could be facing some very serious water shortages in the years ahead.

 

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Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:34 | 4965559 nmewn
nmewn's picture

lol...what I really want to see is Jim Cantore hanging onto a street sign, flapping like a flag, legs straight out.

Now THAT would be entertainment ;-)

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 03:09 | 4966278 Serenity Now
Serenity Now's picture

Hahaha!  I had to look him up.  I haven't had the Weather Channel for 6 or 7 years.  I'd love to see any of those hurricane reporters flapping like a flag.  I love it when they stand IN THE OCEAN, staggering around like drunk fools screaming into their microphones, while little kids play on the beach.  LOL.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:28 | 4965537 Professorlocknload
Professorlocknload's picture

Dust in Phoenix?
Who cudda knowd?

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 21:50 | 4965318 One And Only
One And Only's picture

"Food prices have already been rising at an alarming rate, and the longer this drought goes on the higher they will go. "

Inflation. Blame it on the weather.

If we are so concerned about a drought that will hurt us so bad than why the fuck did we just invite all of Central America to come over? Because we're not concerned about the drought. We just need an excuse for unchecked inflation aside from reckless monetary policy.

What's Venezuela's excuse for everything being unaffordable? Rain Forests getting too much water?

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 21:34 | 4965320 orez65
orez65's picture

Water desalination projects in California may be a better idea than:

High speed trains to nowhere

$200,000 a year life guards

Teacher unions out of control

Public "wokers" unions

Lunatic liberal (redundant terminology) politicians

There is plenty of water in the Pacific Ocean.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 21:36 | 4965342 Dublinmick
Dublinmick's picture

Plenty of water but it is now radioactive due to Fukushima

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 21:47 | 4965374 NOTaREALmerican
NOTaREALmerican's picture

Little radiation never hurt anybody.   You see any of these goddamn Japs fleeing their country?   No you don't, you know why?    Because it's a non issue over there.   It's all blown out of proportion by these goddamn liberal eco-nuts who hate success.    In a few years they'll build another goddamn city next to Fukushima because these goddamn Japs can't stop reproducing which is what wrong with the US we've got so many goddamn liberals spreading negativity we've stopped reproducting and these goddamn wetbacks are taking over this goddamn country.   You figure it out.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:25 | 4965525 Serenity Now
Serenity Now's picture

Japan has a serious birth decline rate.  Otherwise, great rant.  ;)

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:31 | 4965545 Professorlocknload
Professorlocknload's picture

Hokay, if it's so dry, how did their backs get wet?

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 06:36 | 4966466 Yes We Can. But...
Yes We Can. But Lets Not.'s picture

Sweat.
They're not afraid of work.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:35 | 4965560 Anusocracy
Anusocracy's picture

Estimates as high as 15,000 particles from natural sources ass-ramming your body every second.

Mother Nature is targeting us.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 23:16 | 4965707 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

She will get us, but we are doing fine enough on our own.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 06:00 | 4966432 IronForge
IronForge's picture

Watch the Racial Slur, Asshole.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 06:34 | 4966464 Uncle Remus
Uncle Remus's picture

Yeah - they're called "Progressives" now.

Fucknut.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 21:35 | 4965334 Meat Hammer
Meat Hammer's picture

Here in the People's Republic of Sacramento you get fined $500 PER INCIDENT if you're caught wasting water. Now I'm sure the water police will be completely objective about the whole thing.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 21:38 | 4965349 Dublinmick
Dublinmick's picture

It came from beneath the sea!

http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/04/antarctic-ice-melting-bel...

God I love these climate threads

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 21:39 | 4965352 NOTaREALmerican
NOTaREALmerican's picture

Just another article by a eco-hippy who hates everything Merica stands for, and the troops.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 01:29 | 4966134 Dublinmick
Dublinmick's picture

Sure iggy, we will be just fine

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 21:39 | 4965354 urbanelf
urbanelf's picture

We don't need food.  The modern economy only needs consumers.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 21:47 | 4965372 ajax
ajax's picture

 

 

The Pacific Northwest is the place to be:

http://www.seattlepi.com/realestate/article/Frank-Lloyd-Wright-Usonian-h...

Even better than this is going West from Seattle to the Olympic Peninsula.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 23:28 | 4965752 Shed Boy
Shed Boy's picture

I just moved from the Olympic Peninsula. Lots of rain, fog and water. But good luck trying to grow food. I had a garden for 8 years and felt lucky if I got a handful of tomatoes. Not enough sunshine and when it is sunny, it's foggy till noon. Plus the people that live there are the grumpiest bunch of hicks I've ever met. Highest teenage pregnancy rate in the state too. Tons of welfare/crack heads every where.

That said. It is pretty....a few weeks out of the year.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 23:51 | 4965844 Bear
Bear's picture

Wow ... I just talked to my wife ... she said no, we can't move to WA and buy a FLW home ... we live on 1/2 acre in So Cal completely covered in vegetation with a pool, pond and a current water bill of $400 / month. We are so, so screwed

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 21:56 | 4965401 Smegley Wanxalot
Smegley Wanxalot's picture

When all of obama's fave california golf courses are as brown as his filthy ass, I will believe there is a drought.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:35 | 4965570 Serenity Now
Serenity Now's picture

LOL.  Water is a human right.  For liberals.  

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:44 | 4965599 knukles
knukles's picture

CAN'T AFFORD DESAL BUT CAN TAKE IN MILLIONS OF FOUR LEGGED SCABATIOUS INFECTIOUS PESTS

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 03:12 | 4966286 Serenity Now
Serenity Now's picture

You always make me LOL.  But....four-legged?

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 07:01 | 4966496 Uncle Remus
Uncle Remus's picture

Haven't learned to walk yet.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 21:57 | 4965403 pain_and_soros
pain_and_soros's picture

If I'm an econommic advisor to the city of Detroit (or Cleveland or Buffalo, etc.), I'm advertsing to businesses (& residents) in southern California & the state of Nevada & the rest of severe-drought affected areas in the southwest about abundand fresh water in the Great Lakes region....(plus cheap real estate, labor, etc.)

If you don't have a reliable source of fresh water, you're cooked.

 

 

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:03 | 4965422 BraveSirRobin
BraveSirRobin's picture

Good forbid all the looney Californicators dispora into the red states and fuck up the rest of the country, too. Can't we build a wall or something around California?

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:44 | 4965601 Serenity Now
Serenity Now's picture

They actually are leaving by the millions.  Scary.  Most of the loony toons love the weather too much to leave.  But yeah, a wall would be great.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 07:03 | 4966499 Uncle Remus
Uncle Remus's picture

I say let'em frack the San Andreas Fault.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:04 | 4965429 Professorlocknload
Professorlocknload's picture

Drier than a popcorn fart, I tells ya!

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:09 | 4965457 Yes_Questions
Yes_Questions's picture

 

 

you'll foregive me if I pray for rain, then?

 

Dear Lorde..

 

Please grant Geoengineers courage to make rain where there's drought.

and wisdom to serve man

 

Amen 

 

 

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:18 | 4965491 NOTaREALmerican
NOTaREALmerican's picture

and wisdom to serve man and the "Keynesian" loot to make bazillions! 

 

BIG-RAIN,  could be the next BIG-MIC !

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:43 | 4965595 Yes_Questions
Yes_Questions's picture

 

 

and one moar thing Lorde,

 

please reinstate the EDIT function for posts, and may your next album SMOKE the debut.

 

ok, that was two things.

 

peace by upon you.

 

and Joe Pesci (another who seems like they can get things done)

H/T St. Carlin..

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:13 | 4965470 Totentänzerlied
Totentänzerlied's picture

" we are witnessing the beginning of a water crisis that most people never even dreamed was possible in this day and age"

Priceless.

If anyone actually gave a shit, you'd see forced relocation and enforced rationing, not that it would solve a damn thing. Who could have possibly imagined, drought in a dessert.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 07:06 | 4966502 Uncle Remus
Uncle Remus's picture

Yeah, Jello without water is, well, dry.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:14 | 4965473 p00k1e
p00k1e's picture

Long Detroit real estate? 

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:22 | 4965514 tvdog
tvdog's picture

The article doesn't mention that a big part of the problem in California is that the irrigation infrastructure has been allowed to deteriorate. Many long canals are not lined with concrete and leak water uselessly into the dry ground.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:26 | 4965527 Grouchy Marx
Grouchy Marx's picture

"Without plenty of fresh water, modern civilization is not possible."

Sure, but for much of California, modern civilization disappeared way before the drought developed. 

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 04:07 | 4966357 zebrasquid
zebrasquid's picture

Snigger on..Half of you probably live in cesspools like Detroit, Chicago, New York, Ohio, Minnesota... and try to console yourselves day to day by dreaming of the day you can move here and live out your last few, decrepit years like us San Diegans have lived our whole lives. What's funny is how you somehow think we'd even think of swapping places with you!

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 06:08 | 4966443 Grouchy Marx
Grouchy Marx's picture

To think of swapping places with me, you would have had to travel to the best of New England. 

Move to SoCal? I'd think of moving out of country first, but then, CA almost is that. 

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 14:47 | 4969284 zebrasquid
zebrasquid's picture

Lived in upstate NY in my 20s. It's nice enough, but who likes to be stuck inside 8 months out of the year? And, the taxes and utility bills make S. Cal a bargain in comparison.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:27 | 4965531 Sun and Moon
Sun and Moon's picture

California has a bimodal rainfall pattern. There is either drought or flooding. Very few years are "average". Hence the 1972 song "It never rains in Southern California":

It never rains in California, but girl, don't they warn ya
It pours, man, it pours

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:31 | 4965543 RockyR
RockyR's picture

I have an idea: grow local, buy local.

Sorry CA. Sorry NY.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:41 | 4965592 quasimodo
quasimodo's picture

Great idea, works well for me where I live with four months of growing season each year.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:32 | 4965550 RockyR
RockyR's picture

If the oceans were warmer, it would be raining.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 22:46 | 4965607 Fuku Ben
Fuku Ben's picture

There's a conspiracy somewhere in this storyline. No doubt it all leads back through Blowbama to his Manchurian Candidate handlers in the Illuminati

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-0TEJMJOhk

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 23:18 | 4965716 samsara
samsara's picture

A must watch classic Sam Kinison.

"... You live in a DESERT, MOVE... "

Ironically at the end he says "We have deserts in the US,  just NO BODY LIVES THERE !!!" 

I guess many turned stupid in the last 50 years...

 

Sam Kinison World Hunger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0q4o58pKwA

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 01:23 | 4966124 Dublinmick
Dublinmick's picture

Pay real close attention to zio Sam Kinnison, he OD'd on cocaine.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 23:28 | 4965753 Northern Lights
Northern Lights's picture

Up here in Ontario, the rain and water has been pretty good.

My parents own a hobby farm in the Niagara region.  Everythings growing great.

From the sounds of it, Warner Bros. could have shot the Mad Max 4 movie in Nevada instead of going all the way to Namibia to shoot it.  Would have been cheaper.

 

 

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 23:29 | 4965759 laomei
laomei's picture

Sorry Cali, but you're at the very start of a centruries long drought.  This isn't guesswork, it's really basic science founded in things like geological evidence.  Medieval warm period coincided with the last megadroughts... well guess what, that was linked with a 1 degree C increase in ocean temperatures.  That's all it takes and they are getting warmer faster than they have at any time in the past 10,000 years. Is it the cause? No, but there is strong correlation to the degree where it is a valid hypothesis worth investigating.

The idiotic deniers are still looking at crap like sea ice and screaming about how they think they know things.  Well, sea ice already adds to ocean levels (it's called displacement), however the stuff over the land is melting rather quickly... oops, displacement is a thing that exists.  Permafrost is going too, oops.  You can all argue if it's manmade or natural, but it doesn't matter either way if nothing is done to even attempt to address it as the end results are the same.  Sea levels WILL rise, climate WILL become hotter, potable water WILL become more scare, megadroughts WILL start being the new-normal.

Water management and desal might help stave off some of it, but in the end facts is facts.  The longer everyone keeps denying reality, the less preparation will be undertaken, which means the impact will just be that much more severe.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 23:37 | 4965794 the grateful un...
the grateful unemployed's picture

the crisis is partly drought and partly extended periods of heat and near zero humidity. what keeps us going is the light fog or marine layer. in northern calfornia the redwoods get a great deal of their moisture from fog, and once most of those trees had been cut the fog stopped coming. you can also put it in terms of gods grace being taken from all of us, for whatever reason. there is simply no reason for the rain to come, when men no longer look to the sky and wait, they turn the valve. much like the fiat money the fed can make as much as anyone wants, but does it grow anything?

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 23:44 | 4965811 IndianaJohn
IndianaJohn's picture

The earth is running out of water because the Russians are pumping it to their secret base on the far side of the moon.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 00:24 | 4965995 litemine
litemine's picture

I had to arrow you down, just because some people are so stupid that when they read this they repeat it and some believe it. Mark (Sarc) when you are being.....Sarcastic.  All you have to do is watch American News to see what some watch/believe.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 23:49 | 4965833 John Wilmot
John Wilmot's picture

 

All water rights in the West are owned by the government. Farmers (or other users) can only lease water rights from the government. If the lessee fails to use all the water, he loses the right: with the predictable consequence that he uses more water than he needs just to keep the lease – rather than sell it to someone who actually needs it, as he would if that weren't prohibited by the government. Moreover, the government leases water rights at heavily subsidized prices, well below the market rate: further encouraging over-use. To add insult to injury, the government then pays the farmers to plow under the crops which it provides them subsidized water to grow, for the sole purpose of pushing up food prices for the benefit of farmers. So, to summarize: because of government policy, the taxpayer gets fucked, the consumer gets fucked, massive quantities of scarce water get wasted, and the farmer and the bureaucrat (whose job depends on the continuation of this idiotic enterprise) laugh all the way to the bank.

 

….or it's climate change and let's pay more taxes.

 

:-/

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 23:56 | 4965868 directaction
directaction's picture

21. Snyder is making a list about the drought. That's a sure sign things are getting desperate.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 00:14 | 4965952 world_debt_slave
world_debt_slave's picture

I'm in the power industry and around 1% of all water sources on the earth is potable. So yeah, it is a precarious time.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 00:16 | 4965962 Salah
Salah's picture

AZ, NM, TX, OK, CO, NV all out of drought....been raining since last week, all yearly totals to date surpassed

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 00:20 | 4965974 AdvancingTime
AdvancingTime's picture

Below is a list of the worlds ten most crucial problems counted down from "least to most crucial"  The world must begin to address these many problems with long term solutions. Most of these are issues that center on our sustainability.

Sadly, politicians do not deal well with such things leaving us without direction. As we look at the human condition we can let fate take us where it may choose or we can take control of our future by proper planning and by guiding it as best we can.  

http://brucewilds.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-worlds-10-worst-problems.html

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 00:33 | 4966008 SgtShaftoe
SgtShaftoe's picture

Solution- (two words): Fucking Permaculture!!!!!!!

Stop fucking pumping all the goddamn water out of the ground to irrigate and run monocrops!!! Monoculture agriculture ag practices are fucking broken, and they have been for 2,000 years. Stop it!!

If you want to turn the entire world into the Sahara, keep going. Otherwise, get rid of the 500 row implements, the endless sections of center-pivot irrigated corn and grains (annuals). Plant diversity and perenials! Feed animals GRASS rather than grain!

Save rainwater in earthworks, soil and catchments, rather than diverting it away. Plant trees to shade ground, break the wind, pump nutrients and neutralize salty soil.

This shit is easy, but people in cities, government policy and symptomaticly, big ag, are turning what is left of the land into a desert.

Change your paradigm, read, watch, live Joel salatin, do permaculture. Feed your family real nutrition, not bullshit.

We can green the desert and turn it into a forest, but you have to approach it differently.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 03:16 | 4966288 laomei
laomei's picture

Well duh.  The great plains once supported somewhere between 60-200million head of bison.  That was reduced down to 300 inside of 50 years time.  Before the big tear-up of the prairie grasslands even.  To put that into perspective, the US manages some 88 million head of cattle at present and to accomplish that requires massive inputs of resources and labor.  Bison milk is better, the meat is better, and all they need to eat is grass.  Obviously they managed to strike a balance with the plains as both survived quite well, seeing as the natives were there before the bison expanded its range, and adopted to the changes and thrived.  Seeing as some 50~100 million natives were in North America pre-invasion, it seems as if they were doing pretty ok everything considered.

Anywho... the monoculture shit needs to die.  If agriculture is unable to survive in an area without underground water and loads of chemicals on a permanent sustainable basis, then it should not exist there.

 

As to why they go corn instead of grass now, it's because it's cheaper than grass and they can cram more heads into smaller areas.  The USDA was complicit in it to place value on the end result which basically killed the grass-feeders.  Lower cost on beef made it the go-to for the masses, and the masses love their shitty cornfed banned by most countries for import beef taste.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 00:38 | 4966035 TradingTroll
TradingTroll's picture

I thought this was a matter of just pointing that HAARP thing the right way. To control weather.

 

Then again, Obama probably thinks it is already pointing the right way.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 00:44 | 4966050 JoJoJo
JoJoJo's picture

Scientists say "worse drought" and "worse than you can imagine."

Short anything growing out of the ground because "Scientists say"

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 13:17 | 4966913 Flakmeister
Flakmeister's picture

Look, an anti-science dunderhead posting on the Internet...

The irony is amazing...

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 00:55 | 4966075 CheapBastard
CheapBastard's picture

Gimme a break! I see people watering their lawns, wasting water on car washes, etc all the time out in Laguna Niguel, etc. If "tightening their belt" means not washing your BMW 8 times a week then tough cow paddies.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 01:19 | 4966116 californiagirl
californiagirl's picture

I remember the last big drought in California.  They actually banned washing cars in my county.  I used to see some of my neighbors doing it in the middle of the night. 

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 06:45 | 4966477 Wahooo
Wahooo's picture

Why do people wash their cars so often? Just leave it out in the rain, gets most of the dirt off. Couple times a year, wash it to remove the underlying grime.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 00:58 | 4966080 californiagirl
californiagirl's picture

I think we Californians should have a vote to cancel the crazy bullet train (which will end up costing many multiples of the budgeted amount based on Caltrans' history), and use the many billions instead to build reservoirs and other water holding projects.  What about a water pipeline along the west coast from Canada and/or Washington.  If they can build an oil pipeline accross Alaska, why can't they build a water pipeline.  It would be a much smaller environmental risk than oil.   

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 01:07 | 4966091 hibou-Owl
hibou-Owl's picture

The article says "extreme drought" and "Considering banning washing cars and watering lawns"

Bit slow on the up take, as per normal a political issue. Run everything up to the wall then cry.
It a bit like printing money.
Water and Gold are very similar, it's a finite resource.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 01:17 | 4966114 SmittyinLA
SmittyinLA's picture

All hype, this is the second year of drought, we've had 10,12 year droughts, CA dept water resources dumped enough water into the desert to watch it flow downhill for 1 million homes for a whole year, up north they dont even measure the water they dump into the ocean while they starve out central valley farmers to buy their land on the cheap and push water bonds, CA is run by mega criminals.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 01:50 | 4966167 the grateful un...
the grateful unemployed's picture

come on Jake, its Chinatown

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 01:30 | 4966137 blue gkm
blue gkm's picture

guess im staying in chicago next to the crime and fresh water

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 01:43 | 4966153 Hook Line and S...
Hook Line and Sphincter's picture

This pseudo a-paco-lips is a mixture of:

  • Political theatre to please the lords of various gerrymandered districts,
  • Incessant heavy metal chemtrailing 24-48hrs before every single pacific storm,
  • Unwillingness to save water by locals who experienced the CA 70's BS drought, who saved water, and the following season when the drought was 'over' were billed MORE for their water than those who did not save water,
  • A billion new golf courses constructed since the 70's
  • Non-stop, poorly planned CA borg style spreading construction (except where the trouble making coastal commission got their nose into),
  • Cities refusing to xeroscape, planting subtropical foliage in center dividers, and elsewhere,
  • Rampant water department FAKE reclaimed water 'installations' (know this for a fact as a buddy of mine worked for the City of Carlsbad who couldn't believe the % of 'purple pipes' that weren't reclaimed water at all)

Hook Line and Sphincter

 

 

 

 

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 01:48 | 4966162 the grateful un...
the grateful unemployed's picture

the reclaimed water gambit is like the recycled trash bin, (most of it went in the landfill anway) but you get to feel good about recycling. but if you are truly knowledgeable you know the difference between tier one and tier two on your water bill, the second should be TEAR two. actually water should get cheaper, because water imported from the north goes to agriculture, which sells what they dont need back to muni districts. and since a lot them are going fallow there should be more water than ever. drought is always a hysterical inflection point at which the politicians reach in our pockets for more money. the thing i dont understand while all these smart kids invent facebook, why dont a few of them figure out desalinization?

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 01:42 | 4966155 Magooo
Magooo's picture

THE PERFECT STORM (see p. 59 onwards)

The economy is a surplus energy equation, not a monetary one, and growth in output (and in the global population) since the Industrial Revolution has resulted from the harnessing of ever-greater quantities of energy. But the critical relationship between energy production and the energy cost of extraction is now deteriorating so rapidly that the economy as we have known it for more than two centuries is beginning to unravel. http://ftalphaville.ft.com/files/2013/01/Perfect-Storm-LR.pdf 

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 08:28 | 4966685 headhunt
headhunt's picture

When you have over 25 million people, in S. CA alone, living in a desert climate, expect to run out of water and the energy needed to air condition all those homes.

That is approximately 24 million gallons of water per day just to sustain a person and does not include any water usage such as flushing toilets, washing dishes, etc.

 

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 01:49 | 4966163 Rootin' for Putin
Rootin' for Putin's picture

Its ok MT, the dakotas and MN are wetter than shit, so it all evens out.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 01:54 | 4966177 Tall Tom
Tall Tom's picture

Keep using that water to frack them Shale Oil Deposits. Drill baby drill...drill...drill...drill...man am I thirsty....drill.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 06:18 | 4966448 laomei
laomei's picture

Good water gets mixed with shit and goes down, more water comes up as a toxic mess.  Toxic mess water gets injected as deep as possible to pretend it's gone.  Either A) you have just removed water from the system for good or B) it bubbles up all good and toxic to contaminate even more good water.  What a fucking great idea.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 02:05 | 4966193 Rodin
Thu, 07/17/2014 - 08:28 | 4966689 headhunt
headhunt's picture

Yeah, what could go wrong here?

Government controlling and rationing water - no problem.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 02:22 | 4966211 knowshitsurelock
knowshitsurelock's picture

Where's the 14 trillion set aside for NAWAPA?  You guessed it, squandered by exotic leveraged derivatives.

We can't have NAWAPA anyway because it would vitalize all desert land, eliminate poverty and economic slavery, feed billions of more people, provide jobs for millions of people, and restore the sovereignty of the states and eliminate the national debt.

We wouldn't want that, now would we?

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 02:27 | 4966224 q99x2
q99x2's picture

Californians already stink pretty bad. Fewer showers won't help.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 03:20 | 4966252 kurt
kurt's picture

Total Drought Denial

This is an Enron style scam. Corporations are buying up water rights in an advance strategy. The constant bombardment of drought stories in all, mostly local, yokel, media, made up crap like this with convincing graphics... all a total scam, lie. You take a bad piece of meat and beat it with a hammer until it's "tender" then you schlep it to some dumb ass who pays top dollar. Take your long grift and stick it in your pustulant asshole! I KNOW you fuckin pricks have a budget. I hope you like pissing away your wealth, fuckface!

Pissing it away...like water!

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 02:53 | 4966261 Duffy Duck
Duffy Duck's picture

Sigh - there is more chaos in the planets' orbits and the Sun's gravitational field than are dreamed of in your climate science, Horatio...

Still, you have to be pretty obtuse not to want to hedge your bets and reduce carbon and, arguably more importantly, all sorts of other potential toxins and poisons FFs release.  Fucking 18th century tech... 3 trillion on wars...  could have had a lot of turbines and solar panel arrays in the Cali desert.

As always 0-I accept correction.

----

What if we stopped sending all that fucking water to Vegas... would that help?

How about using less water, up and down economic cycle, to feed cattle.  I know, I'm a real commie, but at some point all that corn for hfcs and all that land for beef is going to look like evidence of our inability to rule ourselves to our space alien overlords.

 

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 03:11 | 4966281 Ides of November
Ides of November's picture

Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong!!!

So Wrong.

You don't "Ban Lawns". That is patently ridiculous. You price water appropriately to reflect its shortage.

Let the water companies price the sale of water properly and STOP SUBSIDISING FARMERS!!

Farmers pay a pittance for the thousands of gallons of water they use. They should be paying into the same market for water you and I do. Problem solved. Yes food prices will go up, but so what. They will reflect their real cost rather than the cost created by massive Government distortion of the water market as operates now to subsidise farmers and corporations.

If Las Vegas goes dry because some people like to maintain their lawns or hose their cars down, so what? Government needs to get out of the way rather than over-regulate the water market as they do now.

If water is appropriately priced you will also start getting firms building desalination plants up and down the Coast to provide the much needed water until the market finds an equilibrium.

Problem solved. Las Vegas saved.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 03:31 | 4966312 Serenity Now
Serenity Now's picture

Great comment!

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 08:11 | 4966636 headhunt
headhunt's picture

Whoa, whoa, whoa... that would make the small farms across the US viable once again.

The left could not stand for that, it could cause more independent thinkers and crazy uncontrollable access to fresh local crops.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 08:18 | 4966651 The Most Intere...
The Most Interesting Frog in the World's picture

Another example where if government simply got out of the way we would all be better off. Great comment!

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 03:16 | 4966289 Hydesrevenge
Hydesrevenge's picture

Yet the reservours in Colorado are at the highest point that I have seen in years.

 

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 03:37 | 4966320 Kprime
Kprime's picture

Not to worry.  I am sure the NSA is on the job.  By secretly listening to the entire world they will soon find the terrorists responsible for this jihad drought.  After they drone a few expected American accomplices, rain will return to California.  O' will insist this be done before his next golf game.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 05:07 | 4966393 Dragon HAwk
Dragon HAwk's picture

We Could Invade Canada they Have Water........ ( sarc )

  come to think of it Build Two Pipelines down maybe the water will be worth more than the Oil.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 05:11 | 4966397 Fix It Again Timmy
Fix It Again Timmy's picture

Well, since we spend about a trillion dollars a year on "defense" and have our military men and women spread around the world doing who knows what, lets have all military personnel do rain dances until the drought is ended...

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 08:06 | 4966620 headhunt
headhunt's picture

According to one of our congressional representatives logic, that might cause the world to tip over.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 05:28 | 4966406 tovar2
tovar2's picture

"In a desperate attempt to conserve water, the state of California is considering banning watering lawns and washing cars.  Once implemented, violators will be slapped with a $500 fine for each offense."

Love to see how the poor populace would be able to ever pay these $500 fines for watering offenses. If 1/3 of all Californians are on some type of government assitance would they get "water credits" from some new branch of the government to pay for their water offenses?

The reporting on your neighbor thing is a pretty crafty..could be the start of some ground work for future informing on other carbon and food abuses.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 05:28 | 4966407 tovar2
tovar2's picture

"In a desperate attempt to conserve water, the state of California is considering banning watering lawns and washing cars.  Once implemented, violators will be slapped with a $500 fine for each offense."

Love to see how the poor populace would be able to ever pay these $500 fines for watering offenses. If 1/3 of all Californians are on some type of government assitance would they get "water credits" from some new branch of the government to pay for their water offenses?

The reporting on your neighbor thing is a pretty crafty..could be the start of some ground work for future informing on other carbon and food abuses.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 05:43 | 4966417 medium giraffe
medium giraffe's picture

I got reamed on ZH a year or so ago for suggesting that we could see a return to the dustbowl.  Wish I'd been wrong, tbh.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 07:59 | 4966602 headhunt
headhunt's picture

There are even sheeple packs running on ZH

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 09:17 | 4966916 Flakmeister
Flakmeister's picture

They are called Hedgetards....

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 05:45 | 4966421 rogerramjet
rogerramjet's picture

In the history of mankind, nobody has lasted in the desert.  But hell I gotta wash my car here in So Cal since we live in the car culture!  U r what u drive out here.  Should I invest in a water maker since I live on a boat?

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 06:25 | 4966456 Fix It Again Timmy
Fix It Again Timmy's picture

I live in a desert, but, but....where's the water?...

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 06:39 | 4966468 barre-de-rire
barre-de-rire's picture

nobody see that in same states there is notation SL, so the same time we have Short term -6 month AND Long term + 6 month.

so at the point of this nano precision... why not say decade drought ...? century ..? after all we are in midd 10k years of ice age.

 

any way... climate fault.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 07:00 | 4966494 basho
basho's picture

"The state of California is getting ready to ban people from watering their lawns and washing their cars,"

they haven't done that yet?

people in the ussa are f**king nuts. absolutely f**king nuts. lol

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 07:26 | 4966536 Racer
Racer's picture

Totally agree, but it is typical they think the rain will come in time like 'cavalry to the rescue' or the dollar will always be the reserve currency or sub-prime will be contained or the US will never be downgraded.

Never ever bad things, it is never the US' fault for all the wars and killings. Always can't see what is right in front of their face until the steam roller flattens them.

Good riddance to the fat bloated bully that kills innocents

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 07:40 | 4966559 Who was that ma...
Who was that masked man's picture

No problem.  Mix 1 part hydrogen with 2 parts oxygen and BINGO!  Water.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 08:58 | 4966828 FrankDrakman
FrankDrakman's picture

Thanks, Heisenberg! Will it be blue?

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 15:01 | 4969366 Who was that ma...
Who was that masked man's picture

Actually my dyslexia has struck again.  It's 2 parts Hydrogen and 1 part Oxygen.  DOH!

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 08:04 | 4966616 headhunt
headhunt's picture

Most likely it is time to fund studies as to why you run out of water when living in a desert.

Waiting for California to demand the rest of the country pay for them to truck in water.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 08:31 | 4966687 IndianaJohn
IndianaJohn's picture

We had a thunderstorm yesterday with 2 inches of rain. I blamed it on the weather.

By the way, if you can't grow a row of potatoes in your yard, you are living in the wrong place. 

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 08:43 | 4966752 ableman28
ableman28's picture

The straightforward solution is the Midwest Water Compact. States surrounding the Great Lakes agree to pipe water to the West and Southwest, leasing right of way on the I-System highway corridors.  The Great Lakes are overflowing.  It is the cheapest renewable resource the rust belt has.  Income at the state level to the MWC states would be enormous and the West and Southwest would have a permanent solution to their water needs.  High volume transports of water is almost no technological challenge, has minimal environmental risk, eg. a water leak.  This is one of the few technological win win options available to deal with rainfall variations.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 08:57 | 4966824 FrankDrakman
FrankDrakman's picture

You do realize that the Great Lakes border Canada right? And that there is a joint commission specifically intended to forestall one country's diverting water from the Great Lakes for industrial/agricultural/civilian use outside their drainage areas?

I don't think Canadians will be too happy with the idea of draining one of our great natural wonders to satisify the demands of people who want to grow lawns and golf courses in a desert.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 10:48 | 4967377 RabbitOne
RabbitOne's picture

Because you could never get your Midwest Water Compact you should look toward Detroit. Detroit is overflowing with sewage to sell that can be easily shipped to California using your high volume transports and then the water can be extracted. What is left over can be made into Milorganite to fertilize your green lawns! So the moral is – keepa you hands off our water…

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 09:53 | 4967119 Bryan
Bryan's picture

Bah, who cares.  It's not happening here on the East Coast.  Let them eat sand.  We'll vote them off the continent or something.  What's most important is I got my obamaphone and my free health care.

Thu, 07/17/2014 - 12:54 | 4968445 GreedKillz
GreedKillz's picture

There are aquifers all over the state of California and most of them are not in danger.

San Joaquin valley Aquifers are some of the Biggest in the United States and are also not in danger.

11 inches of drop is nothing. In 2010 and 2011 california had above average precipitation and 2011Sierra  snow pack was at 175% of normal . Story is all HYPE to give Government and their partners the Water Districts power and money.

Wed, 08/13/2014 - 19:52 | 5089937 Theo P Neustic
Theo P Neustic's picture

How many desalination plants coult be built for the same dollars the state is pissing away on the Bullet Train?

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