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The Greatest Water Crisis In The History Of The United States

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Submitted by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

What are we going to do once all the water is gone?  Thanks to the worst drought in more than 1,000 years, the western third of the country is facing the greatest water crisis that the United States has ever seen.  Lake Mead is now the lowest that it has ever been since the Hoover Dam was finished in the 1930s, mandatory water restrictions have already been implemented in the state of California, and there are already widespread reports of people stealing water in some of the worst hit areas.  But this is just the beginning.

Right now, in a desperate attempt to maintain somewhat “normal” levels of activity, water is being pumped out of the ground in the western half of the nation at an absolutely staggering pace.  Once that irreplaceable groundwater is gone, that is when the real crisis will begin.  If this multi-year drought stretches on and becomes the “megadrought” that a lot of scientists are now warning about, life as we know it in much of the country is going to be fundamentally transformed and millions of Americans may be forced to find somewhere else to live.

Simply put, this is not a normal drought.  What the western half of the nation is experiencing right now is highly unusual.  In fact, scientists tell us that California has not seen anything quite like this in at least 1,200 years

Analyzing tree rings that date back to 800 A.D. — a time when Vikings were marauding Europe and the Chinese were inventing gunpowder — there is no three-year period when California’s rainfall has been as low and its temperatures as hot as they have been from 2012 to 2014, the researchers found.

Much of the state of California was once a desert, and much of it is now turning back into a desert The same thing can also be said about much of Arizona and much of Nevada.  We never really should have built massive, sprawling cities such as Las Vegas and Phoenix in the middle of the desert.  But the 20th century was the wettest century for western North America in about 1,000 years, and we got lulled into a false sense of security.

At this point, the water level in Lake Mead has hit a brand new record low, and authorities are warning that official water rationing could soon begin for both Arizona and Nevada…

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the US, has hit its lowest level ever. Feeding California, Nevada and Arizona, it can hold a mind-boggling 35 cubic kilometres of water. But it has been many years since it was at capacity, and the situation is only getting worse.

 

“We’re only at 38 percent full. Lake Mead hasn’t been this low since we were filling it in the 1930s,” said a spokeswoman for the US Bureau of Reclamation in Las Vegas.

 

If it gets much lower – and with summer approaching and a dwindling snowpack available to replenish it, that looks likely – official rationing will begin for Arizona and Nevada.

And did you know that the once mighty Colorado River no longer even reaches the ocean?  Over 40 million people depend upon this one river, and because the Colorado is slowly dying an enormous amount of water is being pumped out of the ground in a crazed attempt to carry on with business as usual

The Colorado River currently supplies water to more than 40 million people from Denver to Los Angeles (as well as Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe—none of which lie directly on the river). According to one recent study, 16 million jobs and $1.4 trillion in annual economic activity across the West depend on the Colorado. As the river dries up, farmers and cities have turned to pumping groundwater. In just the last 10 years, the Colorado Basin has lost 15.6 cubic miles of subsurface freshwater, an amount researchers called “shocking.” Once an official shortage is declared, Arizona farmers will increase their rate of pumping even further, to blunt the effect of an anticipated sharp cutback.

The same kind of thing is going on in the middle part of the country.  Farmers are pumping water out of the rapidly shrinking Ogallala Aquifer so fast that a major crisis in the years ahead is virtually guaranteed

Farther east, the Ogallala Aquifer under the High Plains is also shrinking because of too much demand. When the Dust Bowl overtook the Great Plains in the 1930s, the Ogallala had been discovered only recently, and for the most part it wasn’t tapped then to help ease the drought. But large-scale center-pivot irrigation transformed crop production on the plains after World War II, allowing water-thirsty crops like corn and alfalfa for feeding livestock.

 

But severe drought threatens the southern plains again, and water is being unsustainably drawn from the southern Ogallala Aquifer. The northern Ogallala, found near the surface in Nebraska, is replenished by surface runoff from rivers originating in the Rockies. But farther south in Texas and New Mexico, water lies hundreds of feet below the surface, and does not recharge. Sandra Postel wrote here last month that the Ogallala Aquifer water level in the Texas Panhandle has dropped by up to 15 feet in the past decade, with more than three-quarters of that loss having come during the drought of the past five years. A recent Kansas State University study said that if farmers in Kansas keep irrigating at present rates, 69 percent of the Ogallala Aquifer will be gone in 50 years.

At one time, most of us took water completely for granted.

But now that it is becoming “the new oil”, people are starting to look at water much differently.  Sadly, this even includes thieves

With the state of California mired in its fourth year of drought and a mandatory 25 percent reduction in water usage in place, reports of water theft have become common.

 

In April, The Associated Press reported that huge amounts of water went missing from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and a state investigation was launched.

 

The delta is a vital body of water, serving 23 million Californians as well as millions of farm acres, according to the Association for California Water Agencies.

 

The AP reported in February that a number of homeowners in Modesto, California, were fined $1,500 for allegedly taking water from a canal. In another instance, thieves in the town of North San Juan stole hundreds of gallons of water from a fire department tank.

In case you are wondering, of course this emerging water crisis is going to deeply affect our food supply.  More than 40 percent of all our fruits and vegetables are grown in the state of California, so this drought is going to end up hitting all of us in the wallet one way or another.

And this water crisis is not the only major threat that our food supply is facing at the moment.  A horrific outbreak of the bird flu has already killed more than 20 million turkeys and chickens, and the price of eggs has already gone up substantially

The cost of a carton of large eggs in the Midwest has jumped nearly 17 percent to $1.39 a dozen from $1.19 since mid-April when the virus began appearing in Iowa’s chicken flocks and farmers culled their flocks to contain any spread.

 

A much bigger increase has emerged in the eggs used as ingredients in processed products like cake mix and mayonnaise, which account for the majority of what Iowa produces. Those eggs have jumped 63 percent to $1.03 a dozen from 63 cents in the last three weeks, said Rick Brown, senior vice president of Urner Barry, a commodity market analysis firm.

Most of us are accustomed to thinking of the United States as a land of seemingly endless resources, but now we are really starting to bump up against some of our limitations.

Despite all of our technology, the truth is that we are still exceedingly dependent on the weather patterns that produce rain and snow for us.

For years, I have been warning that Dust Bowl conditions would be returning to the western half of the country, and thanks to this multi-year drought we can now see it slowly happening all around us.

And if this drought continues to stretch on, things are going to get worse than this.

Much worse.

 

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Thu, 05/14/2015 - 19:36 | 6095206 TBT or not TBT
TBT or not TBT's picture

We'll golf on sand.  

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 19:44 | 6095233 Billy the Poet
Billy the Poet's picture

"What are we going to do once all the water is gone?"

 

Crumble? We're 70 percent water.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 19:48 | 6095245 nope-1004
nope-1004's picture

So should I go turn off my sprinkler?  I guess I could, I gotta wash the Land Rover anyway.  Thanks.

- Beverly Hills Douche

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 21:10 | 6095564 Publicus
Publicus's picture

Easy come, easy go.

 

God's judgement is beautiful.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 21:18 | 6095588 MonetaryApostate
MonetaryApostate's picture

Food & Water.... THE NEW GOLD.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 21:58 | 6095683 Evil Peanut
Evil Peanut's picture

I'm going all in on east coast real estate before the made rush

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:07 | 6095707 James_Cole
James_Cole's picture

The good news is the drought is strictly contained to California / Arizona etc. and larger global trends cannot be extrapolated. 

http://climatechange-foodsecurity.org/uploads/PDSI_increase_drought.png

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:22 | 6095752 Matt
Matt's picture

Interestingly, increased drought is a predicted side effect of suppressing global warming through the use of aerosols. 

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:31 | 6095768 J S Bach
J S Bach's picture

"What are we going to do once all the water is gone?"

 

Drain the Great Lakes!

 

This hyperactive panic mongering is laughable.

What's happening in the southwest is called "nature".  It's not man-made and it's not the end of the world.  It may, however, be the end of an unnatural attempt to alter Mother Nature's unknowable plans.  

The new cry of our age will be, "Go East, young man, go East!"

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:31 | 6095782 Matt
Matt's picture

The financial impacts alone may be sufficient to collapse the whole system. 

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:59 | 6095851 gmrpeabody
gmrpeabody's picture

Winter rules apply...

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:09 | 6095879 SofaPapa
SofaPapa's picture

We are reaching the endpoint of our current philosophy.  This is to say: the commoditization of everything.  Nothing according to our current thought has a value beyond the "dollar" value that can be put on it.  I am particularly struck by the furor about "water thieves".  This is an incredible notion that has developed over the past 200 years: that water is property.  This idea has always been there, since the "king's lands", but in the past 200 years, this notion of "owning" the environment around us which provides us life has really kicked into high gear.  It's insanity, and as I said, we are reaching the end point.

Sadly, because of the technology we have wielded in extracting these resources from planetary storage locations which operate on millenial timescales, while our technology operates on a decadal level, we have supercharged the human population to a level that is completely unsustainable using the actually renewable resources.  This planet has a renewable resource base.  But we have way outstripped that in our greed and impatience.  Will the population return to the level that can be sustained using the planet's capacity for cyclical renewal or will it overshoot?  If it overshoots, humans may disappear entirely.  Given our history, I don't think our species has what it takes to make it through the next century.  It was a quick run for our species, but boy we made a splash while we were here, no?

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:41 | 6095953 chumbawamba
chumbawamba's picture

It will be amusing when none of this comes to pass and we laugh at the fearmongers who so desperately wanted us to believe, as did they, that the sky is actually falling.

I am Chumbawamba.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:45 | 6095965 SofaPapa
SofaPapa's picture

I am pessimistic, but I have nothing to sell.  I hope I am wrong.  I have been overly pessimistic for 20 years now.  But things are a lot worse now than the first time I was being overly pessimistic...

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 00:56 | 6096068 Keyser
Keyser's picture

There is no reversing the current trend of weather patterns for the west coast of the US as geoengineering has done it's job... The question now is where over 38 million people are going to go... Me tinks Jade Helm is staging assets in the area in preparation for the coming migration... 

 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 06:36 | 6096365 Perseus son of Zeus
Perseus son of Zeus's picture

I just wanted to tell everyone that I'm going to be running my sprinkler system for an EXTRA 2 hours per zone today. I'm over-seeding with a nice lush wide blade Argentinian Bahia seed which when properly fertilized and trimmed to the proper height looks like a pillowtop mattress.

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/geology/programs/hydrogeology/images/geoinfo4...

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:16 | 6096544 dontgoforit
dontgoforit's picture

Let 'em drink sand.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 10:01 | 6096980 McCormick No. 9
McCormick No. 9's picture

This drought is real, but it's not forever. For whatever reason, (and I tend to think HAARP is involved) there was a persistent high pressure over the central eastern pacific this winter, preventing moisture from reaching the West Coast. With the spring breakup of the jet stream, this high pressure has dissipated, allowing this moisture to reach landfall. Now we're getting rain. Furthermore, a strong El Nino condition is building in the tropical eastern Pacific. It may prove too strong for HAARP to deflect the numerous hurricannes and tropical depressions that will be spawned from this warm water. I will not be surprised if the news from Cali this summer is flood news, not drought news. Let's not get too excited.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 11:06 | 6097286 DutchR
DutchR's picture

Import more Mexicans, they are 65% water

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 07:46 | 6096465 fattail
fattail's picture

Just because you are paranoid does not mean they are not after you.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 15:57 | 6098497 divingengineer
divingengineer's picture

You are spot on Chumba,

One year of El Nino would end this.  

 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 00:01 | 6095987 Lore
Lore's picture

I resent the insinuation that *I* have "oustripped [the resource base] in [my] greed and impatience." I live within my means, dollar-wise and other-wise.  Just because times are changing doesn't mean we should parrot mass-marketed Agenda 21 sound bites and run like scared collectivists into the arms of Big Green Brother, shirking the rights for independence that our forefathers fought and died to defend. A healthy, hardy nation is one that fosters independence, not "interdependence" (aka Dependence). 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 00:21 | 6096021 SofaPapa
SofaPapa's picture

Mmm...

I see where my downvotes are coming from, and I get it.

I in no way support Agenda 21.  I stand by what I said above about us as a species having reached a population that is unsustainable using the recharge rate of natural resources.

I in no way, however, believe that the authorities have any right whatsoever to try to "remedy" this situation.  TPTB have been instrumental in creating the unjust environment in which we live.  I sure as hell don't trust them to fix it.  My only hope for us to reach a stable equilibrium with the planet would involve a disintegration of the current centralized power structures.  That means for people to stop following anything they are told from the center.  Live as individuals and disconnect from any externally encouraged grouping.  Local communities of people who actually have contact with each other for mutual support is good.  Remote authorities dictating behavior on some "patriotic" or "systemic" call to action is total BS.  The sooner globalization disintegrates, the better chance smaller groupings could survive.

No, I don't agree with Agenda 21 at all.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 01:12 | 6096087 Lore
Lore's picture

Cheers. We're on the same page.  Agenda 21 seems intended to preserve Oligarchical Collectivism by making the global plantation more scalable and marketing it as 'grassroots.'  Ten thousand Little Brothers (and Sisters) are less immediately disturbing than one Big Brother.  By analogy, Hitler Youth probably seemed 'quaint' at first.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:32 | 6095790 NoDecaf
NoDecaf's picture

We can run all the useless eaters through a press and extract their juices - Henry Kissinger

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 00:11 | 6096005 TBT or not TBT
TBT or not TBT's picture

Sounds more like one of the Dune characters. 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 00:53 | 6096063 Keyser
Keyser's picture

I was thinking of that prick Baron Harkonnen...

The spice must flow...

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 00:55 | 6096067 Oh regional Indian
Oh regional Indian's picture

The ruling elite do have a harkonnen-ish bent.

And those are called death-stills. Those were for water.

I think HK is hinting at SoylentG...

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 15:03 | 6098265 Citxmech
Citxmech's picture

Wasn't "Harkonnen" a play on "American?"

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 01:22 | 6096096 fasTTcar
fasTTcar's picture

Quote reference?

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:34 | 6095794 0b1knob
0b1knob's picture

It's raining right now in Souther California.   It almost NEVER rains in May.    Its only about 1 inch but its still abnormal.   Another storm is coming behind it.

Hell's own El Nino warm spot has developed in the Pacific.   Next year 40 inchs of rain and flooding in California if it persists.   Regression to the norm.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 00:21 | 6096024 IronForge
IronForge's picture

It will dry up in no time.

LAX usually has "Trace" Amts from June 'til Nov, so it won't last.  Santa Ana Winds will kick right in...

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 07:26 | 6096432 Fun Facts
Fun Facts's picture

CA is reverting back to a desert climate as it once was.

The remaining water is being used at an unsustainable pace.

CA, NV and AZ will resemble the third world after they run out of water, which will occur over the next several years.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 16:30 | 6098631 IronForge
IronForge's picture

It rained Yesterday, drizzled earlier Today; but now, it's all bright and sunny - and DRY.

LA's Population Base is going to increase internally and from (illegal) immigration.  SoCal's going to continue increasing in population; and the Colorado River is going to be used up - prior to reaching the Region in due time.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 02:05 | 6096144 WOAR
WOAR's picture

I'd just like to take a moment to say that, even during the good years, the aquifer that Californians depend upon was still being drained, it was just at more manageable rates as opposed to the insanity that we see now.

The problem will not be fixed with more rain, only delayed. The mass migration is coming.

Like winter, but with more Mexicans and less snow.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:20 | 6096554 dontgoforit
dontgoforit's picture

Dominant theory is the Mayan died out - or left - Mexico due to a prolonged and ultra-severe drought.  Where are all the folks who live in AZ & CA gonna' go?  Might get a bit crowded in the east.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 15:08 | 6098289 Citxmech
Citxmech's picture

If the population of CA desides to move en masse, the freedom of citizens to move across state lines may not be long for this world. 

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:00 | 6095849 MonetaryApostate
MonetaryApostate's picture

Don't think about Hyperactive fear/panic mongering, EXPECT THE WORST, indeed plan for it, but hope for the best nevertheless....

 

Because if WW3 breaks out, nuclear submarines sinking down into the water supply really does make me wonder where we are all headed...

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 00:14 | 6096011 ebear
Fri, 05/15/2015 - 02:41 | 6096171 MonetaryApostate
MonetaryApostate's picture

SSSHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIEEEEETTTTT!!!!!

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 04:28 | 6096262 chubakka
chubakka's picture

its already happening in the great lakes.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 07:15 | 6096412 OceanX
OceanX's picture

"Drain the Great Lakes!"

No, not the Great Lakes, "they've" been scheming on this since around the 50s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Water_and_Power_Alliance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERq86OlS-_k

 


Fri, 05/15/2015 - 08:11 | 6096516 Lone_Star
Lone_Star's picture

Yeah, seriously droughts are nothing new. Texas went through, and parts of the state are still in, severe drought for the past 7 years.

Plus the U.S. has seen worse.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/drought/drght_history.html

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 10:55 | 6097228 flyingpigg
flyingpigg's picture

Lowest water level since Lehman!

Better fill up the pool...

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:23 | 6095754 LetThemEatRand
LetThemEatRand's picture

Kudos for perseverance in the face of the ZH brick wall, JC.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:56 | 6095843 James_Cole
James_Cole's picture

Having reality on my side helps, indeed, the evidence writes itself. 

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:01 | 6095856 MonetaryApostate
MonetaryApostate's picture

Best way to live bro...

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:31 | 6095920 TahoeBilly2012
TahoeBilly2012's picture

Why not a water "app" for Iphones? That would solve it right there.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:39 | 6095940 847328_3527
847328_3527's picture

Jerry Brown can simply hire the  Mexicans to desalinate water from the Sea of Cortez and freight it on on his $60 Billion hyper supersonic Light Rail to mid and northern Cali. Any passengers can float their way up north in the water tanks.

 

Brilliant!

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 00:01 | 6095993 californiagirl
californiagirl's picture

It rained in Silicon Valley today and snowed in the mountains. Same thing last week and there is a chance it will rain end of next week. Not to mention there is a 90% chance of an El Nino, which is expected to be moderate to very strong. http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/CFSv2/htmls/glbSSTe3Mon.html

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 00:16 | 6096015 James_Cole
James_Cole's picture

I have a dream that someone elses four little children will one day live in a nation where everyone is able to distinguish between weather and climate...

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:30 | 6096786 Calmyourself
Calmyourself's picture

"And not recognize when climate and weather become interchangeable so my political aspirations can become reality. " fify James

 

Fascists; all the same, they know better than you and they will kill you in order to convince you,  right James..  LTER thanks for painting your ass red as well, I already knew but the newbies needed to see that.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 15:54 | 6098483 divingengineer
divingengineer's picture

I may finally be able to afford to buy in SF Bay Area.  

I won't be able to take a shower or boil an egg, but I'll have a sweet pad. 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 01:38 | 6096122 GuyJeans
GuyJeans's picture

Very true, no one should be shocked.   We have out sodom and gomorrahed Sodom and Gomorrah.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:50 | 6095833 thetruthhurts
thetruthhurts's picture

And did you know that the once mighty Colorado River no longer even reaches the ocean?

Neither does the Rio Grande.

The only place left is to pipe from the Colombia river on the Washington Oregon border.

But THAT will be a hundred year war before it happens.....

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 19:49 | 6095250 HelluvaEngineer
HelluvaEngineer's picture

Like, I don't know man...but it'll all work out.  They'll do something about it.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 19:54 | 6095271 TBT or not TBT
TBT or not TBT's picture

The sun will come out, to-morrow. 

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:03 | 6095319 MonetaryApostate
MonetaryApostate's picture

The Petro dollar will be replaced by the Water Dollar? :D

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:07 | 6095338 ParkAveFlasher
ParkAveFlasher's picture

Scientists haven't seen anything like this in 1,500 years...damn we got old scientists.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:13 | 6095358 TBT or not TBT
TBT or not TBT's picture

Just like ours, amerindian scientists sounded the alarm and wrote ambitious grant propsals.  It worked then and it will work again.  

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:32 | 6095442 Falconsixone
Falconsixone's picture

If the USAF chemtrail jets ran on water it would solve it's self. Why do you keep talking about this? IT'S FUCKING GEO-ENGINEERING! Are you looking to make this drought shit look naturally legitimate? Because it's not. Stop running the same lie bs. Try the truth numbnuts. Here's just one place to learn dipshit..... http://www.geoengineeringwatch.org/ 

There are thousands of real scientists trying to get the truth out and you running this bs is what they're up against. Try helping (if for nothing else the new experience).

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:52 | 6095520 cnmcdee
cnmcdee's picture

Don't worry everybody Dasani will save us (at a $1.50 / litre)

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:59 | 6095537 BoredRoom
BoredRoom's picture

Worry not....I have developed a process to extract H2O from inner city 'screet fugs' and illegal aliens..

Just remember to compost the by-products, as landfill space is limited

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:02 | 6095861 MonetaryApostate
MonetaryApostate's picture

Hell, you mean a $1.50 an Ounce, those greedy corporations won't be able to contain their greed & YOU KNOW THIS MAN....

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 21:11 | 6095569 NumNutt
NumNutt's picture

"Try the truth numbnuts" All I ever speak is the truth! From where I am sitting I see no issues...private well, check. Large garden already planted, check. Chickens for meat and eggs, check. 20 acres for wood to heat the house, check. wild turkey and deer on property to hunt, check. Deep in the WV mountains so 'the man' has a tuff time locating me, check. As for all the people on southern Cal and where they  will go? How about where they came from, mexico. Now excuse me, need to get back to brewing and drinking beer.....

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:56 | 6095780 Lore
Lore's picture

I resent this kind of one-sided doom porn, very typical of the "global warming" crowd.  The water isn't "gone," it's just gone FROM THERE.

So your eggs rose twenty cents.  CRY ME A RIVER.  Canadians already pay $2.29.  Butter is $3.99, sometimes more.  Of course, Canadian prices are all jacked to serve government and cartels aka "boards"(like the Wheat Board and Dairy Board), but the point remains: higher prices are no reason to panic.  They're a natural reaction to a shift in balance between supply and  demand.  Smart farmers are like any smart investor: they change their crop in response to the rising prices.  Anybody who has ever travelled across Idaho, Oregon, Washington, the interior of British Columbia, the whole Pacific Northwest and Canadian Prairies (!) has seen a vast and growing agricultural base.  Local native bands are making a fortune on land that was previously unproductive.  The point is, just because some farmers and landowners in California are about to lose their shirts and some decadent cities are about to dry up and blow away like their counterparts in the western Mongolian Desert doesn't mean the end of civilization as we know it!  One man's adversity is another man's opportunity.

Sure, lots of people will move. We've been hearing about this drought thing for twenty years, and a lot of migration is happening already. I work with a lot of American expats. If panhandlers can make their way from Nova Scotia to Vancouver, then working people will likewise show initiative. 

That said, if your government spent a little less time and money interfering in the affairs of other nations and put some of that capital to work smoothing the transition in matters of infrastructure and meaingful job creation programs in the real economy, it might go a long way toward crisis mitigation.  Scrubbing the trillion dollar F-35 program seems like one natural place to begin.  Shall we go on?

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:56 | 6095844 57-71
57-71's picture

Good for you, I am happy you get eggs for 2.29. They have been over 3.00 for 4 years now in Alberta, yesterday XL were $3.38

Butter? $5.00 per lb. is the norm.

 

 

 

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:01 | 6095857 Lore
Lore's picture

Yeah yeah, and free range are $5/doz.  Whatever!  You get the point.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:07 | 6095866 MonetaryApostate
MonetaryApostate's picture

But, how many different things are grown in California mate?

Surely it hurts GDP & causes us to import more....

 

Droughts are really really bad no matter how you want to slice the cake Lore...

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 00:22 | 6096006 Lore
Lore's picture

I agree.  All I'm suggesting is that we need to keep perspective. Some places will be severely depressed, while others will boom. Case in point: where I live, farther north, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (not mentioned in this article) is bringing milder winters and drawing lots of people.  The labour market is strong.  Real estate and tourism is booming.  PEOPLE FOLLOW OPPORTUNITY, just like they did with the Alberta oilsands in the 1980s or the Tech Boom of the 90s.  Heck, just look at what happens with any gold rush.  Or consider how quickly some 2.5 million people left Ukraine when the Banderan Nazis took power in Kiev, an exodus (and under-reported humanitarian crisis) that continues.  And see how many Greeks have left Greece!  And these are just historical flashes in the pan!  With this article on ZH, we're talking about a phenomenon that has already been underway for decades.  "Don't panic." - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 06:34 | 6096360 Gold Dog
Gold Dog's picture

The cure for high commidity prices is high commodity prices.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:11 | 6095885 Dave Thomas
Dave Thomas's picture

Until your neighbor drills a 5000 ft well so he can water his lawn while your conserving. The water table goes beyond your property.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 00:47 | 6096054 disabledvet
disabledvet's picture

Actually one of the consequences  of drilling and fracking is the creation of huge amounts of water.

 

Just ask Saudi Arabia...which is in the middle of a REAL desert.

 

Cali and the Southwest could have more water than they know what to do with if they wanted.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:55 | 6095529 MalteseFalcon
MalteseFalcon's picture

Understand this clearly.  No amount of water alarmism is going to lead to a corporate takeover of water.  It is and will remain a public resource. 

Water war?  Try moving water out of the public domain.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 21:48 | 6095650 baldski
baldski's picture

That's why the Bush's bought a huge tract of land in Paraguay sitting on a huge acquifer years ago. Don't tell me Dubya did not know.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:28 | 6095772 cynicalskeptic
cynicalskeptic's picture

Paraguay is no longer as hospitable a place for deposed dictators and Fasists as it used to be.   I thought the Bush family sold this place off in light of changeed circumstances.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:47 | 6095825 agNau
agNau's picture

want to know how to move a large portion of the population into a concentrated, controllable, smaller area?
Watch this "drought" from man-made carbon gases rapidly (and I mean very rapidly) move those on the west coast to the east coast. IF the "man-made" drought cannot complete the job, the "surprising" revelation of Fukushima radiation will. Food (interchangable with water) will be the force(weapon) used to persuade you to comply.
Smaller, concentrated populations is the goal. Your government has spent much time, and much of your money logging all waterways/streams in the country. they belong to the government.
The plan is coming together.
They are rolling over this country like a steam roller.

* Now, take a minute and think about those "ghost cities" in China.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:16 | 6095373 August
August's picture

Exacta-mundo, M.A. 

The universal metric of "money" will be one litre of potable water, or the energy required to desalinate the same.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:57 | 6095533 disabledvet
disabledvet's picture

Wouldn't be a crisis if nobody lived there.

Turn the entire State into a National Park and deport everybody!

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:25 | 6095760 Matt
Matt's picture

25% of America's food comes from California, and 80% of water use in California is agriculture, so ... what region has sufficient excess water to replace that food production?

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:39 | 6095803 Seek_Truth
Seek_Truth's picture

While California currently produces 25% of US crops, it has 12.5% of the US population, and very little water per acre compared to states East of the Mississippi River.

The soils, water abundance, and weather conditions of the Eastern states are better suited to growing most vegetable & fruit crops, with the exception of olives, almonds, red wine grapes, avocados and a few other crops.

I honestly have never understood why CA grows so much stuff that is better grown elsewhere.

Production can easily be shifted eastward.

 

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:20 | 6095902 Homegrown
Homegrown's picture

It's because S. CA has 4 growing seasons vs 1 or 2 for the lands E. Of the Mississippi. Exceptions are FL and parts of GA and MS, but not enough contiguous tillable land (eg: forests, lower Appalachians, and wetlands throw a wrench in most large scale farming plans).
Southern California meets the need for year round farrming and decent topography, so they convinced Cali to install an aquiduct for the "greater good" back in the day. No water? No problem! Build an aqueduct!
If you want corporate farms to move to a place where "stuff is better grown elsewhere" stop buying tomatoes in February...
Not against you partner, it's just the nature of produce markets that 99% of Americans support

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:21 | 6095903 Super Hans
Super Hans's picture

Like citrus, and most strawberries, and letttuce, and poultry, and most everything!

I could give a fuck!  I hope this drought puts all of the shitty pot growers sending their shit east out of business,! 'cause most of it is shit!

Sure come East Fuckers!  One actually needs to know how to grow here back east!

Not all weed does well in high humidity!

SH

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 00:53 | 6096064 disabledvet
disabledvet's picture

Again...drill deep enough and you'll get more water than you know what to do with.

 

This has been known since the 1930's.

 

The only reason this is a crisis is because of the media and Wall Street. Not that San Francisco is helping any of course.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 01:36 | 6096117 fasTTcar
fasTTcar's picture

Canada, the place that most of that water comes from.

 

The North America Water and Power Alliance program http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Water_and_Power_Alliance has been thought of 2 generations back.

 

You can live forever without gold, weeks without food, days without water.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 01:53 | 6096138 mt paul
mt paul's picture

dollars will be made out of sponge

 

true value will be the water

those sponge dollars can absorb and hold....

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:46 | 6095490 booboo
booboo's picture

Brwando Bitches, it's what plants and people crave.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:10 | 6095881 MonetaryApostate
MonetaryApostate's picture

Water World or Max Max comes to mind... :D

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114898/

 

Just in time for 2015...

https://youtu.be/woHTUsl66BY

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:12 | 6095725 fastrakn1
fastrakn1's picture

"Like, I don't know man...but it'll all work out.  They'll do something about it."

 

Like dude man...that's like totally gnarly. 

Who needs water when we got surf!!!   Cowabunga dudes!

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:14 | 6095361 drendebe10
drendebe10's picture

Sheeyit... that's easy to fix.... jes go buy some mo water with yo EBT card..... problem solved...

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:47 | 6095495 booboo
booboo's picture

water? you mean like out the toilet?

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:12 | 6095889 MonetaryApostate
MonetaryApostate's picture

Keep Calm & Frack On....

 

Obviously the war on water is real....

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/06/15/2163531/fracking-is-already-...

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:14 | 6095893 Holy Roller Empire
Holy Roller Empire's picture

Heard of the dust bowl folks? Dust bowl II coming.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:42 | 6095479 Abitdodgie
Abitdodgie's picture

The water will only be in short supply ONLY until the farm land has ben sold for pennys on the dollar to  Nancy Polosi  , and when she has all the land they will stop spraying ( yes spraying for you people that still think we cannot control hte weather ) Only the peolple with money will stay in CA  

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 21:39 | 6095640 Freddie
Freddie's picture

If your going to San Fran-psycho please remember to wear flowers in your hair.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 00:15 | 6096016 Dixie Rect
Dixie Rect's picture

Just have mr Yellen print some water

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 04:11 | 6096238 researchfix
researchfix's picture

Same as with the oil. Go out and steal it.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:22 | 6095404 snodgrass
snodgrass's picture

Give me a break. Droughts are periodic just like rainy spells.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:31 | 6095435 Seek_Truth
Seek_Truth's picture

It's the length of the period that counts.

200 years is a long period:

http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_24993601/california-drought-past-d...

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:33 | 6095792 cynicalskeptic
cynicalskeptic's picture

Study the history of the people in the Southwest before the Europeans arrived.  It was all about water - and water decided how much food there was.   People went where it was and left where it wasn't.  In extreme conditions people resorted to war of the nastiest kind - and cannibalism.

All the residents of the Southwest dependent on AC and plentiful water are in for a big shock.  Las Vegas is toast.  Should make for one hell of a Mad Max movie though......

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 06:20 | 6096346 Refuse-Resist
Refuse-Resist's picture

If Hollywood makes it, it'll have to be called Mad Maxine. The newest iteration has a woman kicking men's asses and ordering Max around.

 

The day when an average middle aged female can physically beat down a fit young man is the day when I will start watching Hollywood feminst filth again. Because that's what they want you to believe.

The newest MadMax movie is garbage. Charlize, an African American, runs the show and the movie's  more about her.

 

SoCal? Smart people already left there or are making plans to do so.

 

Government Moonbeam!  Build that wall!  Around your fucked up state so the californciation disease cannot spread to parts east.

 

BUILD THAT FUCKING WALL!  AROUND THE LAND OF FRUITS AND NUTS!

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 10:32 | 6097122 farflungstar
farflungstar's picture

Aw really?

I so loved the Mad Max trilogy, especially Road Warrior, which I thought this movie might be a remake of.

Everything out of the obviously agenda-free Hollywood is a fantasy-laden, feminist fuck fest. Men can only be men when there is a more manly woman there to show them how to do it. Otherwise they are whining bitches. And then the black guy comes in with his cape to fuck all the white women while the white guy plays the fool.

fuck Hollywood 

 

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:57 | 6095535 Dapper Dan
Dapper Dan's picture

"Give me a break. Droughts are periodic just like rainy spells."

 

But the number of people living there has changed exponentially.

http://journal.firsttuesday.us/wp-content/uploads/CAPopulationGrowthRate1.png



"We in the United States are in a culture that worships growth. Steady growth of populations of our towns and cities is the goal toward which the powerful promotional groups in our communities continuously aspire. If a town's population is growing, the town is said to be "healthy," or "vibrant," and if the population is not growing the town is said to be "stagnant." Something that is not growing should properly be called "stable." Yet, the promoters of growth universally use the word "stagnant" to describe the condition of stability, because "stagnant" suggests something unpleasant. Since continued growth is the goal of the promoters in our communities, we should understand the arithmetic of steady growth."

 

Albert A. Bartlett

 

 

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:01 | 6095688 D-2
D-2's picture

Albert Bartlett is my hero.  I love his logic.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:39 | 6095806 Freddie
Freddie's picture

They need another 50 million illegals.  The NWO is in full pedal to the metal destruction of America.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 00:38 | 6095832 Radical Marijuana
Radical Marijuana's picture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muw22wTePqQ

Immigration by the Numbers -- Off the Charts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxcEIpbNBjU

Who opened America's borders?

Since civilization is controlled in each short-term increment by the people who are the best at being dishonest and backing that up with violence, the longer term considerations never matter much, nor it is politically possible to make those matter more ...

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:53 | 6096943 snodgrass
snodgrass's picture

They want illegals because they will overturn Prop 13 so the state can tax people out of their property. Remember, the state always knows best and is there for you. And anyone who says different is a terrorist and a hater and a nazi and a racist. So there.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:18 | 6095738 sgorem
sgorem's picture

the government will save us. all joking aside, i used to live in oxnard, i live on the east coast now, on the second largest river in the country, the mighty ohio. i could really give a flying fuck about anything california, but like 2/3 or more of the country, we don't........

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 04:24 | 6096257 OldPhart
OldPhart's picture

Hello?  Southern California here...

Ummm, it rained today, tonight and more tomorrow.  Plus snow in Big Bear and Wrightwood.  It's colder than hell outside with the wind.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:48 | 6096925 stocker84
stocker84's picture

For years, I have been warning that Dust Bowl conditions would be returning to the western half of the country, and thanks to this multi-year drought we can now see it slowly happening all around us.

 

You have been warning all these years... You da man. We should have listened to you!! There... Feel better?

 

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:24 | 6095411 Keyser
Keyser's picture

I wonder if anyone that junked this post actually knows anything about terra forming... 

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:05 | 6095869 Yes_Questions
Yes_Questions's picture

or the cost of fucking each other over for a percentage

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 19:42 | 6095223 stant
stant's picture

Diaspora event soon

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 19:53 | 6095267 Amish Hacker
Amish Hacker's picture

Let's hope they get a more compassionate welcome than the Oakies got in California in the 30s. Might be time to reread the Grapes of Wrath.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 19:57 | 6095287 TBT or not TBT
TBT or not TBT's picture

The spanish audiobook version may be needed for a great many central valley farm laborers, but yeah.  

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 19:46 | 6095231 island
island's picture

There MUST be some way to financialize this to inflict ever more pain on "the small people."

 

Water futures.  Bets on water futures.  Bets on the bets on water futures.

Cactus futures.  Bets on cactus futures.  Bets on the bets on cactus futures.

Relocation services futures.  Bets on relocation services futures.  Bets on the bets on relocation services futures.

etc.

 

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 21:04 | 6095549 motorollin
motorollin's picture

Securitize the utility districts' income streams (people paying their bills).

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:26 | 6095766 sgorem
sgorem's picture

i'm sinking my life savings into a sand export business. dumb ass you say!? the fucking chinese are building their own islands in the pacific, duh. they could use some of that california sand.........sarc

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:31 | 6095783 venturen
venturen's picture

CWO...Collaterlized Water Obligations....we have plenty of water hear. All that money that flowed into silicon valley might just flow right back out....AWWWWWHHHH!

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 06:22 | 6096350 Refuse-Resist
Refuse-Resist's picture

Bectel laid down the groundwork in Boliva a while back. Privatize the water (bribe the government), then raise water rates by a factor of 5 overnight.

It's coming to a water supply near you.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 19:47 | 6095243 Weaponized Innocense
Weaponized Innocense's picture

DARPA sure ain't gonna help u with their desert air to water condensation machine that is the back end of an 18 wheeler which is tech derived from peeps in the street it stole for this machine. It's only for war~ sorry!

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 19:51 | 6095260 Weaponized Innocense
Weaponized Innocense's picture

Word to the wise! ~
DO NOT BE AFRAID! DO NOT BE VERY AFRAID!
~ unless Janet napolitano says so....

(And if u individually find a solution.... Only the sucky products gov can mandate up their crony ass can be used so give up now before u hurt urself!)

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 19:53 | 6095266 Weaponized Innocense
Weaponized Innocense's picture

What I mean is u can be afraid of everything all the time!
Until u need to be afraid ~ then u must not be afraid unless Janet napoliticano give u the go ahead!

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 19:58 | 6095292 Weaponized Innocense
Weaponized Innocense's picture

ALWAYS BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID!!!
Until u need to be afraid, then never be afraid~ unless Janet says so!!

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:09 | 6095331 Weaponized Innocense
Weaponized Innocense's picture

MOST OF ALL!
When Janet says it is okay to be afraid ~ do not be afraid enough to leave ur tv and do anything for urself to solve ur issues or Janet will have to pretend she has a solution we all know dont work more than always needing money for the .01% inside the beltway who needs all peeps money to get nothing done for the blame of the peeps who can't do shit but fucking be fucked in the ass by mommy dearest Münchausen syndrome!

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:29 | 6095775 sgorem
sgorem's picture

"then u must not be afraid unless Janet napoliticano give u head! there, fixed it......

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:02 | 6095312 TMLutas
TMLutas's picture

The company that was selected for that water condensation technology is called Aqua Sciences. They produce water for about $0.30 a gallon. You can call them up and place an order as you please. 

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 22:30 | 6095777 Matt
Matt's picture

If you use 100 gallons a day, it'll add up pretty quick. Like, $900 per month. $3600 for a family of four.

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 04:25 | 6096259 Benjamin123
Benjamin123's picture

The rich can afford it.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 19:48 | 6095244 Rock and Hard Space
Rock and Hard Space's picture

Well thank gawd we are doing anything stupid like growing tropical, rain-heavy dependent plants and trees in the desert, right?

Or that we aren't selling water for pennies on the dollar to foreign based mega-nationals to bottle up (with petroleum based bottles) and sell it in Wally World, right?

Right?  Right.

We suck and it is getting harder and harder for the Statists to keep waving the flag without remorse.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 19:48 | 6095246 ChargingHandle
ChargingHandle's picture

Watch the HAARP Report channel on youtube...crazy or fact... 

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:00 | 6095307 weburke
weburke's picture

when the water is provided, I would move.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 19:48 | 6095249 JR
JR's picture

One Federal judge threw out California’s means to water and food as the state’s newly created population swells to unsustainable levels. Here’s the story

The Man-Made California Drought | Committee on Natural Resources.

California’s San Joaquin Valley is the salad bowl of the world, providing the majority of fruits and vegetables for the entire nation. But, with another man-made drought looming, the San Joaquin Valley is in danger of becoming a dust bowl unless immediate action is taken to change policies that put the needs of fish above the livelihood of people.

House Republicans have a bipartisan, comprehensive solution to end future man-made droughts, bring job and water supply certainty to the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys in California and decrease reliance on foreign food sources.

Get the Facts:

  • California’s water storage and transportation system designed by federal and state governments includes 1,200 miles of canals and nearly 50 reservoirs that provide water to about 22 million people and irrigate about four million acres of land throughout the state.
  • In May 2007, a Federal District Court Judge ruled that increased amounts of water had to be re-allocated towards protecting the Delta smelt – a three-inch fish on the Endangered Species List.
  • Because of this ruling, in 2009 and 2010 more than 300 billion gallons (or 1 million acre-feet) of water were diverted away from farmers in the Central Valley and into the San Francisco Bay – eventually going out into the Pacific Ocean.
  • This man-made drought cost thousands of farm workers their jobs, inflicted up to 40 percent unemployment in certain communities, and fallowed hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile farmland.
  • Unemployment remains at a regional average of 17%. With current precipitation at near-record lows, the same regulations will be imposed pushing unemployment even higher.
  • The Pelosi-led Congress did nothing to reverse the plight of the San Joaquin Valley and even obstructed repeated Republican actions to reverse the situation. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act reflects Republican promises to avoid another man-made drought.

H.R. 3964, The Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act:

  • H.R. 3964 is a comprehensive solution that would restore some water deliveries, ensure a reliable water supply for people and fish, and save taxpayer money by ending unnecessary and dubious government projects.
  • Last Congress, the House passed bipartisan legislation, TheSacramento-San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act, to restore the flow of water. The Democratic-controlled Senate did not act on that bill or any California water legislation. The situation in California is now dire because of inaction by the Senate.
  • Highlights of the bill:
    • Restores water deliveries to communities by codifying the historic, bipartisan State/Federal agreement known as the “Bay-Delta Accord.”
    • Reforms punitive federal laws, like the Central Valley Project Improvement Act and the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act, in order to provide fairness to ratepayers, promote transparency and accountability, and save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
    • Allows water users to pay off federal debt early, which will bring early revenue to the U.S. Treasury.
    • Protects and secures private property and senior water right

http://naturalresources.house.gov/issues/issue/?IssueID=5921

Here’s a quote from the authors of The First Global Revolution a few years back who state that the threat to the environment is enormous and declare: “The Common Enemy of Humanity is Man.” And outline how they will bring about their Globalist dream of a one world socialist state: “In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like… The real enemy is humanity itself.”

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:08 | 6095342 TBT or not TBT
TBT or not TBT's picture

That's the ticket.  We'll legislate the litigants, and appeal to the adjucators.  

Another crazy idea might be to auction available water, bringing markets to bear on the problem.  They are amazingly more performant than central planners.  

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 21:15 | 6095580 Falconsixone
Falconsixone's picture

I think it's making to much news lately because it's been raining in most of the severe areas off and on for several weeks and it's snowing in the Sierras and night about once a week. Maybe there tired of driving the jet stream north (is it time for more military funny money from congress?) or maybe they're try to stifle the masses from waking up and asking why (shitter still works)?

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:12 | 6095356 Econolingus
Econolingus's picture

You proceed from an in-exact if not also a fraudulent premise.  Droughts--at least in the context that you use the word--are not man-made (though the possibility that the current one in the US west results from Global Warming is a tantalizing discussion for another time).  What you probably mean to say is that lack of water to farmers as a result of a) a naturally occuring drought combined with b) compliance with Federal law (i.e., the ESA) is a man-made choice.  And this is true. 

But your argument is further undermined by the always-reliable republican canard of "jobs, jobs, JOBS!"  And while jobs are important, it is also important to note that agriculture in CA makes up only about 2% of the  state's $two trillion economy--yet it uses 40% of the water.  So while a few jobs might go by the way side, free-market farmers will adapt and overcome by planting less water intensive crops (no need for almond trees that require 1.1 gallons PER NUT) or other discretionary/non-essential food stuffs.

So the question isn't one of re-allocating water away from fish to an inefficient industry.  The question is letting, within the context of existing law, markets drive water consumption reform.  If there is not sufficient water for California farmers to grown avacados and cotton and other very thristy non-essential crops, let producers grow those products that require less.  And if they can't adapt within the confines of a world of limited natural resources, they may go out of business.  Competition is a bitch.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:20 | 6095396 drendebe10
drendebe10's picture

Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't......

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:45 | 6095484 zeroaccountability
zeroaccountability's picture

Yeah, we can always eat seaweed, right?  RIGHT?

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 21:24 | 6095601 Falconsixone
Falconsixone's picture

NOTHING TO EAT HERE! NOTHING TO EAT HERE! MOVE ALONG! NOTHING TO EAT HERE!

That 40% used to feed 1/2 the country, But, hey! everyone likes red china vittles now. Eat up eco-mmie until you starve.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 21:01 | 6095543 ThroxxOfVron
ThroxxOfVron's picture

Nuts ren't the half of it: iceberg lettuce has zero nutritional value.

For years water has been wasted on lawns and fountains and swimming pools all over the south western US.

Lets not even talk of growing corn to processes it as automobile fuel instead of building LFTRs and engaging the electricity and waste heat from such plants to desalinate and create automobile fuels via the fischer-tropsch process...

No surprise here: poor planning = poor outcomes.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 21:34 | 6095621 Falconsixone
Falconsixone's picture

You talk like someone ready for the new world. Whatever your eating from now on only eat 1/10th of it the rest of your life and call yourself a good person (actions speak loader then words and the rich want you dead). Have fun planner.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:48 | 6095968 ThroxxOfVron
ThroxxOfVron's picture

Have fun living in a wasteland due to a lack of planning.

I plan for my future because planning is a way for me to have control of my future.

I have been tearing up the lawns around my home yard by yard since I moved in.

The neighbors pay mexicans to mow their lawns and go to whole foods to buy the stuff I grow in mine for bux.

I eat out of my gardens all year round.  I have dried herbs by the quart.

I had a fresh flower topped dandelion and chicory, etc. salad just tonight.

I have more jerusalem artichokes in the fridge and root cellar than I'll eat before the next crop in the fall.  I won't have the time to pick all the strawberries or lavender or mint or lamb's quarter.

Learn to work with what you have.  Learn to plan for your meals seasons or years in advance.

 

Not planning is courting disaster.  Whether it's food, water, power, security, etc.

Whatever the future brings I'm likely better prepared than most...

 

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 01:44 | 6096130 Tall Tom
Tall Tom's picture

The failure to plan is simply a plan for failure.

 

Too many will starve and die as a result of that failure...er...well...thinking about it...maybe not enough?

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 06:57 | 6096387 Gold Dog
Gold Dog's picture

I live close enogh to walk to a great big grocery store...it's been there for years and years.

That remains my plan.

I currently drive there in one of my V-8 gas misers.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 23:36 | 6095930 JR
JR's picture

@ Econolingus -You proceed from an in-exact if not also a fraudulent premise.

California’s water system is primarily man-made; therefore, it is reasonable to call this a man-made drought when the problem was man-made. Remember, much of eastern Southern California is desert and rainfall in general is scarce. One of the points we need to make is that tech services, finance and insurance and education and health services do not use water as one of their primary inputs. But agriculture requires water to survive and produce. And people require food to live.

From Wikipedia:

The California State Water Project, commonly known as the SWP is one of the largest publicly built and operated, water and power development and conveyance systems in the world, providing drinking water for more than 23 million people and generating an average of 6500 GWh of hydroelectricity annually. …

The SWP collects water from rivers in Northern California and redistributes it to the water-scarce but populous south through a network of aqueducts, pumping stations and power plants. About 70% of the water provided by the project is used for urban areas and industry in Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, and 30% is used for irrigation in the Central Valley. …

Since its inception in 1960, the SWP has required the construction of 21 dams and more than 700 miles (1,100 km) of canals, pipelines and tunnels,[6] although these constitute only a fraction of the facilities originally proposed. As a result, the project has only delivered an average of 2.4 million acre feet (3.0 km3) annually, as compared to total entitlements of 4.23 million acre feet (5.22 km3). Environmental concerns caused by the dry-season removal of water from the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, a sensitive estuary region, have often led to further reductions in water delivery. Work continues today to expand the SWP's water delivery capacity while finding solutions for the environmental impacts of water diversion….

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Water_Project

As for its dynamic role in agriculture, California ranks between 5th and 9th in the world in agriculture, ahead of such countries as Canada, Mexico, Germany and Spain.Determining the share and role of agriculture in California’s economy depends in part on how agriculture is defined,” according to UC Davis.

For instance, ccording to 2002 Tables, “with more than $61 billion in sales, the California food, beverage and tobacco manufacturing industry employs nearly 200,000 workers. There are 4,661 establishments in the state that process farm products to produce foods, beverages and tobacco. The bakery and tortilla manufacturing group has the largest number of establishments (39%) and employees (22%), but the beverage industry is the largest in sales (24%).  Wineries account for most of the beverage sales value (fluid milk processing is included with dairy products…

“From a very broad perspective, about 90,000 commercial establishments (in addition to farms) in California are related to agricultural production.  See The Measure of California Agriculture, Chapter 5:

http://aic.ucdavis.edu/publications/moca/moca_current/moca09/moca09chapter5.pdf

Fri, 05/15/2015 - 07:13 | 6096408 PedrotheCat
PedrotheCat's picture

We should just take some of the water that operates the Nuke Plants in Cali.  They can do with less, can't they?

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:34 | 6095448 BrerRabbit
BrerRabbit's picture

This is a drought in Califonia not

The Greatest Water Crisis In The History Of The United States

Shesshh.

Thu, 05/14/2015 - 20:39 | 6095463 nmewn
nmewn's picture

lol..."Food Insecurity" now Water Insecurity.

Is there nothing government can't "fix" and then return to it time after time to fix it again?

Its like a perpetual make work project.

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