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Page added on March 16, 2015
California Is Turning Back Into A Desert And There Are No Contingency Plans
Once upon a time, much of the state of California was a barren desert. And now, thanks to the worst drought in modern American history, much of the state is turning back into one. Scientists tell us that the 20th century was the wettest century that the state of California had seen in 1000 years. But now weather patterns are reverting back to historical norms, and California is rapidly running out of water. It is being reported that the state only has approximately a one year supply of water left in the reservoirs, and when the water is all gone there are no contingency plans. Back in early 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency for the entire state, but since that time water usage has only dropped by 9 percent. That is not nearly enough. The state of California has been losing more than 12 million acre-feet of total water a year since 2011, and we are quickly heading toward an extremely painful water crisis unlike anything that any of us have ever seen before.
But don’t take my word for it. According to the Los Angeles Times, Jay Famiglietti “is the senior water scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech and a professor of Earth system science at UC Irvine”. What he has to say about the horrific drought in California is extremely sobering…
As our “wet” season draws to a close, it is clear that the paltry rain and snowfall have done almost nothing to alleviate epic drought conditions. January was the driest in California since record-keeping began in 1895. Groundwater and snowpack levels are at all-time lows. We’re not just up a creek without a paddle in California, we’re losing the creek too.
Data from NASA satellites show that the total amount of water stored in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river basins — that is, all of the snow, river and reservoir water, water in soils and groundwater combined — was 34 million acre-feet below normal in 2014. That loss is nearly 1.5 times the capacity of Lake Mead, America’s largest reservoir.
Statewide, we’ve been dropping more than 12 million acre-feet of total water yearly since 2011. Roughly two-thirds of these losses are attributable to groundwater pumping for agricultural irrigation in the Central Valley. Farmers have little choice but to pump more groundwater during droughts, especially when their surface water allocations have been slashed 80% to 100%. But these pumping rates are excessive and unsustainable. Wells are running dry. In some areas of the Central Valley, the land is sinking by one foot or more per year.
Are you starting to understand why so many experts are so alarmed?
For much more from Famiglietti, check out this 60 Minutes interview.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, essentially the entire state is suffering drought conditions right now. And as you can see from the map below, most of the state is currently experiencing either the highest or the second-highest classification of drought…
Nearly 40 million people live in the state of California at the moment.
What are they all going to do when the water is gone?
In some rural areas, reservoirs are already nearly bone dry. And in other areas, the water quality has gone way down. For example, in one Southern California neighborhood black water is now coming out of the taps…
Residents of a Southern California neighborhood are concerned about the fact that the water flowing out of the taps in their homes is the color black. That’s right; the water coming out of their faucets is indeed black — not gray, not cloudy — but black. Inky, opaque black water that the water company says is okay to drink.
Those who live in Gardena, California, are understandably skeptical when asked to consume water that strongly resembles crude oil or something emitted by a squid. The water reportedly also has an “odor of rotten eggs or sewer smell,” according to one resident.
Perhaps you don’t care about what happens to California.
Perhaps you believe that they are just getting what they deserve.
And you might be right about that.
But the truth is that this is a crisis for all of us, because an enormous amount of our fresh produce is grown in the state.
As I discussed in a previous article, the rest of the nation is very heavily dependent on the fruits and vegetables grown in California. The following numbers represent California’s contribution to our overall production…
–99 percent of the artichokes
–44 percent of asparagus
–two-thirds of carrots
–half of bell peppers
–89 percent of cauliflower
–94 percent of broccoli
–95 percent of celery
–90 percent of the leaf lettuce
–83 percent of Romaine lettuce
–83 percent of fresh spinach
–a third of the fresh tomatoes
–86 percent of lemons
–90 percent of avocados
–84 percent of peaches
–88 percent of fresh strawberries
–97 percent of fresh plums
Without the agricultural production of the state of California, we are in a massive amount of trouble.
And of course there are other areas all over the globe that are going through similar things. For instance, taps in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo are running dry as Brazil experiences the worst drought that it has seen in 80 years.
The world simply does not have enough fresh water left at this point, and that is why water is being called “the new oil”. The following comes from CBS News…
It’s been said that the wars of the 21st century may well be fought over water. The Earth’s population has more than doubled over the last 50 years and the demand for fresh water — to drink and to grow food — has surged along with it. But sources of water like rainfall, rivers, streams, reservoirs, certainly haven’t doubled. So where is all that extra water coming from? More and more, it’s being pumped out of the ground.
Water experts say groundwater is like a savings account — something you draw on in times of need. But savings accounts need to be replenished, and there is new evidence that so much water is being taken out, much of the world is in danger of a groundwater overdraft.
And if scientists are right, what we are experiencing right now may just be the very beginning of our problems. In fact, one team of researchers has concluded that the Southwestern United States is headed for a “megadrought” that could last for decades…
Scientists had already found that the Southwestern United States were at great risk of experiencing a significant megadrought (in this case meaning drought conditions that last for over 35 years) before the end of the 21st century. But a new study published in Science Advances added some grim context to those predictions.
Columbia University climate scientists Jason Smerdon and Benjamin Cook, and Cornell University’s Toby Ault were co-authors on the study. They took data from tree rings and other environmental records of climate from the Southwest and compared them to the projections of 17 different climate models that look at precipitation and soil moisture. When they made the comparison between past and future, they found that all the models agreed: the next big megadrought is coming, and it will be way worse than anything we’ve seen in over 1,000 years–including droughts that have been credited with wiping out civilizations.
Needless to say, along with any water crisis comes a food crisis.
Virtually everything that we eat requires a tremendous amount of water to grow. And at this point, the world is already eating more food than it produces most years.
So what is going to happen to us as this water crisis gets even worse?
137 Comments on "California Is Turning Back Into A Desert And There Are No Contingency Plans"
American Idiot on Mon, 16th Mar 2015 7:56 pm
If you want to buy into conspiracy theory; apparently, HAARP has something to do with this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3l8JYCq_P8
Davy on Mon, 16th Mar 2015 7:58 pm
Jeff, it is likely more than a drought and this is more than weather. California is an example of carrying capacity breaches. The significance is subtle but that is only because of the energy intensity and complexity of BAU. Just wait until BAU sputters, the drought deepens all the while population grows.
This California situation will be another one of those perfect storms brewing like in so many other regions and locals. In fact it is going global in many cases. California is on the front line and in the cross hairs. It is a location some may want to relocate out of as a doom and prep first order of business.
Apneaman on Mon, 16th Mar 2015 8:14 pm
Going to take lots of power for all them thar desalination plants. Good thing California produces lots of climate friendly hydro power. Sure thang.
Report
Hydropower and the Challenge of Climate Change
Clean hydroelectric plants are meant to help the world fight global warming. But what happens when climate change clouds hydro’s own future?
https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/03/16/hydropower-and-the-challenge-of-climate-change/
Frack that NatGas – Oh yeah fracking is water intensive too.
California drought leads to less hydropower, increased natural gas generation
http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=18271
California’s below-normal snowpack increases drought worries
Accumulated snow in Sierra Nevada could be lowest in 25 years
Snow supplies one-third of California’s water supplies
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/03/california-below-normal-snowpack-increases-drought-worries
bob on Mon, 16th Mar 2015 8:54 pm
This state should build a water pipe line from other states which will sell it to this over rated state. It always fines way to screw the people. this so called fish in the dealta is not owning found there but in other states
welch on Mon, 16th Mar 2015 9:10 pm
This eventuality has been known for decades. Many other crises resulting from overshoot await. We humans are collectively too stupid and/or selfish to alter our destructive behaviour. As you sow so shal ye reap.
Roi on Mon, 16th Mar 2015 9:23 pm
Instead of an oil pipeline why not a water pipeline going from central and east coast flood prone rivers during the flooding seasons to Calif. reservoirs.
Lore on Mon, 16th Mar 2015 9:31 pm
Your’re not going to collect water out of the Great Lakes. Guess what? A lot of that water belongs to Canada and the rest is under state jurisdiction. The Feds would need to usurp states rights and disregard international laws and treaties.
I can also tell you, living in MI, as I do, squatters won’t be looked upon too kindly. Specially broke refugees.
Apneaman on Mon, 16th Mar 2015 10:13 pm
Expiration Date
http://survivalacres.com/blog/expiration-date/
turningpoint on Mon, 16th Mar 2015 10:39 pm
What’s with the bizarre avatars?
Apneaman on Mon, 16th Mar 2015 10:49 pm
bizavatars?
Apneaman on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 12:29 am
As drought worsens, L.A. water agency offers cash to Sacramento Valley farmers
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article13908632.html
CG on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 12:48 am
Here’s an idea: how about the states that depend on Ca for their veggies, fruits and nuts, grow their own? Here in Wa is a great climate for veggies like lettuce and other greens. In the south is a good climate for tomatoes and the red veggies. Each state should grow their own stuff and export to the states that don’t have the right climate to do so. Why just depend on Ca? Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, folks.
ustinkverymuch on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 2:15 am
100% of all my greasy far*ts, come from California.
Richard Ralph Roehl on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 4:33 am
Almost 40 million baboony people living in California. Almost 18 million of these folks living in the greater Los Angeles basin. Now imagine 50 million humans living in the greater Los Angeles basin by 2100! Heh! Heh! Heh!
PaulTD on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 6:08 am
Looks like the avg price of a san diego house is around $500K. I guess the buyers aren’t too concerned about the water supply. something’s not adding up.
SteveB on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 6:09 am
So, California is proceeding with their multi-billion dollar “high speed rail” construction, yet has no contingency plans on how to resolve the drought?
Makes sense to me.
Davy on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 6:20 am
CG, I imagine this drought situation will not eliminate California completely from the equation but let’s say that the percentage of AG from California will be reduce to the point other arrangements will have to be made. The current system is efficient in price so the first order of business is food cost go up. This alone will stimulate other producers across the country who should have new opportunities. We know imports from the global markets will be a part of that especially Canada and Mexico.
I don’t see this event upsetting production AG much in the short term. In the longer term this will point to the required adjustment our food system must go through if POD especially ETP of oil begin to make serious societal impacts. AGW, water stress, and financial difficulties will all impact food These impacts along with a steady rise in population in the short term. Food issues are much like oil. Food has productivity growth decline oil has depletion. Things are still somewhat normal but heading in the wrong direction.
We must as a society start growing food locally and individually. This local and individual cannot in any way scale until population declines significantly. In the US the population needs to fall by half quickly since this is not likely expect food insecurity soon. In any case this production drop must be a hybrid affair of remnants of production AG especially with cereal crops with a huge effort at localized and individual food efforts from gardens, orchards, and animal husbandry.
The consequences of all this is the end of BAU. People still have this mistaken perception we can have what we have but with less, more simplicity, and slower. It does not work that way with BAU. BAU is about economies of scale, shared infrastructure use, high efficiency, and global reliability. Energy intensity is required but subject to BAU health. Confidence across the global must be maintained to maintain global liquidity, global distribution, and global JIT production. This California drought is the type of butterfly wing movement that brings BAU down by disrupting this well-oiled machine.
There is no way to put lipstick on a bumpy descent. A collapse will be horrible. We have no reference not even the monstrous 20th century deaths in USSR, China, and WWII can be related to. A bumpy descent down will be the end of BAU with some mitigation and adaptation of the descent. No control over the descent but adaptation because the degree and duration of the fall is still survivable for the basic system. Localization will have time to scale up some. Security will not be completely lost in a mad max-athon. This is descent hopium but a different type from BAUtopian hopium.
Food is as significant as POD issues to survival of BAU. Food lubricates confidence of the system. Full stomachs mean people will have productivity and not be in panic mode. What we need is a food & fuel crisis immediately to begin these transitions and hopefully we will get lucky with relatively mild crisis shaping a bumpy descent. Don’t get the idea this will be a BAU descent. BAU globalism will fragment relatively quickly especially the overconsumption and overpopulation. Both of these overshoot variables will begin their balancing. This is where the required pain, suffering, and deaths occur. Hopefully this will be on the lower side in degree. Duration is a generation minimum.
This California drought, the coming financial crisis, and POD issues happening as we speak are going to produce the crisis. They could also produce the collapse. Much will depend on how this unfolds. We know poor decisions will occur at the top. The top will swim against the current and drown both globally and locally. The important thing is will our locals step up and fill the vacuum. I feel if enough time is allowed and the degree of the descent shock is manageable we may make a step down that will buy us time for the rest of the long process. I am trying to be optimistic. We are very close to the cusp of a major turning. Everything feels normal but it is far from normal at the level of system dynamics of BAU
Apneaman on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 6:29 am
No one alive will see the drought end.
Arctic-melt Will Land us Amidst Long Summer Heat Waves
“Scientists from Germany have proven that the United States and Europe are going to have longer heat waves in 2015 that the summer winds that carry cool breeze have weakened because of climate changes.”
http://www.smnweekly.com/arctic-melt-will-land-us-amidst-long-summer-heat-waves/21990/
Sharon Alderman on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 10:27 am
There is a solution….it is called permaculture. It needs to be started now….capturing what water there is, utilizing every drop to grow sustainable food forests. This can be done in any climate. Please check out Geoff Lawtons examples of transformation in urban, desert, tropical climates. This is not a ruse as there are so many areas that have been reclaimed, repurposed all over the world….we are not doomed, we just will need to know how to exist with our natural world.
GregT on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 10:44 am
Sharon said:
“There is a solution….it is called permaculture.”
Absolutely correct. Those who have embraced permaculture before the coming collapse, will have a much better chance of making it through the bottleneck. Those who are still waiting for somebody else to do it for them, are in for a very rude awakening.
Time is running out people. Where is your food going to come from?
Kenz300 on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 11:17 am
Too many people and too few resources.
Yet the worlds population continues to expand cutting the pie into smaller and smaller pieces until the piece is so small you starve to death.
Around the world we can find a food crisis, a WATER crisis, a declining fish stocks crisis, a Climate Change crisis, an unemployment crisis and an OVER POPULATION crisis.
How much has the population of California grown in the last 30 years?
———————
Wrap it up……. get it snipped……
Birth Control Permanent Methods: Learn About Effectiveness
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/birth_control_permanent_methods/article_em.htm
Davy on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 11:41 am
Sharron, Permaculture is an aspirin for a broken leg. It will help but not much for what is immediately ahead. It is the future but in the meantime collapse mitigation and adaption is the key. This can only be a hybrid affair with BAU AG and our permaculture future mix. Salvage and adaptation to the old ways is a must. What else do we have to work with? Innovation and substitution are done. We are at the end of the line and need to turn back.
Your permaculture ideas just don’t scale in space or time as a silver bullet for a BAUtopian future as an alternative. BAU is a dead man walking. I am doing permaculture now here on my farm with garden, orchard, and grass fed beef. Soon chickens and maybe some rabbits. I wonder how this is going to work when SHTF. I routinely have to run in to town for spare parts. Many garden things I order off Amazon. So much for being off BAU. I am trying and it is just plain difficult. But I salute permaculture and say it is the future.
willymae on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 1:53 pm
Instead of shipping billions of gallons of water from the Great Lakes to China- send it Kaliforny.
Robert on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 4:49 pm
This is not PC, but there is a book I read each day that says: “Blessed is that nation whose God is the LORD.”
This nation was blessed for a long time and during that time California truly was one of our country’s bread baskets.
Then came the ACLU. Then came the forest fires, mud slides, tornadoes and all the other natural calamities. Then went the blessings of Almighty God. Just saying.
Apneaman on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 5:14 pm
Robert, What does your make believe Jewish god have against civil liberties? Isn’t “Liberty” supposed to be one of the founding principles of America? Sounds like a contradiction.
BTW the calamities are the fault of overshoot and over consumption.
Apneaman on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 5:42 pm
Climatologist Who Predicted California Drought 10 Years Ago Says It May Soon Be ‘Even More Dire’
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/03/07/3370481/california-drought/
Chubasco on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 6:49 pm
Seriously. Where did all the homeland security cheerleader douchebags show up from today? Y’all are going to become the illegals when you leave CA, and we shoot the crap out of you at the AZ border. Feeling lucky? …Maybe you should consider leaving via Oregon instead, maybe they’ll be liberal enough up there to let you go with your lives. I don’t expect to be eating too well by that point, so to me you’re just long pork.
Desert
P.S. Can’t wait for the depopulation some days…maybe we should all be asking ourselves what we can do to *accelerate* the crazy instead. Not expecting to come out the other side myself, mind you, but hey, you can still do permaculture in the desert, and I can sure bet no one will be clamoring for a piece of it at some point along the process. Looking forward to some peace & quiet…just a matter of which side of the soil I’m on by then 🙂
Kenz300 on Wed, 18th Mar 2015 7:44 am
Pope Francis On Climate Change: Man Has ‘Slapped Nature In The Face’
Pope Francis’s edict on climate change will anger deniers and US churches | World news | The Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/27/pope-francis-edict-climate-change-us-rightwing
philstrawman on Wed, 18th Mar 2015 10:45 am
Calm down.
The neocons will take care of this problem quickly once they are laughed back into US.
Rick on Mon, 23rd Mar 2015 11:29 pm
I hope everybody enjoys burning to death from the sun due to damaging of the ozone layer from building desalinization plants. I would rather die of thirst any day than fry to death from the sun. People just don’t think. Not to mention all the other negative effects they have on the environment.
Davy on Tue, 24th Mar 2015 6:32 am
Rick, I never heard of desal creating ozone issues? Don’t worry the desal plants will never be built. They will be on paper with no funding.
Rick on Wed, 25th Mar 2015 3:50 am
That’s good to know.
mark on Tue, 16th Jun 2015 10:27 pm
desalination wont scale up. Its costing over a billion to build the one in san diego and it will supply 7% of water needed for san diego. So they would need 13…………..then you would need how many more in the entire state? Where would the $ come from? Where would we find room for them? They require huge amts of fossil fuel to run……..so we are putting that much more carbon in the air and speeding up global warming which is compounding the problem of the drought to begin with. Piping water to California is pie in the sky. Never going to happen. Blaming it on illegal immigrants is retarded. Sadly California is going to shrivel up and there isn’t anything to be done about it. For those that say good riddance when it collapses, so does our national financial footing. It will wipe out the financial markets nationwide and the US cant absorb 40 million people elsewhere. Add in Nevada, New Mexico, and Ariz a few years later running out of water and the beginnings of drought in Oregon and washington state (Washington got almost zero snowpack this year as well……..)its not a pretty picture.
GregT on Tue, 16th Jun 2015 10:38 pm
“drought in Oregon and washington state (Washington got almost zero snowpack this year as well……..)its not a pretty picture.”
The drought doesn’t magically stop at the 49th parallel either Mark. BC is experiencing drought like conditions as well. If this is the new trend, we are in for a lot more hurt, much sooner, than the vast majority of people realize.
mark on Wed, 24th Jun 2015 1:28 pm
Down the road I think you will see mass migration out of calif. If and when that happens the US will fall into a terrible financial collapse. Calif is the 10th largest economy in the world. There is an awful lot of infrastructure that banks will have to write down to zero and the gov will have to attempt to save the markets again. Its not just the loss of a bread basket agriculturally, it will devastate the country. We will have to try and absorb 40 million people, most of whom were just wiped out financially.
Rbblu on Tue, 3rd Nov 2015 12:34 am
There is water rain water! but year after year that water is released it’s never stored or channel to reservoirs. I think the state want’s the people to move out of the desert area’s for future building people have bought large lot’s of land for very cheap and the state is not gonna pay for it. dry the rule area’s get you back in to the city where there is more control of the people and your money….maybe big New York Plan’s in the coming ? Home are sky high, Rent is too….Fast train is ah coming. land is need’ed more hotel’s big shopping centers need’ed for that beautiful california country living….??? Dry out the town’s and ranch land’s. But Leave the big producer’s. Monsanto’s supports big producer’s Now a Day’s…looking forward for that Big expensive, Home’s and Rent’s New York Style…$$$$$$$$$$
Rbblu on Tue, 3rd Nov 2015 1:18 am
There is water rain water! but year after year that water is released it’s never stored or channel to reservoirs. I think the state want’s the people to move out of the desert area’s for future building people have bought large lot’s of land for very cheap and the state is not gonna pay for it. dry the rural area’s get you back in to the city where there is more control of the people and your money….maybe big New York Plan’s in the coming ? Home are sky high, Rent is too….Fast train is ah coming. land is need’ed more hotel’s big shopping centers need’ed for that beautiful california country living….??? Dry out the town’s and ranch land’s. But Leave the big producer’s. Monsanto’s supports big producer’s Now a Day’s…looking forward for that Big expensive, Home’s and Rent’s New York Style…$$$$$$$$$$