The melting ice in the Arctic is manipulating the jet stream off the coast, pushing winter storms out of California. By many accounts the California water crisis is in its infancy and we are only beginning to witness the many changes the state will face as a result.
Are we witnessing the end of 'big ag' in California?
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
One of the biggest consumers of water in California is the almond tree industry. It is only the mining of fossil aquifers using fossil energy that made growing almonds in a desert state even possible.
From trucking to packaging to marketing, there is no question that farming in California has created many jobs. However, like so many other sectors, it's come largely at the expense of the environment.
This is the global problem; it's not just water. It's how the world has been run, with no thought of the future.
we have to get back to the land ourselves. [...] We have no choice, so may as well get started now.
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
But at the same time as California has been getting little rain, it’s also experienced record hot temperatures. It’s the heat that’s pushed the drought into unprecedented territory.
Anecdotally, a Californian friend said her grocery bill had climbed almost four-fold in the past couple of years.
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
"It's important to note that California's drought, while extreme, is not an uncommon occurrence for the state. In fact, multi-year droughts appear regularly in the state's climate record, and it's a safe bet that a similar event will happen again. Thus, preparedness is key," said Richard Seager, report lead author and professor with Columbia University's Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory.
This report builds on earlier studies, published in September in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, which found no conclusive evidence linking human-caused climate change and the California drought.
It's strange that they can be so specific but I suspect they talking about the fact of it, not its severity.
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
This looks like the 'Israel gets more rain than Essex' mistake.
The point of Daniel Griffin and Kevin J Anchukaitis, (link in my previous post) is that although the current drought is not unprecedented in rainfall terms, it's severity is the greatest within the tree-ring record because it has been accompanied by hight temperatures.
We're now in the era where it's safe to say that, whatever the weather, there's an anthropogenic input.
biffvernon wrote:We're now in the era where it's safe to say that, whatever the weather, there's an anthropogenic input.
Exactly my point.
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
In a cruel irony, a dry year also means more fossil fuels will have to be burned for electricity to make up for the shortfall in hydropower generation. And burning more fossil fuels will, of course, pump even more greenhouse gases into our atmosphere, making global warming worse.
In addition to being the hottest year on record in California, 2014 was also the third year of extreme drought in the state, which scientists tell us is a telltale sign that global warming is already impacting our lives right here and right now.
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
The sao Paulo drought is still getting worse. One district of 5 million people is facing water being cut off for 5 days a week. How people are expected to cope without fresh water for 5 days in that climate is not reported (and it ius a 5 day off, 2 day on plan).
A report published in the journal of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences stated that average annual temperature is expected to increase by up to 5 percent by 2100, with a corresponding increase in water reduction of 30 percent.
"I was honestly surprised at just how dry the future is likely to be," said another co-author Toby Ault
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
And another study, this time from NASA, the findings of which are presented in this short YouTube video.
"Alternatively, if the world were to take aggressive actions to reduce emissions, the models still show drying, but the trends will be less severe."
That's alright then. All we have to do is...
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
PS_RalphW wrote:The sao Paulo drought is still getting worse. One district of 5 million people is facing water being cut off for 5 days a week. How people are expected to cope without fresh water for 5 days in that climate is not reported (and it ius a 5 day off, 2 day on plan).
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
Australia’s “Big Dry” sucked up $4.5 billion in federal government drought assistance from 1995 to 2012. Spain just experienced the worst drought since record keeping began 150 years ago, losing 54% of 2014 crops. Brazil’s drought is the worst in 80 years. Sao Paulo is rationing water for 22 million people. Istanbul’s (pop. 14 million) water reservoirs are at 22% of capacity. The list goes on, and on.
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
