NASA Predicts Megadrought Coming for the U.S. in 35 Years

[billchao]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/todays-drought-in-the-west-is-nothing-compared-to-what-may-be-coming/2015/02/12/0041646a-b2d9-11e4-854b-a38d13486ba1_story.html

Quote:

The long and severe drought in the U.S. Southwest pales in comparison with what’s coming: a “megadrought” that will grip that region and the central Plains later this century and probably stay there for decades, a new study says.

Thirty-five years from now, if the current pace of climate change continues unabated, those areas of the country will experience a weather shift that will linger for as long as three decades, according to the study, released Thursday.

Researchers from NASA and Cornell and Columbia universities warned of major water shortages and conditions that dry out vegetation, which can lead to monster wildfires in southern Arizona and parts of California.

Someone shared this on Facebook, so I thought I'd share it here. It would be pretty nasty if it happens.

[newtogolf]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/todays-drought-in-the-west-is-nothing-compared-to-what-may-be-coming/2015/02/12/0041646a-b2d9-11e4-854b-a38d13486ba1_story.html

Someone shared this on Facebook, so I thought I'd share it here. It would be pretty nasty if it happens.

This is a severe problem in other countries like Brazil where they are considering shutting off water to homes for 4 - 5 days out of a week and has led to massive hoarding of water which is only making the problem worse.

If the article and trends are accurate I can imagine water some day being treated and traded as oil is today with pipelines being set up to distribute water from areas that have surplus.  I also expect water plants that can recycle water becoming more necessary as the number of fresh water sources become contaminated or dried up.

The lesson here is that no resource is unlimited (despite what we think) and eventually we have to do dedicate resources to solve these types of problems before they reach the levels Brazil is experiencing today.

[Patch]

Could be worse I suppose. That water line (bath tub ring) is about 120' thick