Vote Now! California's water problem

Discussion in 'Free Speech Alley' started by LaSalleAve, Apr 2, 2015.

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Is the California drought a direct result of climate change?

  1. Well most climate scientists agree so yes

    3 vote(s)
    15.8%

  2. Wild guess yes

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%

  3. Yes you'd have to be an idiot to think it's not

    3 vote(s)
    15.8%

  4. No, climate change hasn't had anything to do with it

    1 vote(s)
    5.3%

  5. No there is not enough data to support this claim

    7 vote(s)
    36.8%

  6. No, Climate change is a hoax

    1 vote(s)
    5.3%

  7. Wild guess No

    4 vote(s)
    21.1%
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  1. kluke

    kluke Founding Member

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    Excuse the brief interruption while i respond to the initial question of the thread.
    I voted "No there is not enough data to support this claim". Because I assumed the question was addressed to California's water problems and there is ample evidence to prove that waste and misuse of finite water resources is a direct cause of the water problem. And therein lies the opportunity for the solution (no pun intended). There is a lot of low hanging fruit in water conservation because we have grown up in a culture that believes in the endless supply of of water. Which is essentially true, lots of water in the ocean, however, the amount of fresh water in the locations we want it is limited. Reuse will be vital component to dealing with this problem. But no matter what steps we take, water is the new 'Oil'; only in the years to come it will be more valuable.
     
    kluke, Apr 6, 2015
    #71
    Winston1 likes this.
  2. Bengal B

    Bengal B Founding Member

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    The world's supply of water is inexhaustable. They need to build desalinization plants to turn seawater into fresh water and pipelines to transport it to drought areas and voila-problem solvedd.
     
    Bengal B, Apr 7, 2015
    #72
  3. LSUpride123

    LSUpride123 PureBlood

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    There was a report that something crazy like 60% of all rain water in Cali goes right back into the ocean.

    Just think if they tried to capture more of it.
     
    LSUpride123, Apr 7, 2015
    #73
  4. red55

    red55 curmudgeon Staff Member

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    I'll let you know if I'm ever wrong. What I hate is arguing with a fencepost.
     
    red55, Apr 7, 2015
    #74
  5. red55

    red55 curmudgeon Staff Member

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    The supply of unpolluted fresh water is not, however. Supply is outstripping the rate that ground water aquifers are replenished as well as outstripping the rainwater stored in reservoirs. Serious water conservation and much higher cost for water is going to be the story in the next couple of centuries.

    It costs WAY too much in energy costs to desalinate water on industrial scales. There is also a problem disposing of the highly concentrated brine that results from the process. You can't just dump it into the ocean anywhere. This is another area where an energy breakthrough will help provide more water.

    Nature itself offers a cheap and hugely effective water desalinator called evapotranspiration. It's simply that sea water evaporates and falls out as rain over the continents.
     
    red55, Apr 7, 2015
    #75
  6. LSUpride123

    LSUpride123 PureBlood

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    Then why do you do that silly pants?
     
    LSUpride123, Apr 7, 2015
    #76
  7. kluke

    kluke Founding Member

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    OR, use the reverse osmosis process in combination with other water recycling technologies to recycle waste water (yes including sewage) into either industrial quality water or potable water. That way you eliminate transportation costs because its already where you need it. It's already used in many places.
     
    kluke, Apr 7, 2015
    #77
  8. kluke

    kluke Founding Member

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    And on average 25% of a water plants output is wasted. That's water that is already captured and cleaned. All is needed is to be smart about how its used.
     
    kluke, Apr 7, 2015
    #78
  9. LaSalleAve

    LaSalleAve when in doubt, mumble

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    Why haven't scientists created a machine that creates water? That's probably a very stupid question, but I'm sick and doped up on Benadryl, NyQuil, and herb so excuse my ignorance please.
     
    LaSalleAve, Apr 7, 2015
    #79
  10. red55

    red55 curmudgeon Staff Member

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    It sounds simple since water is simply the common elements Hydrogen and Oxygen, but combining them into water on an industrial scale is kind of dangerous. Hydrogen is exceedingly flammable and oxygen accelerates fire. Think Hindenburg. That fireball actually produced a lot of water. Both hydrogen and oxygen require energy to produce anyway. There is no free lunch.
     
    red55, Apr 7, 2015
    #80
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