Rare ‘triple’ La Niña climate event looks likely

Post by zik » Fri, Jun 24, 2022, 6:15 AM UTC

vwoolf wrote: post #87

narrator wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oddly, California officials are trying to decide right now whether to save Lake Mead or the Salton Sea. One is a stinky polluted accidental lake and the other is the primary water source for Las Vegas. What the heck? "He said the district will again seek binding guarantees from the federal and state government to help with the fast-drying Salton Sea before agreeing to reductions to preserve Lake Mead." https://www.ya…

Also California: "No" to desalination plants: https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/12/us/california-water-desaliniz...

Post by dredmorbius » Fri, Jun 24, 2022, 6:15 AM UTC

oasisbob wrote: post #84

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Water rights were not allocated centuries ago. All water managements systems (more or less) in place when the US took control of the southwest were overridden and replaced by US-style private property rights, a totally different system than exists east of the 100th parallel/the Mississippi. Consequently, they date back at most 1.5 centuries, and in general, less than that.

> 100th parallel/the Mississippi. Small point, but longitudinal lines aren't typically called parallels because they're not parallel to each other.

Post by jillekuipers » Fri, Jun 24, 2022, 6:21 AM UTC

steve_adams_86 wrote: post #7

sen wrote: post #5

It’s been intense here (SE Australia). It’s just been raining for weeks now without stopping. I think we’ve had 2 sunny days in the last 4 weeks? Crops are dying, lettuce costs $10 each (if you can find them), internet keeps dropping out cos of shittily buried lines, drains overflow and flood the streets constantly, and the kids are going up the walls. I know it’s normal for lots of areas of the world (and I’ve lived…

I follow an Australian hydroponic gardener and general tinkerer on YouTube named Hoocho and he has documented a bit of the mess the weather has caused lately. It’s extremely disheartening. One thing he noticed is that the water has pushed ants to find new places to live (including his growing enclosure, where they’ve made a home in his electrical box), and they’ve brought aphids to farm along with them. Obviously thi…

Post by igitur » Fri, Jun 24, 2022, 6:21 AM UTC

paranoidrobot wrote: post #21

IG_Semmelweiss wrote: post #16

If you ever wonder what el nino /la nina means in terms of weather for your hemisphere, here is a heuristic: La niña is the opposite of el Niño. El niño (spanish - "the boy") is the name used by inhabitants of the area it hits the hardest, South America (mostly spanish speaking). The western part of South America has its usual rainy season from late Dec to April. The "el nino" boy is a reference to birth of Jesus. Ch…

It's not really just northern/southern hemisphere. It's also linked to location. Australia gets the opposite weather to South America for the cycle. So for La Nina, it's dry in South America, but wet here in Australia.

Post by bagels » Fri, Jun 24, 2022, 6:34 AM UTC

lovich wrote: post #83

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agriculture typically uses 75-80% of the water in southwestern states. Residential is around 7% (similar to losses from evaporation). Residential per-capita use has been declining for decades. Agricultural use per acre or flat or rising. Stopping development has little to do with the water issues in the SW (it might still be a good idea, but this is not the main reason why)

It does not change the fact that the area is becoming unliveable without massive investment. Why should the rest of the country subsidize these people lifestyle choices to live in an inhospitable area? I’d be willing to support subsidizing moving them to a new location that’s better suited to living in, but I have no interest in helping pay for people to spit in reality’s eye so they can live in a place they have emo…