CA Water Experts, Think-Tanks Looking To Australia As Possible Future Of Western United States - ENN

[hatrack]

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - It's hard to visualize a water crisis while driving the lush boulevards of Los Angeles, golfing Arizona's green fairways or watching dancing Las Vegas fountains leap more than 20 stories high. So look Down Under. A decade into its worst drought in a hundred years Australia is a lesson of what the American West could become. Bush fires are killing people and obliterating towns. Rice exports collapsed last year and the wheat crop was halved two years running. Water rationing is part of daily life.

"Think of that as California's future," said Heather Cooley of California water think tank the Pacific Institute.

EDIT

Global warming pushes extremes. It prolongs drought while sometimes bringing deluges the parched earth cannot absorb. California Department of Water Resources Director Lester Snow says two things keep him up at night: drought and flood. "It isn't that drought is the new norm," said Snow. "Climate change is bringing us higher highs and lower lows in terms of water supplies."

Take Los Angeles, which had its driest year in 2006-2007, with 3 inches (7.6 cms) of rain. Only two years earlier, more than 37 inches (94 cms) fell, barely missing the record. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a drought emergency last month, and Los Angeles plans to ration water for the first time in 15 years. Courts are limiting the amount of water taken from into rivers to save decimated fish populations, which is cutting back even more to farms. California farmers lost more than $300 million in 2008 and economic losses may accelerate to 10 times that this year as 95,000 people lose their jobs. Farmers will get zero water from the main federal supplier.

EDIT

http://www.enn.com/climate/article/39435

[OKIsItJustMe]

1. More…

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=189427&mesg_id=189427

[iamjoy]

2. Water Rationing Should Be Done Fairly

It is outrageougs that in Central Florida they tell homeowners we have to restrict when we can water our lawns, but then let bottled water companies come in and drain our acquifer to their hearts' content. It's also crazy that golf courses don't have to follow the restrictions.

Water restrictions should apply to golf courses and water bottlers. They should apply to people on a well, too (wells still drain the water table).

We need to get serious about water restrictions now so we can survive in the future

oh, and any conversation about nuclear power must include water supply issues as well.

[Nihil]

3. Agreed but the Republicans think that this is already fair:

Golf courses & water bottlers are rich. They don't get restrictions.
Plebs like you aren't rich. You get restrictions.

See? You get what you deserve.

(Note: The above is purely arguing from their perspective,
not from yours or mine.)