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johnnymoose, elancaster65, egro and 1 other like this
The east coast is being hit with severe winter weather and a Polar Vortex leaving many states frozen under several feet of snow. Meanwhile, over here on the opposite side of the country, we're experiencing what's being expected to rival the drought of '76-'77 and may possibly be the worst dry spell of the 20th century.
I guess the only thing left to do is wait and see how it all unfolds. And start riding our bikes :)
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Nickolas 10 years, 10 months ago
Just the past few years the West Coast was drowning in snow. How you explain that? And in 76-77 they were still predicting "Global Cooling" in the mainstream media.
A headline to ponder below.
http://www.populartechnology.net/2013/02/the-1970s-global-cooling-alarmism.html">http://www.populartechnology.net/2013/02/the-1970s-global-cooling-alarmism.html
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Mattlockhart 10 years, 10 months ago
While I agree sensationalist media tends to hype things up to a degree of irrationality, I think it's important to look at what's going on. I also am on the side of deregulation and of the government getting out of the business of dictating the way we live our lives. However, we as individuals must recognize that what we do today affects the generations that follow. I think we can all agree that the amount of fossil fuel burning we do, though it may be negligible in the grand scheme of things today, is most certainly not leaving a positive imprint on our eco-system.
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egro 10 years, 10 months ago
1. Media hype does not equal scientific evidence - the goal is sensationalism.
2. The average global temps are trending up; the data support this.
3. Science isn't always right, but error in the past are not evidence of error in the future.
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imkendal 10 years, 10 months ago
Science data is now showing a cooling trend almost on proportion with the mini-ice age on the 16th century.
Looking at the weather in a 10-20 or even 50-100 year span and saying "this is evidence" lacks a true big picture perspective when it comes to an entity as robust as a planet.
Do we have an impact on our environment? Of course.
Do we tend to lack a big picture perspective that there is more going on? Of course.
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Mattlockhart 10 years, 10 months ago
Do you have data to support the cooling trend? That's quite interesting!
It's really intriguing to me the problems we as humans have with time. Our lives are so short that it is very difficult for us to step back and observe from that big picture perspective. Then to think, we as the human race, are only infinitesimal blip on the radar of earth's life-span.
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imkendal 10 years, 10 months ago
Most of the pieces I have read are coming out of Europe and Canada, regarding cooling. Which seems to be a subtle commentary on the information the U.S. gives credence to - "if we didn't think of it or disagree with it, then we don't give it any consideration."
Wallace Stegner, in his collection of essays, "Where the Bluebird Sings by The Lemonade Springs" points out that the geological record in the West shows there have been droughts that have lasted 500 years; that even within the scope of human record there have been droughts that if they existed today would dry up Denver, LA, Vegas, turning them into ghost towns.
All to say, as humans we think way too highly of ourselves in the areas where we could use a bit more humility and not highly enough in the areas where we could use a bit more self respect;)
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Chet_Manly 10 years, 10 months ago
So perhaps Californa would have been wise to have invested in more water retention facilities when there was an abundance of water. So the dry times won't hurt so bad. I know of no large scale investments in water retention projects (I might be wrong but I don't think I am) so I have a "wtf" moment when I hear politicians complaining about the current weather. Use the resources when you have extra avaliable.... (Idiots!)
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Mattlockhart 10 years, 10 months ago
The problem is with the size of the state and the number of population. All of Southern California's water comes from the north and Southern California is more densely populated and growing faster than any other region.
That's not to dismiss the fact that steps probably weren't made to protect the water supply should a drought occur. There is a lot to be desired of California government.
The fact remains that without rain, even building aqueducts, levees, or dams won't make much of a difference other than pad the pockets of those who control them. But more could have most definitely been done. That I won't argue.
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