Monday, January 07, 2008

Water, Water...

Though somewhat tongue in cheek, the excellent Salon article titled How to Solve America's Water Problems pulls no punches in stating we are in big trouble in the H20 scheme of things. "In San Diego, which just experienced its driest summer in recorded history, the hills are charred from October's wildfires. The state of California is so tapped out that the pumps that carry water from the Sacramento River to San Diego were tightened in December. Water authorities are urging San Diegans to tear up their grass and replace it with cactus and succulent."

and..."Metro Atlanta draws its water from Lake Lanier, a dammed-up stretch of the Chattahoochee River. The Chattahoochee forms part of Georgia's boundary with Alabama, then joins the Flint River to become the Apalachicola, which flows through the Florida Panhandle. The more Atlanta drinks, the less flows downstream. Since this year's drought began, Lake Lanier has shrunk to 15 feet below its normal level, its all-time low. As it withers, Georgia, Florida and Alabama have been bickering over the remaining supply."

And we haven't even talked about the problems in the west/southwest or the near death state of the Florida acquifer (pollution, pesticides & fertilizers) as the US continues to dry up under the impact of GW.

To get a better idea of the current situation in the US, click on the image above to get the NDIS (National Integrated Drought Information System) take on this grave problem.

When combined with the impact GW is having on the sea, (GW 1 & 2) the potential for ironic calamity really starts to take hold because at the same time Florida and the Southeast is drying up, coastal areas will flood out as ocean levels rise.

Don't you feel better now?

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