Really? You don't say.

Professur

Professur

Well-Known Member
Scientists: Lake Mead may be dry by 2012

Wed Feb 13, 4:10 AM ET

PHOENIX - Changes in climate and strong demand for Colorado River water could drain Lake Mead by 2021, triggering severe shortages across the region, scientists warn.

Researchers at San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography said Tuesday the West's largest storage reservoir faces increasing threats from human-induced climate change, growing populations and natural forces like drought and evaporation.

There is a 50 percent chance Lake Mead will run dry by 2021 and a 10 percent chance it will run out of usable water by 2014, if the region's drought deepens and water use climbs, the researchers said.

"We were stunned at the magnitude of the problem and how fast it was coming at us," said marine physicist Tim Barnett. "Make no mistake, this water problem is not a scientific abstraction but rather one that will impact each and every one of us that live in the Southwest."

Currently, Lake Mead — located in Nevada and Arizona — is half-full, as is Lake Powell. Both lakes help manage water resources for more than 25 million people in seven states.

Researchers said that if Lake Mead water levels drop below 1,000 feet, Nevada would lose access to all its river allocation, Arizona would lose much of the water that flows through the Central Arizona Project Canal, and power production would cease before the lake level reached bottom.
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Source

And here's your sign. Millions of people tapping, flushing and baiscally using up the water .... but climate change gets top billing. Is anyone still taking any of this seriously?
 
well it is human consumption, what could be wasting such water..

Bellagio%20fountain%20at%20night.jpg
 
Lake Mead isn't really that far away.

I wonder if all those people in Arizona trying desperately to grow lawns in the desert will be affected.
 
Atlanta had a better one. In the middle of the worst drought ever, they were going to use snow making equipment to build a toboggan hill
 
Professur said:
Source

And here's your sign. Millions of people tapping, flushing and baiscally using up the water .... but climate change gets top billing. Is anyone still taking any of this seriously?
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The squandering of natural resources, yes.

The unceasing whining from one corner about climate change and how evil humans are destroying the planet, not here.

Been saying it for decades. Mankind will not be permitted to destroy that which was created for him. We ain't that much in control.
 
It always amazes me that those idjits refuse (at least they used to when I lived there) to use recycled effluent on their freakin' lawns. Get thirsty enough, you'll be drinking that shit (pun intended). The other one that always got me was, "I moved to Arizona for my allergies but they aren't any better. Besides, I have to water all this grass and all these flowers I planted to make it look like home two or three times a day." :grinno:
 
That's the main thing that gets me, chcr --- all those lawns in Arizona, Nevada, and Southern California. For land's sakes, people, you're living in the DESERT! Things are supposed to be brown and dry.
 
The latest NGM has an interesting article.
In fact, the tree rings testified that in the centuries before Europeans settled the Southwest, the Colorado basin repeatedly experienced droughts more severe and protracted than any since then. During one 13-year megadrought in the 12th century, the flow in the river averaged around 12 million acre-feet, 80 percent of the average flow during the 20th century and considerably less than is taken out of it for human use today. Such a flow today would mean serious shortages, and serious water wars. "The Colorado River at 12 million acre-feet would be real ugly," says one water manager.
...
Unfortunately, global warming could make things even uglier. Last April, a month before Meko and Woodhouse published their latest results, a comprehensive study of climate models reported in Science predicted the Southwest's gradual descent into persistent Dust Bowl conditions by mid-century. Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), meanwhile, have used some of the same models to project Colorado streamflow. In their simulations, which have been confirmed by others, the river never emerges from the current drought. Before mid-century, its flow falls to seven million acre-feet—around half the amount consumed today.
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SouthernN'Proud said:
Mankind will not be permitted to destroy that which was created for him. We ain't that much in control.
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Ah yes, use some religious mumbo jumbo to absolve you from acting responsibly.

I guess we can just slash and burn those forests where you like to hike for grazing land. We wouldn't have to take any responsibility for control in the matter.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
That's the main thing that gets me, chcr --- all those lawns in Arizona, Nevada, and Southern California. For land's sakes, people, you're living in the DESERT! Things are supposed to be brown and dry.
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Right on. If I lived in the desert i'd have rocks and cacti in my yard. Looks cool and hardly any maintenance.
 
Blast me if you wish but I've jumped on the reduce/reuse/recycle bandwagon. I've got a passion for figuring out smarter and cheaper ways to do things.

I think the best way to go with these things is to exploit methods that are better for Mother Nature AND that save people money. Isn't it then a no brainer? If I'm gonna reduce my electric bill, water bill, gas consumption... Why the heck wouldn't I?

(For those who don't know, the green in greenfreak came from the color. Then the gardening. And now the environmental concerns I have.)

I plan on getting myself at least one of these, if not two this summer:

rain_barrel.jpg



This is a rain barrel that had a previous life as a wine barrel. This:

For each inch of rain water that falls on a 1,000 square foot roof you will collect 600 gallons of rain water. In a rain fall you should expect to be able to fill up your rain barrel at every downspout of your home.

We anticipate that an average home will be able to cut its water bills in half, if rain barrels are used exclusively to water the lawn and garden.
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Is why I want to do it. Obviously, this stuff is not meant to be ingested. But for a gardener like me, the benefits are threefold. I have non-chlorinated water, a supply at the ready for soaker hoses, sprinklers, etc., and I can save some dough.

I know it's not a be-all end-all solution. But it's a start for me. When I see these monstrous showers with 5 showerheads (made specifically to thwart the government mandating the 2.5 gallon per minute showerheads) it pisses me off some. No one needs that much water, it's just stupid and wasteful.

As far as I'm concerned, it's never a bad idea to respect the planet we live on. Whether you believe in Gore, global warming, and all that or not. Maybe by it becoming "cool" to be green, those people will make enough of a difference to compensate for the ones who just don't give a shit. Maybe.
 
I've been wanting to get those ,but can't seem to find anything locally.Its as much for convenience ,there is only one outside tap ,and several beds too far to make running a garden hose viable.
 
screen or cover it with a solid cap only big enough for the downspout,also keep the neighbour kid from drowning in it.
 
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