West Running Out of Water?

Photo from source, New York Times

Yikes. . .and I thought property values in Las Vegas were bad now. Do you suppose running out of water in the Mojave Desert might depress them a little further? Wanna buy a house?

[Excerpt]

West Is Told to Expect Water Shortfalls

The Colorado River is a critical source of water for seven Western states, each of which gets an annual allotment according to a system that has sparked conflict and controversy for decades. But in an era of climate change, even greater difficulties loom. . .

Read more at: New York Times

Hurricane Gustav and Other Natural Disasters

Image from source, Washington Post

Every part of the country seems to have some vulnerability to natural disasters. That's why I get frustrated when I hear people say, "well, why does anybody live there?" One reason is, what's home is home. And whether you have to deal with earthquakes or tornadoes or forest fires or hurricanes or floods, we've all got something.

Even here in Las Vegas, we have drought, though we've managed to survive so far. Outside of that, the occasional localized fire or dust devil are about it. So the scale of a natural disaster lives only in my memories of the strong tornado seasons of the 1970s in Ohio. Xenia was flattened, and we seemed to have dozens of tornado warnings every year for years. But we stayed there.

Hurricanes in particular are quite peculiar in the way they affect us. Unlike earthquakes--where we can only react, or tornadoes, where we have only hours or minutes to prepare--hurricanes give us days of warnings. We can only sit and wait for it to come. Ride it out or flee, you can't stop it from coming, and it seems to plod along on its destructive path.

The most unusual aspect might be the way technology has brought it into our living rooms. In the last few years, there has been a communication convergence of sorts. Multiple channels of 24-hour cable news have become a ubiquitous reality, and so has instant information on the internet. We can know more about what's going on, faster than we ever could before. And yet, the hurricane takes its sweet time. It's a strange combination of anticipation and dread, and you just want it over with, while simultaneously having a morbid curiosity of what is going to happen.

While I am an avowed cynic, have Mark Twain's view of humanity, and am rampantly morbidly curious, I'm still hopeful that Hurricane Gustav wreaks as little damage in property and life as is possible. I also hope that no political party over-hypes or exploits the aftermath to their advantage. But that's a lot of wishing.

To see a particularly interesting interactive map of Gustav and other storms, click here: Washington Post

Leaving Las Vegas: Lake Mead Drying Up?

Photo from source, Live Science

Las Vegas home values have dropped dramatically in recent times, after a sharp upward trend a couple of years ago. But what happens to those values--or the city in general--if the water runs dry? This question has long only been hypothetical, but now we're hearing that it is a very real concern. I'd like to say I'm confident that there is some sort of contingency plan in place, but. . .well. . .let's just say my trust for our government has dried up already.

[Excerpt]

Lake Mead Could Dry Up by 2021

Lake Mead, a key source of water for millions of people in the southwestern United States, could go dry by 2021, a new study finds.

The study concludes that natural forces such as evaporation, changes wrought by global warming and the increasing demand from the booming Southwest population are creating a deficit from this part of the Colorado River system. . .

Read more at: Live Science

Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the tip!

Las Vegas' Water Supply Running Out?

Photo of Lake Mead from Wikipedia.com

Ohhhh dear. We've heard about this for years, but as of late, there has been very little in the news about water rationing, or the water level at Lake Mead. I hope we figure out a way to fix this. I happen to like water. . .

[Excerpt]

Clock is Ticking on Las Vegas' Water Supply

The news coming from the Southern Nevada Water Authority Thursday about the valley's future water supply is worrisome. Unless we act quickly, there will be no water for hundreds of thousands of Las Vegas Valley residents in just three years. [snip]

SNWA data shows drought conditions getting worse, not better forcing the general manager of the water authority to ask the board to spend more than $45 million to upgrade water pumps at Lake Mead. [snip]

Those pumps would be attached to the second drinking water intake at the lake and double its capacity to pump drinking water. At the current rate, the water level will drop below the first intake in less than three years drastically cutting the supply of drinking water to Las Vegas. . .

Read the whole story at: LasVegasNow.com