Much Talk About Oil But Little About Water

Everywhere you go in the US people are talking about gasoline prices, energy dependence on foreign oil and the need for alternative energy. However, the US is facing an even greater threat which virtually no one is discussing. Key regions in the US are running out of water - without which nothing lives.


ENN: Is Lake Mead Disappearing

The water supply crisis is not just a third world issue. Nevada's Lake Mead, the largest man-made lake and reservoir in the U.S., could go dry by 2021, according to a pair of scientists at the Scripp's Institute of Oceanography in San Diego, California. If human-induced climate change and water usage continues at the present rate, or even slower, there is a 50% chance the lake will go dry in coming years — and sooner, rather than later. The Colorado River's water is being consumed far beyond a sustainable level.

Regional climate models show California and areas of the Southwest could soon face a devastating water crisis. Reduced winter run-off — due to global warming, changing weather patterns and over-consumption — are draining the area of vital water. If the region enters a serious drought, matters will worsen quickly.

The loss of a resource like Lake Mead would have a tremendous negative impact on the agriculture industry, electrical power production, and local and regional water supplies. With 1.3 million people depending on electricity from the Lake and 8 million people drinking its water, serious conservation programs and restrictions must be put in place.

Agriculture consumes 60% to 80% of water in the area and any restrictions on agricultural water use would have a serious economic downside. Coastal California desalination plants and other measures will have to be explored and the neighboring, Lake Powell, may eventually have to be drained into Lake Mead.

Related post:


Falling Bridges and No Water

April Fools

It's a strange coincidence that two very important US House Committee hearings are being held today, April 1st, a day that has traditionally become associated with practical jokes

At 9:30 AM EST, The House Science and Technology Subcommittee held a hearing on how the CDC and other agencies handled complaints about potentially high levels of formaldehyde in trailers issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

excerpt from:
Scientists CDC Bosses Ignored Warning
By BEN EVANS – 44 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal scientist said Tuesday his bosses ignored pleas to alert Gulf Coast hurricane victims about formaldehyde dangers in government-issued trailers and told him last year not to write e-mails about his warnings of potentially widespread health problems.

Christopher De Rosa, a top scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's toxic substances agency, said his bosses told him that his warnings of a "pending public health catastrophe" could be misinterpreted if publicly released.

De Rosa's comments came Tuesday at a House Science and Technology subcommittee hearing on how the CDC and other agencies handled complaints about potentially high levels of formaldehyde in trailers issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Committee Democrats have accused FEMA of manipulating scientific research to play down the dangers of high levels of formaldehyde found in the trailers. They say the CDC and its Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry went along with misleading residents.

and

At !2 noon EST. The House Select Energy Committee Chairman Edward Markey (D-MA) began a hearing involving top-level executives from the five largest oil companies to discuss the current state of oil & gas prices, renewable fuels, and pollution.

Attendees include:

• J. Stephen Simon, Senior Vice President, Exxon Mobil Corp.
• John Hofmeister, President, Shell Oil Co.
• Robert A. Malone, Chairman and President, BP America Inc.
• Peter Robinson, Vice Chairman, Chevron
• John Lowe, Executive Vice President, ConocoPhilips.

Location: Cannon House Office Building, Room 210

While the hearing on oil prices is viewable of C-SPAN3, most Americans will probably hear very little about these hearings. And that will probably be the cruelest April Fool's Day joke of the day.

I'll post more on this later