36 States To See Water Shortages Within 5 Years: Report

AP:

An epic drought in Georgia threatens the water supply for millions. Florida doesn't have nearly enough water for its expected population boom. The Great Lakes are shrinking. Upstate New York's reservoirs have dropped to record lows. And in the West, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is melting faster each year. Across America, the picture is critically clear -- the nation's freshwater supplies can no longer quench its thirst.

The government projects that at least 36 states will face water shortages within five years because of a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, urban sprawl, waste and excess.

Read the whole story: AP

Comments

[VivaZapata]

03:37 AM on 10/27/2007

one more reason to discontinue waterboarding. obviously, appealing to a sense of morality doesn't work with the neocons. they don't seem to have that sense.

[demsrnuts]

03:16 AM on 10/27/2007

When they can get tomorrows weather right I will consider their 5 year forecasts !!!

[BeerHolder]

03:30 AM on 10/27/2007

I don't know where the hell you live but our weathermen are about 85% correct. Also predicting weather next week has nothing to do with future climate models. Climate is the average over time, weather is what's happening now. Climate is based on a yearly average. Weather is based on what comes in off the Pacific ocean that you can see on radar. If there's a front on the West Coast, chances are it will move East. That has nothing to do with climate. Of course if you had been to grade school you would know that.

[VivaZapata]

03:39 AM on 10/27/2007

even a beerholder sees clearer than demsrnuts

[Chapeau]

03:09 AM on 10/27/2007

... oh and I'm glad other's pointed out that the idiot-in-chief has invested and has plans to horde one of the main fresh aquifers in South America!!

Water is the next oil.

Unless we, the People wake up now !!!

And make sure our public works and government is focused on creating long range plans for the enevitable!

This ain't rocket science folks. No matter what you believe -- Global Warming is happening ... we can debate the cause ... or realize that it is a natural cycle of Mother Earth and maybe we helped it along or not .. but the bottom line is it *is* happening ... and that means that areas that today rely upon fresh water from run off from melting glaciers ... and our current weather patterns will be in for future shock when these change!

UNLESS WE DEAL WITH IT NOW !!!

[Chapeau]

02:47 AM on 10/27/2007

I'm sorry but I have no patience for Water Shortages on the Planet Earth!

The planet is covered in H2O.

OK, yes most of it is salinated. But com'on, water, unlike OIL, is truly a necessity for us hairless apes.

Great civilizations have risen and fallen on the ability to acquire, maintain and supply fresh water to it's populace.

So, again, I say - on a planet that is actually blue when seen from outter space -- it makes me sick to my stomach to hear pathetic whiny excuses about the cost, the labor, the energy, etc ... associated with harnessing one of the most plentiful resources on our Planet!

Given the alternative -- it would seem to me that we should be exploring ways to ensure that we put our efforts into providing for the real need to deal with the need for water!!!

For crying out loud -- the idiot-in-chief, has had no compunction about putting our nation in debt to the tune of 2.5+ TRILLION DOLLLARS for an illegal, needless WAR ....

How could that 2.5+ TRILLION been spent to ensure that our infrastructure and need for water and health care been better redistributed? Hmmmmm.... ??

Again, it makes me fuming mad to hear the whining excuses about -- oh, desalination cost to much, or it's not feasible, or what-the-f-ever ... but -- hey, let's spend several trillion on a freaking WAR !!??

CoM'on America - we can truly recapture the best of our what we were ... we carved the Panama Canal, TVA was built in the Tennessee to deal with flooding and supply energy to rural areas, we went to the moon, heck, Las Vegas is in the middle of a desert yet they've dealt with the whole water issue?! Not to mention, let's look at history, the Roman Empire built aqueducts how many miles long to supply Rome with water? ... we have the ability to solve this problem !!

But do we have the leadership? or the WiLL?

Com'on. Water Shortages on Planet Earth?!?
JezusHJimeny ... that's absurb.

[BeerHolder]

03:06 AM on 10/27/2007

What's absurd is the way people waste our natural resources. This slash and burn mentality is what put us here. War is stupid and wasteful but cutting down trees to pave the earth is dumber. Damming up all the rivers has also helped to drown New Orleans and destroy our wetlands. The earth works perfectly if you LEAVE IT THE HELL ALONE. Whenever you start dicking with it like humans have you're asking for trouble. You can't manipulate all the rivers and streams and remove mountain tops and throw them down in the valleys without consequences.

The earth can be very unforgiving to idiots.

[thegirlnextdoor]

02:19 AM on 10/27/2007

This is the scariest thing I've read in years. Instead of this negative babble, let's have some suggestions how we are going to get along with less water.

[Chapeau]

03:01 AM on 10/27/2007

Christonacracker -- " ... how we are going to get along with less water" ??

How about ... How are we going to harness our planet's most plentiful resource !?!

Why should the future be bleak with nothing but water shortages -- when our planet is covered in the stuff?

Com'on !

[BeerHolder]

03:24 AM on 10/27/2007

"Why should the future be bleak with nothing but water shortages -- when our planet is covered in the stuff? "

Why? Because people are that stupid. Salt water has to evaporate before it becomes fresh water. We have water but weather patterns are changing. Areas that once had plenty of water will become deserts. Check out what's happening in China. Google it. China loses 2000 sq. miles of land to desert EVERY YEAR!!!

Poor land management, poor farming techniques, over use of resources, deforestation etc. It adds up and the effects are cumulative. We are reaping the benefits of our stupidity.

The earth will start getting rid of mass quantities of people very soon. Millions will die as a result of no water and no food. But don't worry, the poorest people will die first.

[BeerHolder]

03:08 AM on 10/27/2007

How about this?

There will have to be fewer people very soon. The earth will take care of the problem.

[Dap]

01:23 AM on 10/27/2007

Let them drink wine!

[BeerHolder]

03:09 AM on 10/27/2007

It takes water to make wine genius.

[demsrnuts]

12:40 AM on 10/27/2007

With democrats pissing and moaning and crying all the time our water supply will continually be recycled !

[BeerHolder]

03:09 AM on 10/27/2007

Leave it to the Republiclown to come up with something stupid.

[drkazmd65]

11:25 PM on 10/26/2007

All it takes to realize the scale of water being extracted from the Western Aquifers is to fly over west KS, OK, and chunks of TX. All those dandy green crop circles are right smack dab in the middle of former scrub and shortgrass prairie.

Or,... fly over Western Arizona and note the swath of green next to what used to be the Colorado River. That river really doesn't reach the Gulf of Californina any more. It all goes to crops, or gets diverted to Arizona and California towns.

Most of these states already are having water issues. They just haven't realized it yet.

The rust belt will be looking better, and better in only a decade or so. At least they have some actual water in Michigan and Wisconsin,...

[Ping]

01:11 AM on 10/27/2007

There is also the chance that California will split into 2. Northern California supplies Southern California with a lot of water.

On the other hand necessity is the mother of invention, I can see nuclear plants in the midwest providing electricity for the desalination plants on the east and west coast, with huge underground water pipes running across the country.

[who38]

11:23 PM on 10/26/2007

Does anyone know which 14 states still have plenty of water? Or which countries will benefit from having enough water to sustain its population? I want to invest there.

[PaceSetter]

11:16 PM on 10/26/2007

"We've hit a remarkable moment," said Barry Nelson, a senior policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council. "The last century was the century of water engineering. The next century is going to have to be the century of water efficiency."

um, yeah, just like we knew where we were headed in the 1970's with the Oil Crisis and we did so much to become more energy efficient.

The NAFTA agreement stipulates that Canada MUST NEVER cut back on the amount of water sent to the US, even if Canada needs that water for it's own purposes. I can foresee a time when America will be occupying Ottawa in the same manner they are now occupying Baghdad.

[totalliberal]

12:39 AM on 10/27/2007

["America will be occupying Ottawa in the same manner they are now occupying Baghdad."]



We can't even take on one little Arab country. What would we do when all the insurgents look like Republicans?

[Ping]

01:04 AM on 10/27/2007

"The NAFTA agreement stipulates that Canada MUST NEVER cut back on the amount of water sent to the US, even if Canada needs that water for it's own purposes."

Canadians aren't that stupid they'll cancel NAFTA befor it gets to that.

[HumeSkeptic]

11:14 PM on 10/26/2007

This can't be true. The trollies told us that climate change is a a hoax - a conspiracy of world scientists against something or the other. I think it was to discredit our Fuhrer Bush.

[lamarguerite]

11:24 PM on 10/26/2007

Remember, 'If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down'? That's an easy, lazy way to cut down on water consumption right away and substantially!

I just posted a whole series of water saving tips in my green blog, http://lamarguerite.wordpress.com, but in short, it boils down to one word: REDUCE.

[psgoodguy]

12:58 AM on 10/27/2007

i read your blog. you infer that flying coach is more green than flying business or first class. please elaborate.

[HumeSkeptic]

11:10 PM on 10/26/2007

Can Perrier help out?

[realitytrumpsbull]

11:08 PM on 10/26/2007

Be sure to thank your local real estate developers before they board the plane for
the Caymans...

[lornejl]

10:42 PM on 10/26/2007

I've been thirsty, really really thirsty, even I would attack Iraq if that was the only way I could get oil, I mean , water.

[HumeSkeptic]

11:21 PM on 10/26/2007

I just got back in town in San Diego. It is a beautuful night. Clear skies, full moon, and not a hint of smoke in the air where I am. Bush did a good job yesterday when he was here.

[psgoodguy]

12:59 AM on 10/27/2007

i live 100 miles to the east and the air is so thick with smoke it looks like pea soup fog.

[lornejl]

10:23 PM on 10/26/2007

The Neo-Cons have a plan, they will bring deomcracy to the Pacific Ocean.

[kay]

10:33 PM on 10/26/2007

The "neocons" don't even listen to the swill their own "Presidential" candidates mouth daily.

They all sound like environmentalists. They've done a really remarkable 180 on the Right. They dropped the whole denial meme, with no explanation, and now insist we should all listen to them on "green conservatism", whatever the hell that might be.

Newt Gingrich announced there was such a thing, but he was sketchy on the details. He has the NAME and probably a PAC, but other than that it's...thin.