One of the biggest problems in California is that in our central valley, nearly all of the water goes to similar landowners for crop irrigation. This is all well and good, and I support farmers and the free market, but when something like 80% of the fruit and nut crop is exported to places like china (again, all for free trade), the trade off is the problem noted in this article. The central valley is not just the breadbasket to the united states, but the world. We are, in essence, exporting our water at a time when we need it most (including for the western power grid and drinking water!)
Hydroelectric is the key swing generation asset in California. Low water levels in times of drought in California cuts hydroelectric power generation (typically 20-25% of the state's generation normally) to a mere 5%. This increases the call on natural gas and coal generation, increasing carbon emissions. Low water levels also increase the risk and intensity of forest fires which create yet more emissions.
Fascinating review and synopsis of what is the Southwest's (especially Las Vegas) problem.
Whoa! You can't eat poker chips.
Jack Lawson
Associate Member, Sully H. deFontaine Special Forces Association Chapter 51, Las Vegas, Nevada
Author of “The Slaver’s Wheel”, “A Failure of Civility,” “And We Hide From The Devil,” “Civil Defense Manual” and “In Defense.”
WRITE THIS DOWN AND THEN REPEAT IT TO YOURSELF 3x/DAY AT MINIMUM:
"It is literally impossible for anyone who has even a basic grasp of history to believe that any government genuinely has the best interests of its people in mind at any time." – Vox Day
From Jack Lawson… American in 1RLI Support Commando and attached to Rhodesian “C Squadron” SAS Africa 1977-79
Reverse osmosis plants like the one in Carlsbad have three problems..They are very expensive, they use large amounts of energy, and the highly concentrated waste water they discharge in the ocean kills sea life in the area..California is already short of energy, and shut in 200k homes over Thanksgiving..
I used to work in Page AZ where Lake powel is located. This was back in the 90s. The lake was huge. I would add that a very large coal fired plant in Page AZ was recently shut down and demolished. The way the coal was transported to the plant was through a water pipeline. The water ran out and the plant was useless. It was a very large producer. And polluter.
We’re a long way from discussing the Colorado (which I do care deeply about - I live 500’ from one of its tributaries)! I’m not usually shy about having an opinion on scientific matters - my Ph.D. Is in geochemistry, but I think I have pretty good knowledge of and ability to interpret data from other areas. But radiation medicine I’ll leave to the experts - the hormeisis proponents had their say and the NRC rejected the concept. Instinctively LNT doesn’t make sense to me either, but I’m not sure at this point what will change the regulators’ minds.
I like Zeihan and his takes are incredibly unique and creative. I struggle to put faith in him, however, when he blatantly lets his politics blind him to reality:
Whatever you may think of Tucker… fine, but this would’ve taken a 15 second google search to fact check, and his followers were screaming it in the comments. I often wonder if he employs the same level of rigor for his geopolitical takes.
Great article. Take the time to read "Cadillac Desert" which was written 27 years ago about the water issue in the West and the travesty the US Govt did. Also note desalinization plants take a tremendous amount of energy. So while a solution creates another problem. It will end extremely bad. Short California!
Ha. Think of Egyptian Cotton. A desert country with ONE water source of water grows a crop that needs a lot of water. Exporting "virtual water" is going to be a BIG thing as soon as people realize that excessive water use for making things in water poor countries is akin to how U.S. Supreme Court Justice George Sutherland (a former U.S. senator and congressman from Utah) colorfully noted in the landmark 1926 case of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co.: "A nuisance may be merely a right thing in the wrong place — like a pig in the parlor instead of the barnyard." Recycle water for ag. or something...
1. Ship water straight south from Canada. We've been expecting you guys for a while. We've got minerals, energy and arable land too. Don't call it an annexation, call it a favorable trade deal.
2. Why is the brine not an issue? Is it repurposed?
It seems that one of the few things left & right leaning politicians and citizens agree on is the common benefit of infrastructure projects.
With an excess of water (ie flooding) in certain midwest regions and a lack of water (ie drought) in others, it seems like an opportunity to build out an interstate/intercontinental waterway system to redistribute water where it is needed. I don't pretend it's cheap or even that simple, but now that we've grown accustomed to things with trillion dollar price tags, let's see what this would take. Even the enviro-sensitivities are mitigated when simply transporting fresh water (unlike fossil fuels or electricity).
This could be a massive federal public works project in collaboration with Canada & Mexico for decades. Who does this type of research and modeling for government, academia, & business?
Excellent article. Water in California was a staple of my MBA Core Econ class, showing the problems created by lack of price signals (as you mentioned). The presentation featured pictures of *rice farming for export* in the Sacramento Valley, though your Google Maps image of the Imperial Valley works just as well. Most of these problems would be best resolved by putting an actual price on the use (and also production) of water.
Hm! Interesting.
One of the biggest problems in California is that in our central valley, nearly all of the water goes to similar landowners for crop irrigation. This is all well and good, and I support farmers and the free market, but when something like 80% of the fruit and nut crop is exported to places like china (again, all for free trade), the trade off is the problem noted in this article. The central valley is not just the breadbasket to the united states, but the world. We are, in essence, exporting our water at a time when we need it most (including for the western power grid and drinking water!)
Hydroelectric is the key swing generation asset in California. Low water levels in times of drought in California cuts hydroelectric power generation (typically 20-25% of the state's generation normally) to a mere 5%. This increases the call on natural gas and coal generation, increasing carbon emissions. Low water levels also increase the risk and intensity of forest fires which create yet more emissions.
Fascinating review and synopsis of what is the Southwest's (especially Las Vegas) problem.
Whoa! You can't eat poker chips.
Jack Lawson
Associate Member, Sully H. deFontaine Special Forces Association Chapter 51, Las Vegas, Nevada
Author of “The Slaver’s Wheel”, “A Failure of Civility,” “And We Hide From The Devil,” “Civil Defense Manual” and “In Defense.”
WRITE THIS DOWN AND THEN REPEAT IT TO YOURSELF 3x/DAY AT MINIMUM:
"It is literally impossible for anyone who has even a basic grasp of history to believe that any government genuinely has the best interests of its people in mind at any time." – Vox Day
From Jack Lawson… American in 1RLI Support Commando and attached to Rhodesian “C Squadron” SAS Africa 1977-79
Reverse osmosis plants like the one in Carlsbad have three problems..They are very expensive, they use large amounts of energy, and the highly concentrated waste water they discharge in the ocean kills sea life in the area..California is already short of energy, and shut in 200k homes over Thanksgiving..
I used to work in Page AZ where Lake powel is located. This was back in the 90s. The lake was huge. I would add that a very large coal fired plant in Page AZ was recently shut down and demolished. The way the coal was transported to the plant was through a water pipeline. The water ran out and the plant was useless. It was a very large producer. And polluter.
We’re a long way from discussing the Colorado (which I do care deeply about - I live 500’ from one of its tributaries)! I’m not usually shy about having an opinion on scientific matters - my Ph.D. Is in geochemistry, but I think I have pretty good knowledge of and ability to interpret data from other areas. But radiation medicine I’ll leave to the experts - the hormeisis proponents had their say and the NRC rejected the concept. Instinctively LNT doesn’t make sense to me either, but I’m not sure at this point what will change the regulators’ minds.
I like Zeihan and his takes are incredibly unique and creative. I struggle to put faith in him, however, when he blatantly lets his politics blind him to reality:
https://mobile.twitter.com/PeterZeihan/status/1507289523390230531
His hate for Tucker Carlson above makes him completely oblivious to the reality below:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10652127/Hunter-Biden-helped-secure-millions-funding-military-biotech-research-program-Ukraine.html
Whatever you may think of Tucker… fine, but this would’ve taken a 15 second google search to fact check, and his followers were screaming it in the comments. I often wonder if he employs the same level of rigor for his geopolitical takes.
200 or 500?
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2015-imperial-valley-water-barons/
But yes, seems crazy indeed....
Decisions that impact the infrastructure needed to sustain society, SHALL NOT be trusted to the non-science based minds of politicians!
Great article. Take the time to read "Cadillac Desert" which was written 27 years ago about the water issue in the West and the travesty the US Govt did. Also note desalinization plants take a tremendous amount of energy. So while a solution creates another problem. It will end extremely bad. Short California!
Ha. Think of Egyptian Cotton. A desert country with ONE water source of water grows a crop that needs a lot of water. Exporting "virtual water" is going to be a BIG thing as soon as people realize that excessive water use for making things in water poor countries is akin to how U.S. Supreme Court Justice George Sutherland (a former U.S. senator and congressman from Utah) colorfully noted in the landmark 1926 case of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co.: "A nuisance may be merely a right thing in the wrong place — like a pig in the parlor instead of the barnyard." Recycle water for ag. or something...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South%E2%80%93North_Water_Transfer_Project
1. Ship water straight south from Canada. We've been expecting you guys for a while. We've got minerals, energy and arable land too. Don't call it an annexation, call it a favorable trade deal.
2. Why is the brine not an issue? Is it repurposed?
It seems that one of the few things left & right leaning politicians and citizens agree on is the common benefit of infrastructure projects.
With an excess of water (ie flooding) in certain midwest regions and a lack of water (ie drought) in others, it seems like an opportunity to build out an interstate/intercontinental waterway system to redistribute water where it is needed. I don't pretend it's cheap or even that simple, but now that we've grown accustomed to things with trillion dollar price tags, let's see what this would take. Even the enviro-sensitivities are mitigated when simply transporting fresh water (unlike fossil fuels or electricity).
This could be a massive federal public works project in collaboration with Canada & Mexico for decades. Who does this type of research and modeling for government, academia, & business?
Excellent article. Water in California was a staple of my MBA Core Econ class, showing the problems created by lack of price signals (as you mentioned). The presentation featured pictures of *rice farming for export* in the Sacramento Valley, though your Google Maps image of the Imperial Valley works just as well. Most of these problems would be best resolved by putting an actual price on the use (and also production) of water.