Peak Oil is You
Donate Bitcoins ;-) or Paypal :-)
Page added on August 6, 2014
California Experiencing Most Severe Drought Ever Recorded
One of the worst North American droughts in history could be getting a whole lot worse. According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor Map released on Tuesday, more than 58 percent of California is in an “exceptional drought” stage. That’s up a staggering 22 percent from last week’s report. And, in its latest drought report released earlier today, the National Drought Mitigation Center warned that “bone-dry” conditions are overtaking much of the Golden State, and noted that, overall, California is “short more than one year’s worth of reservoir water, or 11.6 million acre-feet, for this time of year.”
All across California, streams are drying up, crops are dying off and local communities are struggling to maintain access to water, thanks to 3 years of persistent drought conditions. The situation is so dire that on Tuesday, California implemented state-wide emergency water-conservation measures, in an effort preserved what remaining water there is. Under the new measures, Californians can face fines of up to $500 per day for using hoses to clean sidewalks, run decorative fountains, and other water-guzzling activities.
Unfortunately, while the situation in California is already pretty bleak, it looks like things are only going to get worse. In fact, it’s possible that all of the American southwest could soon be seeing the devastating drought conditions that Californians are facing. That’s because the largest surge of heat ever recorded moving west to east in the Pacific Ocean, often referred to as a Kelvin Wave, which was supposed to start an El Nino and bring tropical-like rains to the West Coast and southwest, just dissipated, after it was absorbed by abnormally warm ocean waters.
An El Nino is marked by the prolonged warming of Pacific Ocean surface temperatures, when compared to the average temperature. El Ninos usually happen every two to seven years, and can last anywhere between nine months and two years. As warm water spreads from the western Pacific and the Indian Ocean to the eastern Pacific, it brings rain and moisture with it, bringing rain to California and the American Southwest.
So, during an El Nino period, winters are often a lot wetter than usual in the southwest U.S., including in central and southern California, where drought conditions are currently the worst. That’s why Californians were hoping for a strong El Nino period, to bring the rains and moisture that’s needed to help ease the drought.
Unfortunately, while some weather models are still predicting that an El Nino is possible, the chances of an El Nino strong enough to break the devastating drought that California is seeing are now very, very slim. As a result, there’s probably no end in sight to the current drought conditions in California. And, since warm ocean waters that bring rain are moving farther north up the Pacific, while Oregon and Washington and Alaska will get rain, the jet stream is set to extend drought-like conditions to much of the southwest.
Ivanpah Lake is a dry lake bed in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California on the border of California and Nevada. Ivanpah dry lake image via shutterstock. Reproduced on Resilience.org with permission.
It could get so bad that there’s now a very real possibility that devastating drought conditions will soon cover everywhere from Texas to California. Warmer ocean waters, like those that absorbed the record Kelvin ocean heat Wave, and the drought-like conditions they’re helping to influence, are a direct consequence of climate change and global warming.
According to NOAA, global ocean temperatures were the highest ever measured for June, and the global sea surface temperature anomaly, which is the difference in sea surface temperature from its historical average, was the highest in history. In a press release, NOAA wrote that, “For the ocean, the June global sea surface temperature was record warm, at 0.64°C (1.15°F) above the 20th century average of 16.4°C (61.5°F). This marks the first time that the monthly global ocean temperature anomaly was higher than 0.60°C (1.08°F) and surpasses the previous all-time record for any month by 0.05°C (0.09°F).”
Because of climate change and global warming, our oceans are getting warmer and warmer, shattering previous temperatures records on what seems like a daily basis. And as our oceans continue to warm, we’ll have more severe forms of weather, like the historic drought that has engulfed California.
As George Birchard points out over at Daily Kos, if our oceans continue to warm at the rates that we’re seeing today, “This could be a pattern that reinforces itself leading to drought patterns not seen since the ancient Pueblo people in the southwest were forced to migrate after decades of continuous drought.”
The stakes have never been higher. Unless we start taking the actions that are needed to curb climate change and global warming right now, California, and the rest of the southwest, may soon look more like the Sahara than one of the most populous regions in the U.S.
27 Comments on "California Experiencing Most Severe Drought Ever Recorded"
Plantagenet on Wed, 6th Aug 2014 6:18 pm
California is a “blue” state. You’d think the dems in California would get it and would be after Obama to keep his campaign pledges to stop climate change, but apparently they’d rather see their state dry up and blow away before criticizing this administration for its inaction. Who can ever forget Obama screwing up the UN’s effort to enact a new climate change treaty in Copenhagen in 2010? Or the Dems in Congress deep-sixing climate change legislation from even getting a vote in 2010, even though they controlled both houses and the presidency in DC. Shame! Shame! Shame!
Kenz300 on Wed, 6th Aug 2014 6:41 pm
The RepubliCONS led by the Koch brothers have blocked any progress on Climate Change. The funding of deniers and the support provided to Climate Change denier congressional candidates is well documented.
The fossil fuel industry is doing all they can to block any transition to alternative energy sources. They can slow it down but they can not stop it.
————–
Koch Brothers Exposed: 2014 Edition – Brave New Films
http://www.bravenewfilms.org/koch2014?utm_campaign=koch14reminder&utm_medium=email&utm_source=bravenew
Kenz300 on Wed, 6th Aug 2014 6:44 pm
Oil, coal nuclear and natural gas power plants all need lots of water to generate electricity.
Wind and solar can generate electricity just fine with little or no water.
One more reason to speed up the transition to safer, cleaner and cheaper alternative energy sources.
—————
Renewables Provide 56 Percent of New US Electrical Generating Capacity in First Half of 2014
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/07/renewables-provide-56-percent-of-new-us-electrical-generating-capacity-in-first-half-of-2014
noobtube on Wed, 6th Aug 2014 6:57 pm
Let me get this straight…
so now Obama is supposed to make it rain?
I am no fan of Obama (or any politician for that matter), but is that how Americans think?
redpill on Wed, 6th Aug 2014 7:28 pm
Plant, you are full of it. There is one party that talks about the reality of climate change and one that has members calling it the greatest hoax in history.
You’ve got your parties mixed up.
DMyers on Wed, 6th Aug 2014 7:57 pm
The climate change perspective is completely off in this situation. I don’t understand why people don’t have the courage to face our inability to control Nature on a higher level. This is not something human-caused and therefore likely human solvable.
Look at the confusion in the article, caused by overlaying the current crises with climate change doctrine. The article laments the likely failure of a significant El Niño event. El Niño is described as a warming of the Pacific, leading to rain in the western US. But then the article goes to great lengths to highlight the dreadful warming of the Pacific.
The article acknowledges that there has been drought before in the southwest, as far back as the “ancient Pueblo people” who had experienced “continuous drought.” There have been articles recently, based on academic publications, stating that the past century has been abnormally wet in the southwestern US.
The problem isn’t that an abnormally dry era is beginning, but rather it’s that a wonderfully, uncharacteristically wet period is ending. These patterns are no doubt established in times far beyond the ancient and possibly before the human presence.
We merely have to face the truth now. We focked up. Water sucking civilization is to go only where there is lots of water; it cannot go where ever it wants.
Surf on Wed, 6th Aug 2014 8:25 pm
The picture of Ivanpah lake is somewhat misleading. Ivanpah is located west of the nevada border. It is normally dry in a year of Normal rainfall.
Northwest Resident on Wed, 6th Aug 2014 8:30 pm
redpill — Plant can’t help it. He’s a compulsive Obama-blamer. It’s ugly to behold, but you get used to it after a while.
JuanP on Wed, 6th Aug 2014 8:45 pm
This drought being experienced in California is something horrible and if it doesn’t end soon it will destroy whole ecosystems. Of course drought has always been a part of life over there, but today’s drought is the worst in California since before white men arrived. We are talking centuries.
I have been blessed to travel across CA and it is a gorgeous place, with many amazing natural areas.
I am heartbroken thinking of the trees this must be killing and all the additional fires that will cause in coming years. The fire season never ended last year in CA for the first time ever, it used to be a summer thing not that long ago, now it lasts year round.
Makati1 on Wed, 6th Aug 2014 8:48 pm
I’ve been watching the map … as the red moves east across America. Next year, California won’t even have aquifer water to grow anything.
How long does it take, when an orchard/vineyard dies, to be replaced? Five years? Ten? And only if the climate restores regular rain/snowfall.
Some articles say that in historical times, these drought could last 100 years. The new LA Desert? What happens to Silicon Valley when all that is left is silicon(sand)? Maybe we will find out. Mother Nature doesn’t even notice us in her plans.
Plantagenet on Wed, 6th Aug 2014 8:54 pm
Obama promised to sign a new UN climate change treaty. Where is it? Where is the treaty that was supposed to be signed at the Copenhagen 2010 UN meeting? Oh—thats right—Obama went to Copenhagen, got in a big fight with China, and screwed it up.
ANd where is the carbon tax that Obama promised? Where are the caps on carbon production that Obama promised? You know— The ones the Dems pledged to pass in 2010? Oh—thats right—Obama got in a big fight with his fellow Ds in Congress and screwed it up.
Its funny to see the Obama supporters making excuses for Obama’s incompetence, while ignoring the fact that Obama has screwed up again and again on climate change But there is no getting around the fact that the planet is more important than Obama’s poll ratings.
Energy Investor on Wed, 6th Aug 2014 9:13 pm
Plant…
So signing some sort of treaty will get it to rain? Sorry fella, nature doesn’t work that way. You sound as crazy as “Zena the warrior princess” aka Lucy Lawless. She wrote an article that claimed baldly that Hurricane Katrina was caused by climate change…forgetting that a hurricane destroyed Galveston in 1900 and another one detroyed Miami in 1926.
I am dreadfully sad for the folks in California and also for the others reliant on the several large aquifers that are drying fast throughout the USA.
Pres Obama should have a task force examining this…because at the rate things are going, it could get ugly.
Perk Earl on Wed, 6th Aug 2014 9:14 pm
I’m starting to lose interest in posting on this site as the posts are getting more political and into personal bickering. I liked it when it was about oil, NG & coal and the discussions were more mature.
Northwest Resident on Wed, 6th Aug 2014 9:45 pm
Perk Earl — I totally understand your point of view. Plant is a one-man wrecking crew on this forum, splattering his political stink all over the place. I have pointed out to Plant that his political opinions should be posted elsewhere as they are extremely off-topic and might tend to piss off people who just come here to focus on the REAL issues, but Plant persists. He can’t help it, I think it is an illness of the mental type. Do what I do. When you see a post by Plant, just skip right past it holding your nose and skim down the page until you get past all the political bickering and nonsense that Plant sets off. Works for me!
GregT on Wed, 6th Aug 2014 11:50 pm
“And, since warm ocean waters that bring rain are moving farther north up the Pacific, while Oregon and Washington and Alaska will get rain”
Apparently though, somehow BC will be skipped by this rainfall. While not as bad as last year, YET, BC has still been breaking all time record high temperatures. The fact that BC has historically been a rainforest should be cause for concern. We are not getting anywhere near the rainfall this year that has been considered to be normal for as long as records have been kept. The forests of British Columbia are tinder dry. Add to that the 50 million hectares of dead and dying forests due to pine beetle migrations, there is a potential for firestorms of biblical proportions.
Mike in Calif. on Thu, 7th Aug 2014 12:03 am
When the author reached the third superlative (most, worst, greatest), I knew this was a plug for AGW – and sure enough. But I’m glad we have a new technical measure – we’re now at the ‘bone dry’ level on the scale.
Except for some time in the service, I’ve lived here my whole life. I’m pretty sure the 1977 peak was worse. Reservoir levels were much lower than today AND we had 15 million fewer people. If we have another dry winter then we will be pushing ’77 levels by spring.
There is no such thing as “normal” rainfall in California. Averaged, maybe, but never normal. We get little or we get a lot. Sometimes, we even get the average.
California has droughts all the time. Declaring this one to be AGW-linked is neither provable nor advisable. If Napa ends up under three feet of water this March, the author will look a little foolish.
If we’re entering one of those historical megadroughts, then we’re screwed. Nothing to do but watch people flee. Adios.
Richard Ralph Roehl on Thu, 7th Aug 2014 1:20 am
According to Rush ‘Limburger’… and other prominent propaganda pundits on talk-hate radio and corp-rat controlled tell-lie-vision… global climate oscillation (climate change) is a myth, just an insidious rumor perpetrated by Al Gore and other commie pinko leftists that hate Jeeezass and the alleged ‘chosen ones,
MKohnen on Thu, 7th Aug 2014 2:22 am
Proving that “weather” anomalies such as a drought that is only three years old are caused by “climate” change is obviously questionable and difficult. But saying that “climate” change isn’t happening because there has always been erratic “weather” ignores the wealth of data that is being supplied by thousands of scientists from multitudes of disciplines.
I think it is still far too early to say that this drought is a result of climate change. I don’t think we’ll know for at least another decade, since even if heavy rainfall occurs, that doesn’t negate climate change either.
MKohnen on Thu, 7th Aug 2014 2:24 am
It just occurred to me. I wonder if those who ignore the data about AGW would accept the following argument: Cancer has always existed, therefore, it can’t be caused by cigarettes.
Arthur on Thu, 7th Aug 2014 3:07 am
In the Dutch news there was an item about the Californian drought, showing pictures of farmers pulling up almond trees and use them as fuel for damage control. Almond is intensively used for the Dutch 5 December Sinterklaas chlidren’s party, originating from the 13th century, but is now under fire from the cultural marxists, because of the Black Pete character. US Santaclaus is derived from Sinterklaas.
Concerning California, perhaps now is a good moment to give it back to Mexico, not in the least considering the population composition and catastrophic financial state.
Davy on Thu, 7th Aug 2014 6:28 am
I am not a climate change expert but I am very well read on weather and climate change. The evidence is overwhelming from historical records of the effects of a warmer world. The recent data is overwhelming showing a warming earth. I have notice a change here in Central MO. Predicting weather more than a week out is difficult. Predicting climate very difficult because of the other longer term forces and larger forces at work. A larger force that must be dealt with is the warming of the Artic seas. This has created a slower meandering effect on weather systems with both lower and high pressure. Systems are setting up and lasting longer. This is responsible for extremes we are seeing throughout the US. Cold is being allowed deeper in to continental US in winter. I am told CC will cause el Niño’s/Nina’s from hell due to increased energy in the oceans from warming. What is happening in the Southwest is a long term natural phenomenon I imagine will be on steroids like the other extreme weather patterns setting up elsewhere. Excellent read: “The West without Water: What Past Floods, Droughts, and Other Climatic Clues Tell Us about Tomorrow”. My take on the western drought is a long term natural pattern setting up as they have in the past that will be taking steroids. Since the AGW is a new steroid to the mix I imagine it will play out differently than past events. The real tragedy in the southwest is the overshoot to carrying capacity for water in the entire region. Something will break. This is a classic case of a subsystem in a state of disequilibrium ready to bifurcate. This region has difficult choices ahead and there will be a forced de-growth. Since the rest of global BAU is still functioning this can be a managed de-growth. This means water efficiency, development restrictions, drought tolerant agriculture, lifestyle changes, and altered water rights realities. In my previous corporate life in the 90’s I played allot of golf in Phoenix. What a waste of good water resources. The other reform needed is water rights which do not reflect 21st century realities. California is lucky in that water rights favor her but that could change when Las Vegas starts to depopulates. Water rights of the new southwest climate normal will be dictated by water stress not agriculture and development. We are talking a paradigm shift yet to be realized.
george on Thu, 7th Aug 2014 7:10 am
Someday those fools in DC will empty out the great lakes to get votes in Californication land .
Makati1 on Thu, 7th Aug 2014 7:15 am
As the latest info is that California’s drought will add about $500 to this years grocery bills across the US, maybe next year will add another $500 and then another $500 until food is once again the major part of your income. Another “back to the future” event?
1900: 43% for food.
1950: 30% ” ”
2003: 13% ” ”
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/04/how-america-spends-money-100-years-in-the-life-of-the-family-budget/255475/2/
Terrance on Thu, 7th Aug 2014 1:29 pm
I appreciate the thoughtful remarks given by Davy. The West is historically dry and at times has experienced long periods of drought. The have occurred during periods which predate SUV’s. Depopulation occurred and I am glad I decided to move to the North East ten years ago. I immigrated early.
A national commitment to increase infrastructure to include water distribution from wet states to desalinization may be stop gap approaches. The Central Valley in its natural state is a desert, I grew up there and 10 inches of rain a year was the standard.
California politicos have ignored the please of the central valley when water was in more plentiful supply to protect a fish instead.
China as you know is heavily populated and lacked infrastructure. For many years it was taken for gospel that not improving infrastructure like highways would help suppress growth. That has not occurred, and furthermore, all it has done is waste fossil fuel by keeping people on the road longer due to congestion.
I have a tremendous amount of disdain for environmental groups who do nothing to improve the environment. For example mesquite trees are non-native to Texas and have a root structure 2/3 the size of the tree. They pushed out native grasses and other growth. Where were the Sierra club at, they should have been out removing them? Their removal would result in more water in Texas.
While that may sound crazy, consider giving tax breaks to environmental groups that “educate” without affirmative action to do the concrete.
Mike in Calif. on Thu, 7th Aug 2014 4:29 pm
@ MKohnen
I did not say that because California has frequent droughts that those droughts cannot be caused by AGW. This twist is your straw man. I said causation can’t be proved.
SarahM on Sun, 17th Aug 2014 10:49 pm
It is not the politicians fault with the lack of rainfall. Oh it’s all Obama’s fault for not signing a stupid piece of paper. Get over it. Just because Cali is “blue” for now doesn’t mean a damn thing. Texas is a “red” state. So what?
No one should be blaming anyone with what mother nature has in store for us. This is WORST CASE SCENARIO. No one can predict if we will get more rain or not. Agriculture will dry it right back up buying us more time to be in another severe drought conditions. By all means, i hope we get rain.
If you want someone to blame.. Then blame the people who don’t take this crisis seriously and lack their habits of water usage. I’m trying so damn hard, that it sickens me watching people make excuses. –If other people are wasting water, then so should i. (That mindset)
Davy on Mon, 18th Aug 2014 5:57 am
Sarah, California has always amazed me because they have been a leader in regulations and innovations. I am not amazed at the results in California now but earlier. Now California is hit with diminishing returns to the complexity of over regulation. You can’t endlessly regulate stupid. “Stupid is stupid does” I think Forest said in some Hollywood film curtesy of California. California has been bumping up to limits for some time now and has reasonably adjusted to them. Clean air, water, earthquake building codes, and many and various social codes. California has been a leader not only in the United States but the world. Now California is over regulated, in population/carrying capacity overshoot, and in decline. The climate/water issues in California are “THE” test of what will be demanded of all of us in the Mega Predicament of the many and various inclusive converging predicament in all aspects of life. Limits of growth with diminishing returns of our complex integrated globalized world in population overshoot to carrying capacity is now a Mega Predicament of no return. California, the birth place of many innovations, will now be the example of the beginning of descent of a highly advanced, wealthy, and overpopulated fragile ecosystem in decline. This crisis will force lifestyle and attitude changes on California. Will California be up to the task? I doubt it will manage like before mainly because these are predicaments and growth is over. That is a bad combination. Today’s California must be a new innovator by managing the fall in descent. Descent cannot be managed itself but the fall can. How can this be done. The primary and profound change must be made in the software of the human mind of attitudes and lifestyles. So, like difficult battlefield situations, triage of past growth attitudes and lifestyles will need to occur. Less Water is a marker variable of limits of growth. Increasing drought and heat will make the ecosystem fragile to fires, development overextended with water issues, and overshoot of population in the summations of these predicaments. Will California shrink like it must? Will this crisis change attitudes and lifestyles like they must change? This will be a test for the rest of the country. The loss of food production that is in the cards is the beginning of the test for the rest of the country itself directly showing the rest of the country and world you can’t decouple regional problems from the whole anymore. Why? Because we have advanced a global system to the extremes of distribution, regional monocultures, regional vital parts/equipment production, and centralized critical nodes of trade/exchange in co-dependence. IOW delocalized locals in codependence. California is a canary in the coal mine.