More global warming!

You think this year January is warm(est ever), just wait 5 billion years. The sun goes red giant then and boy is it gonna be hot around here.....

 

Yikes. And yup. A huge majority of scientist agree that it IS happening. If it is a natural cycle, human induced, or a combination of both. It doesn't matter. It is happening. Let's just hope it doesn't make it harder to grow enough food because of bad weather conditions for food production. That would be a scary thing and really make everyone sit up and take notice. For instance, California has been in drought for how long now? A decade. They grow, I think, about 50% of the fruits that the U.S. eats. Let's discuss. If it is okay with Dennis. One rule. No political discussion please. Global warming is not about Al Gore! He just tried to bring it to front and center. It is worth talking about. Here we go ........

 

All I know is that the media has been trying to scare the sheeit out of me since I was little. Y2k is a prime example. I guess if Gore can invent the internet he can predict global warming. I'm concerned with things that no one predicted, like planes flying into buildings.

 

With some conservation & common sense changes, keeping politics out of it.
The USA will adapt.
Water pipelines may become as important as fuel pipelines.
Balancing the environmental side with the needs of the high human population areas will be a big step to overcome.

The choices will be tough ones: Financing it , Enacting the needed changes , changing the lifestyles of many. There
will be huge battle lines drawn between states , counties, cities & farmers.

But I have confidence we'll get thru it, if for no other reason,
what's the other option ?

 

Y2K is a poor comparison. And, actually they had some pretty solid information that they were going to do this. It just fell on deaf ears.

 

Y2k is the perfect example. There were people on TV predicting the computers in our cars may not work, none of that happened.
I am concerned with global warming, I'm just trying to keep a sense of perspective.

 

One possibility would be to build desalination plants where they are needed most before the situation is very dire. They could be used badly in the south west in several places already. I know it is expensive, and I am no expert. But when they start trying to take the water from the great lakes I believe we all need to be very concerned up in this area. California is like the 7th largest economy in the world. Build some desalination plants so you can use the enormous amount of water that is right there. This is why it is done in other parts of the world where there is not enough water. They already took the water from the northern part of the west to feed the desert in the south. And more keep going there.

 

Pooooof…

 

There is a difference in Y2K and some computer glitches or perceived glitches, as compared to the facts that the ice is melting at a faster rate than it has ever done before as far back as they can figure out from the ice cores. If we just keep pumping C02 into the atmosphere and don't try to slow it down we are just increasing the odds that our own demise will be sooner, rather than later. I'm not saying we are all going to die next year, or ten years from now. But we need to think long term for our children and grand children.

Another similar problem is with air pollution. Many like to say hogwash. It isn't hogwash. The clean air act is doing good. If we never implemented it imagine how bad the air quality would be. China is seeing it first hand because they have 4 times the population we have.

 

Desal plants take huge amounts of electrical power, compounds the problem with our current power plants.
Building Nuke plants in Earthquake zones is a bad thing, Wind & sun not there 24/7 365.

Saudi & Dubai have lots of oil & NG, for powering their desal plants.

 

People still need the water. Even if it cost a lot of money. Like you said before. Conservation. But that will have to be combined with conservation of everything. If you have enough power to run amusement parks, pool heaters and pumps, etc. etc. then you need to have enough power for the water you will need to drink.

 

Why do so many people live where there is not enough water to sustain them?

 

Canada has a lot of water. Loon, Camp inspector and woodwidow won't mind.

 

Another stick in the spokes of using the Earth's resources, that few discuss, is
the human population growth. Kinda of the "Third Rail"
When & how to address it is controversial & complicated, yet very critical to any long term solution.

 

That one is easy .
There is enough water there to sustain them or they wouldn't be there

The Colorado river, not much more than a drop gets to the ocean.

 

And… while Maine has torn out older hydro dam elec plants… New Hampshire is working to build em. With newer technology, the older dams could be putting out 2-3 times what they originally did. Amazes me that Maine has taken this course… for the fish, don'tcha know. Thought they solved the fish problem with fish ladders… they could easily get up above the dams. And, unlike ALL of the Big Green power schemes, hydro power is 24/7/365… probably not enough guvment "incentive". Too bad really…

 

I don't remember anyone predicting that the USA would be one of the largest oil producers in the world soon. I am Hoping that we can use this as a gift from God as a temporary deprive until we can develop greener energy.

 

Very little electrical use in the winter in the desert areas, but
in summer, AC power outages & rolling brown out are common.
Again, why are more & more people living there? Because they can.
Take away water & AC, they'd have to move.

Evaporation of the great lakes and water level was an issue the past 20 years.
With this winter they are back at good water levels
& with the water being cooler, less evaporation this Spring. Predicted to be no low water conditions for 2014.

Nature can cycle & change long term trends back & forth (like above in the Great Lakes area)
With our short history, what are the long term trends & what do we do to maintain a reasonable balance when these trends
show up & effect areas the size of the South West US ?

 

I know it was warm here in January.
2' of snow disappeared & we had red flag warnings.

Was 0° f last night, 10° below the average, but another warm air blast, from the south is headed our way.