“Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.” ― Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
You wake up in the morning, turn on the faucet to brush your teeth or hop into the shower, and what happens?
Of course the water flows because that is our expectation and throughout most of our lives that has also been our reality. But what if that situation changed and water was no longer available on demand?
But worse than not being readily available to service our personal hygiene needs, what if water was scarce and not there for the growers of our food?
It would certainly mean a shortage of certain types of food, and because of that fact, would also mean that the inflation numbers the government loves to quote ex-food and ex-energy (although both are rising and are really the only components that matter to most of us) would likely soar!
20 signs of a worsening drought in the western United States!
From Zero Hedge, a website I would highly recommend reading, these are 20 signs that the drought in the western US is already becoming very serious!
#1 According to the Los Angeles Times, downtown Los Angeles is now the driest that it has been since records began being kept all the way back in 1877.
#2 The California State Water Resources Control Board says that nearly 50 communities are already on the verge of running out of water.
#3 In a desperate attempt to conserve water, the state of California is considering banning watering lawns and washing cars. Once implemented, violators will be slapped with a $500 fine for each offense.
#4 It has been reported that a new social media phenomenon known as “drought shaming” has begun in California. People are taking videos and photos of their neighbors wasting water and posting them to Facebook and Twitter.
#5 Climate scientist Tim Barnett says that the water situation in Las Vegas “is as bad as you can imagine“, and he believes that unless the city “can find a way to get more water from somewhere” it will soon be “out of business”.
#6 The water level in Lake Mead has now fallen to the lowest level since 1937, and it continues to drop at a frightening pace. You can see some incredible photos of what has happened to Lake Mead right here.
#7 Rob Mrowka of the Center for Biological Diversity believes that the city of Las Vegas is going to be forced to downsize because of the lack of water…
The drought is like a slow spreading cancer across the desert. It’s not like a tornado or a tsunami, bang. The effects are playing out over decades. And as the water situation becomes more dire we are going to start having to talk about the removal of people (from Las Vegas).
#8 In some areas of southern Nevada, officials are actually paying people to remove their lawns in a desperate attempt to conserve water.
#9 According to Accuweather, “more than a decade of drought” along the Colorado River has set up an “impending Southwest water shortage” which could ultimately affect tens of millions of people.
#10 Most people don’t realize this, but the once mighty Colorado River has become so depleted that it no longer runs all the way to the ocean.
#11 Lake Powell is less than half full at this point.
#12 It is being projected that the current drought in California will end up costing the state more than 2 billion dollars this year alone.
#13 Farmers in California are allowing nearly half a million acres to lie fallow this year due to the extreme lack of water.
#14 The lack of produce coming from the state of California will ultimately affect food prices in the entire nation. Just consider the following statistics from a recent Business Insider article…
California is one of the U.S.’s biggest food producers — responsible for almost half the country’s produce and nuts and 25% of our milk and cream. Eighty percent of the world’s almonds come from the state, and they take an extraordinary amount of water to produce — 1.1 gallons per almond.
#15 As underground aquifers are being relentlessly drained in California, some areas of the San Joaquin Valley are sinking by 11 inches a year.
#16 It is being projected that the Kansas wheat harvest will be the worst that we have seen since 1989.
#17 The extended drought has created ideal conditions for massive dust storms to form. You can see video of one female reporter bravely reporting from the middle of a massive dust storm in Phoenix right here.
#18 Things are so dry in California right now that people are actually starting to steal water. For example, one Mendocino County couple recently had 3,000 gallons of water stolen from them. It was the second time this year that they had been hit.
#19 At the moment, close to 80 percent of the state of California is experiencing either “extreme” or “exceptional” drought.
#20 National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Boldt says that this is “the worst drought we probably have seen in our lifetime“.
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Written by Michael Haltman, President of Hallmark Abstract Service, New York.
HAS is a provider of title insurance in New York State for residential and commercial real estate transactions specializing in the areas of New York City, Long Island and Westchester.
Remember that you have the right to choose your own title company (click here to learn more)!
If you have any questions you can reach Michael by email at mhaltman@hallmarkabstractllc.com.
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