For the Northwest Territory of Canada, the story this summer has been one of record-setting wildfires. Fires casting away smoke plumes the size of thunderstorms, fires that burn regions of tundra the size of small states. Fires that just burn and burn and burn for weeks on end.
But to the south and east in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the story is drastically different. For over the past month, unprecedented flooding in this region has wrecked untold damage to Canada’s farmlands.
(Powerful storms over Manitoba and Saskatchewan on July 23rd, 2014. Image source: LANCE-MODIS)
This situation is the result of an odd and wreckage-inducing tangle in the Jet Stream. For hot air has been funneling up over the Northwest Territory for the better part of two months now, pushing temperatures in this Arctic region into an unprecedented range topping the 70s, 80s, and even 90s on some days. This high amplitude ridge in the Jet Stream has been reinforced and locked in place, a result some scientists attribute to the loss of Arctic sea ice during recent years, setting up a hot weather pattern favorable to wildfires.
As the massive Arctic wildfires ignited and burned, they cast off giant streams of smoke, burdening the down-wind atmosphere with aerosol particles — an abundance of condensation nuclei for cloud formation. These smoke streams fell into a trough flowing down over Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The deep trough, often extending far into the Central US formed a kind of trap for storms and, like the fixed ridge over the Northwest Territory, it has remained in place for months on end.
Given this mangled positioning of atmospheric heat and moisture flows, it was only a matter of time before massive rainstorms erupted in the wake of the large-scale Canadian fires. And the result was an unprecedented flooding. The offspring of an unprecedentedly powerful and persistent atmospheric pattern set off by human warming.
Major Floods Wreck Canadian Crops
For some local farmers, the past couple of days have seen 48 hour rain totals in excess of 10 inches. A 100 year rain event at a scale few farmers in the region have ever seen. And the recent floods are just the latest in a series of heavy rainfalls that have been ongoing ever since early July. Flood follows flood follows flood. A progression that has left most farms swimming in inches to feet of water and mud.
In total, farmland encompassing 3 million acres in Saskatchewan and 2.5 million acres in Manitoba are now under water and are unlikely to produce any crops this year. As a result, wheat plantings are expected to decline by 9.8 percent from last year, canola is expected to decline by 5.8 percent from the June forecast, and oat is expected to decline by 6 percent, according to estimates from Bloomberg.
July flooding in these regions has so far resulted in over 1 billion dollars in damages to farmers. As much as half of these losses may not be covered as insurers are still reeling from severe moisture damages during 2011, just two years ago. As a result of the ongoing parade of storm casualties, insurers have also raised deductibles, leaving farmers more vulnerable to the odd and powerful new weather coming down the pipe.
The Part Played By Climate Change and a Mangled Jet Stream
We often hear of the expanding droughts of human-caused climate change wrecking croplands. But the upshot of expanding drought in one region is record downpours in another. And downpours, if they are intense enough, can have a negative impact on crops as well.
The cause of this is as simple as warming’s enhanced ability to evaporate water. For it is estimated by climate scientists that each degree C in temperature increase amplifies the global hydrological cycle by 7-8 percent. That means that current warming of about 0.8 C since the 1880s has resulted in about a 6% increase in both evaporation and precipitation. At the level of weather, this translates into more intense droughts under dry, hot weather, and more intense rainfall events under wetter, cooler weather.
(High amplitude Jet Stream wave pattern fueling wildfires in the Northwest Territory and record floods in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Note the extreme northward projection of the Jet over the Northwest Territory and the strong, deep, trough back-flowing from Hudson Bay into Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the northern tier of the Central US. Image source: University of Maine.)
One mechanism that has tended to amplify drought and rain events during recent years has been a weakening and intensifying waviness of the Northern Hemisphere Jet Stream. This weakening has been attributed by some scientists to a large-scale recession of Arctic snow cover and sea ice. For since 2007, not one day has seen an average sea ice extent and the range has typically fallen into a zone between 20-50 percent below levels seen during the 1970s and 1980s. New major record low years in 2007 and 2012 have also fueled speculation that sea ice may completely melt away during one summer between now and 2030, 2025, or even 2020 — 50-100 years ahead of model predictions.
As the sea ice serves as a haven for cold air masses, its loss is bound to impact the resiliency of these systems and since a solid pool of cold air to the north is a major driver of Northern Hemisphere upper air currents, the weakening of this cold pool has had dramatic impacts on climates.
(Extreme dipole hot/cold pattern associated with Jet Stream mangled by climate change. Image is for July 14, a match to the above Jet Stream shot. Note the extreme heat in the ridge and the much cooler air in the trough. This is exactly the kind of pattern we would associate with sea ice retreat and Jet Stream weakening. Image source: University of Maine)
For this year, the ridge over Canada’s Northwest territory was a direct upshot in a northward retreat of the Jet Stream over Canada and, at times, into the Arctic Ocean. This set the stage for severe wildfires in the zone of warmth underneath this ridge pattern. To the east, a powerful downsloping trough pulled cooler air into Saskatchewan and Manitoba as well as over the Central and Eastern US. This set the pattern up for cooler than average conditions as well as for strong rainstorms.
The crop-shattering events of July were a direct result of this climate change induced ‘Song of Flood and Fire.’ A pattern we’ve seen repeat again and again over the past few years and one that may well intensify as both time and human-caused warming advance.
Links:
Canada’s Record Rains Cut Wheat Averages to Three Year Low
Is Global Warming Causing Extreme Weather via Jet Stream Waves?
Hat-tip to Colorado Bob
Jim
/ July 24, 2014Once again thanks much for your hard work and timely updates. We just can’t get this kind of excellent analysis and explanation any where else.
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Robert A. Vella
/ July 24, 2014I agree.
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Sven
/ July 24, 2014Agreed. Thanks so much. Excellent and unique. Please let us know if you need funding or anything else.
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robertscribbler
/ July 24, 2014Cheers and thanks to all for the kind words.
Any available funding would help me spend more time working on blog projects as I now juggle other writing work as well as speaking engagements that are unrelated to this effort. I’d like to work on the blog full time and put together a related book or two. Assistance would help quite a bit.
IMO, we’ve reached a pretty critical time and we need all hands on deck. So I pitch in as best I can.
Thanks again and will keep up the effort as much as possible!
— R
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LJR
/ July 24, 2014Meanwhile, back in Europe:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/10295045/Brussels-fears-European-industrial-massacre-sparked-by-energy-costs.html
“We face a systemic industrial massacre,” said Antonio Tajani, the European industry commissioner.
Mr Tajani warned that Europe’s quixotic dash for renewables was pushing electricity costs to untenable levels, leaving Europe struggling to compete as America’s shale revolution cuts US natural gas prices by 80pc.
“I am in favour of a green agenda, but we can’t be religious about this. We need a new energy policy. We have to stop pretending, because we can’t sacrifice Europe’s industry for climate goals that are not realistic, and are not being enforced worldwide,” he told The Daily Telegraph during the Ambrosetti forum of global policy-makers at Lake Como.
“The loss of competitiveness is frightening,” said Paulo Savona, head of Italy’s Fondo Interbancario. “When people choose whether to invest in Europe or the US, what they think about most is the cost of energy.”
And so it goes. This is a boots on the ground example of why garnering the political will to transition to renewables is going to be difficult, putting it mildly, no matter how essential in the longer term.
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robertscribbler
/ July 24, 2014So the fracking interests have found a friend in Europe… Small surprise.
First the ACC, whose findings this article is based on may as well be API. Those two institutions are joined at the hip. So the info coming out of them will all be pro fossil fuel.
Second, cost of energy in Europe is due, in part, to dependence on imports. Renewables helps that situation.
Third, depletion in fracked gas wells is already driving nat gas prices higher in the US. As any peak oiler will tell you, the fracked wells have an extreme rate of depletion.
Fourth, Mr. Tajani ignores the role renewables have played in reducing US energy costs by diversifying the fuel base. In the US, wind, and solar in the southwest, are among the nation’s cheapest energy sources.
Fifth, Mr. Tajani conflates the benefits of gas as a raw material with the benefits of gas as an energy source. Fuzzy math…
I’d file this article under ‘fossil fuel industry misinformation.’ Renewables are no longer ‘high cost’ and Tajani is just beating an old, dead horse on this one. Sorry to see the industry has a friend in the EC, but not a surprise. And the Telegraph…
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Bernard
/ July 24, 2014Would surprise me if fracking became reality in Europe. We’re seeing nothing but negative reports on the subject in the media. The price of fossil feuls here has a generous portion of taxes in them, they’re a healthy source of income for the state. Fracking wouldn’t result in lower fuel prices, that’s not how it works here. Like enthropy the price can only go up. That approach won’t fly here.
On a different note, as a naturalist the past few months have been a treat. Birds having multiple nests in succession (local wild ducks had 4 nests this year) and on 3 different locations the Magnolias are starting to bloom again. Weirdness.
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robertscribbler
/ July 24, 2014I hope you’re right, Bernard. Europe going to frack would be terrible. Though I see nothing but pushes for more efficiency/renewables from most countries.
That bird/tree behavior seems rather unusual.
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utoutback
/ July 24, 2014Bernard –
Your local birds seem to be running counter to the general trend. A report today indicates a significant die off of many species; particularly invertebrates.
http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/24/5933303/invertebrate-populations-have-dropped-by-45-percent-in-the-last-four
Also view this very interesting TED talk by Bernie Krause from 2013 on how sound may be a better assessment tool for environmental health than sightings.
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Colorado Bob
/ July 24, 2014World’s Biggest Fish Seek New Home
The largest living fish, whale sharks, may increasingly be using volcanic islands off the western coast of Europe as a new home as sea surface temperatures rise, researchers say.
This finding could shed light on how climate change might alter the behavior of fish globally, the scientists added.
http://www.livescience.com/46835-whale-sharks-azores.html
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Colorado Bob
/ July 24, 2014The year before the current floods :
Alberta floods costliest natural disaster in Canadian history
Insurance Bureau of Canada report says staggering $1.7B cost is still rising
A storm system parked itself over the region on June 19. The rain continued for almost 18 hours in some part, with no end in sight. Over the Rockies, instead of the precipitation falling as snow – where the ground could slowly soak it up – it fell as rain, saturating the ground.
In Calgary, 68 mm of rain fell over 48 hours. But west of the city, the headwaters of the Bow and Elbow rivers were dealing with torrential rainfall. Totals averaged 75 mm to 150 mm over two-and-a-half days. West of High River, Burns Creek recorded an astounding 345 mm; Canmore recorded 200 mm, ten times that of their entire summer rainfall.
Floods and landslides closed off part of the Trans-Canada Highway. In Calgary, 4,000 businesses were impacted. The Calgary Zoo moved many of its exotic animals to its ranch south of the city, more than two metres submerged Stampede Park.
The flood was estimated to exceed $6 billion in damage losses and recovery costs.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-floods-costliest-natural-disaster-in-canadian-history-1.1864599
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robertscribbler
/ July 24, 2014I remember that one. Absolutely brutal.
We have smoke over CAA sea ice now. Heat + black soot particulate appears to be doing quite a number there.
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Colorado Bob
/ July 24, 2014Toronto’s July flood listed as Ontario’s most costly natural disaster
Insurance Bureau of Canada says property damage caused by storm that swamped the GTA on July 8 is more than $850 million.
Monday, July 8 2013.
http://www.thestar.com/business/2013/08/14/july_flood_ontarios_most_costly_natural_disaster.html
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robertscribbler
/ July 24, 2014Current block sets up for similar events now…
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Colorado Bob
/ July 24, 2014The Alps –
Local resident Ramon Haas told the paper: “It was the storm of the century. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
According to MeteoNews, 27 litres of water per square metre fell between midnight and 5am around Interlaken.
Storms and heavy rain have battered Switzerland of late, and don’t show signs of abating just yet, with thunder and more rain forecast for Friday
http://www.thelocal.ch/20140724/residents-flee-as-river-emme-floods-village
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robertscribbler
/ July 24, 2014Storms of My Grandchildren building now…
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robertscribbler
/ July 24, 2014Victoria Island at 28.4 C right now…
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Colorado Bob
/ July 24, 2014One theory on the feature is that it might be a pingo — a melting of a permafrost water pocket left over by an ancient lake that was long ago buried by sediment. But a pingo would typically form in a manner similar to a sinkhole and would probably not have apparent ejected material piled around its mouth.
I’ve done some reading on pingos , and as we know them these 2 holes look nothing like the ones we’ve seen in the recent past.
First , the permafrost begins to melt, in a low area, deep underground a large wedge of really frozen ice is relieved of it’s frozen over burden. and rises in the center of the pingo . This whole process makes what amounts to a Mexican Hat on the tundra, with a ring of melt water round the crown of the hat.
These new holes are not pingos as we know them.
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Colorado Bob
/ July 24, 2014The classic diagram –
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Colorado Bob
/ July 24, 2014LikeLike
robertscribbler
/ July 24, 2014Don’t pingos typically sink in the center?
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Andy (at work)
/ July 24, 201430 to 50 bushels per acres for wheat.
5.5 million acres = ~220 million bushels.
1 bushel = 60 lbs.
220 million bushels = 6,600,000 tons (imperial).
This is a staggering amount of food pulled from the food chain in one hit.
Things to ponder.
A) What this does to commodity prices globally for wheat
B) Who are the primary importers, and what will they do now
C) If they have deep pockets, who will they outbid in the market
D) If they do not, they will be outbid
E) Whoever is outbid will have shortages causing food inflation at best
E) What will the population do in the nation which is outbid when prices spike
2015 is starting to look a tad grim.
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robertscribbler
/ July 24, 2014Wheat planting was record globally this year, so I think we’ll be OK overall unless there are many more hits like this.
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Colorado Bob
/ July 24, 2014It’s shooting gallery, now all over the world with every food stuff from cotton to coco , from rice to palm oil , from hard red winter wheat to grapes. Canada is # 3 on the list for wheat .
The price of coffee is the one to watch, you can’t grow coffee in Kansas.
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robertscribbler
/ July 24, 2014Wheat is probably OK this year. Some of the other crops…
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Andy (at work)
/ July 24, 2014Monsanto is probably working on it now.
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robertscribbler
/ July 24, 2014Hard to laugh about that one.
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robertscribbler
/ July 24, 201430 C at Bathurst Inlet.
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robertscribbler
/ July 24, 2014We have thick smoke over these areas now.
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Mark from New England
/ July 24, 2014… yet.
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Mark from New England
/ July 24, 2014Colorado Bob – “you can’t grow coffee in Kansas.” – yet 😉 (The previous ‘yet’ is too removed from Bob’s comment to leave out the context!)
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marianne
/ July 24, 2014Thanks alot for good updates. Look up “BIFF ! (Britain & Ireland Frack Free)”, “Frack free Sussex” and more. Facebook pages for the fight against fracking in UK. The countryside there seems to be under attac…
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todaysguestis
/ July 24, 2014‘Shocking’ underground water loss in US drought
From 2004 to 2013, satellite data has shown that the basin lost nearly 53 million acre feet (65 cubic kilometers) of freshwater… The data came from the NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite, a joint mission with the German Aerospace Center and the German Research Center for Geosciences.
“This is a lot of water to lose. We thought that the picture could be pretty bad, but this was shocking,” said lead study author Stephanie Castle, a water resources specialist at the University of California, Irvine.
http://phys.org/news/2014-07-underground-loss-drought.html
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Mark from New England
/ July 24, 2014Is it time to close the casinos and hotels in Las Vegas to save that water for direct use by residents? If not now, it’s coming…
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robertscribbler
/ July 24, 2014They should at least shut down the fountains, water attractions, and swimming pools.
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AThornton
/ July 24, 2014Without the casinos and hotels there’s no local economy thus no jobs thus no residents. Las Vegas is The Horrible Example of the reality-free US water policy in the Southwest.
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utoutback
/ July 25, 2014For a great read on climate change and water in the US southwest read
A Great Aridness by William deBuys
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robertscribbler
/ July 25, 2014Thanks for the rec and the typo correct. My auto correct isn’t Beatles literate!
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pintada
/ July 25, 2014For a great read on climate change and water in the US southwest read
A Great Aridness by William deBuys
Indeed! And to round it out:
From the book: “Although it benefits from the large mountain watersheds of the Gila and Salt rivers, the 17,000-square-mile region known as Greater Phoenix depends on a water supply pumped 300 miles uphill from the overallocated Colorado River,
Ross, Andrew (2011-10-06). Bird on Fire : Lessons from the World’s Least Sustainable City Oxford University Press.
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robertscribbler
/ July 24, 2014Another nine year period like this going to be rough.
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Griffin
/ July 24, 2014All I can think of is the hundreds of fracking wells in southwest Wyoming, and all the water that they have permanently removed from the water cycle, or polluted forever.
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Griffin
/ July 24, 2014Robert, can the smoke particles in the air contribute to the electrical potential of a thunderstorm? It seems to make sense and all I know is that last night the lightning was vigorous in a way that I cant recall here. It was not that the storms were particularly severe, but the lightning was incredible. There was a ton of smoky haze beforehand. I was wondering if the abundance of charged particles helped energize the storms.
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robertscribbler
/ July 24, 2014Increased cloud condensation nuclei increases cloud formation at the levels of atmosphere that are responsible for lightning generation. So, yes, more smoke would mean more lightning, to a point. If the air becomes too saturated with smoke, it essentially dries the cloud out and wrecks the lightning production as well. But that threshold is pretty high. So smokey conditions generally mean more lightning.
You getting quite a bit of smoke in your region?
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dtlange
/ July 25, 2014Yes, but does friction from the smoke and dust particles in moving in the air create a positive static charge more so in hit dry windy conditions?
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robertscribbler
/ July 25, 2014To a certain extent, yes. However, beyond a point, moisture suppression from very dense smoke has a net negative effect. Overall, in most cases, the smoke would generate more lightning.
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Paul from NSW
/ July 25, 2014We don’t get much in the way of negative feedbacks but lightning is one of them. For every 1C increase we apparently get 10% more lightning. Lightning creates hydroxyls, and hydroxyls breakdown methane.
So thank the heavens for lightning, and then run for cover.
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robertscribbler
/ July 25, 2014Ha! Well said.
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Griffin
/ July 24, 2014No, certainly not a lot of it. It was enough to make the sun red as it rose and yesterday it seemed to make the haze worse, the clouds looked “off” like I was looking through a lens with an old screen protector on it. I was just wondering if somehow that smoke that was there might have a little “boost” effect to the lightning. Of course, one nights storms doesn’t make much of a scientific study on my part so it was more just curiosity!
Thanks for the reply.
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robertscribbler
/ July 24, 2014Well, here’s a recent related study on the subject 😉
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100422121702.htm
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Griffin
/ July 25, 2014That is fascinating. Thanks for the link. It confirms what I was thinking last night as I watching the lightning going crazy. It felt right that the crazy lightning was somehow tied to the colors at sunrise and the way I could look straight at that blood red ball even as it was well above the horizon that morning. Which of course was tied to the fires we have discussed so much about. Sure did make the planet feel smaller.
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robertscribbler
/ July 24, 2014And a little extra smoke particulate certainly does boost the lightning, so good observation.
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Griffin
/ July 25, 2014Thanks. Being spooked heightens the senses. A natural byproduct of learning via this blog! 🙂
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Griffin
/ July 25, 2014And by that I meant that sometimes I learn things here that really freak me out! It’s good to learn what is going on, but it can be rather scary at times.
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robertscribbler
/ July 25, 2014These days, Griff, fear is a gift. We should be afraid.
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Colorado Bob
/ July 25, 2014New Book –
The Power of Two
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robertscribbler
/ July 25, 2014Looks like a good one, Bob. Always loved the Beetles. Dad used to play them on vinyl for my sis and I. We had a blast.
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utoutback
/ July 25, 2014That’s Beatles
just saying.
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Andy (in San Diego)
/ July 25, 2014What to do if you are a farmer in Marysville Ca (by Yuba City, N of Sacramento) and there’s no water? Answer is pump pump pump that aquifer!
Water table dropped 50 ft in 6 weeks, uh oh!
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/colusa_sun_herald/williams-running-dry-water-table-drops-feet-in-past-six/article_25a989b0-fc0b-11e3-a56a-0017a43b2370.html
Not to be out done, humans are trying the same experiment on the other side of the planet.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Water-table-lowest-in-KCR-constituency/articleshow/38236765.cms
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robertscribbler
/ July 25, 2014Unfortunately, it’s the same in many places the world over — Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, China and so, so many more increasingly reliant on dwindling supplies of ground water/fossil water.
The US southwest gets a double hit from high consumption expectation and climate change. We need to sit down and give that situation a good, hard look. If people/industry want to stay, they’ll need to figure out how to do with far less water.
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Doug
/ July 25, 2014Being a resident of the Southwest U.S. I’ve paid close attention to the water situation here. A very interesting blog maintained by a Southwest water expert is: http://www.inkstain.net/fleck. I’ve learned a lot from Mr. Fleck. Las Vegas does appear to be the major U.S. city in the most trouble when it comes to water. Phoenix and Tuscon probably next on the list. I would recommend anyone interested in the water situation in the Southwest U.S. follow this blog.
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robertscribbler
/ July 25, 2014I’ve had a walk around the block there. A rather informative blog with an orientation toward solutions. Sometimes a touch too confident, but not blindly so.
RE water in the southwest. My view is that we are still in the easier decades. Add another 0.5 to 1 C and then we can start bragging about resiliency or looking for where the wheels fell off.
Ink stain is correct in that the US southwest does have a history of working well together and providing solutions-oriented problem solving. And this is huge strength, providing extra resiliency that in many other regions is just simply not possible. Are they ready for what’s coming? I don’t think they have yet got an inkling. But, bless their hearts, they are looking at the problem.
Ground water is critical. If they don’t manage that well then, eventually there is little or no flex during dry years. California ag is living on ground water now. What happens when that goes in ten or twenty years and when the droughts are likely to be worse? We haven’t had our eye on that ball, so far and that’s rather bad planning.
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utoutback
/ July 25, 2014Also, as in a comment above:
A Great Aridness by William deBuys
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pintada
/ July 25, 2014And while I’m on break and have Kindle open:
“Not only are there no substitutes for water, but the world needs vast amounts of it to produce food. As adults, each of us drinks nearly 4 liters of water a day in one form or another. But it takes 2,000 liters of water— 500 times as much—to produce the food we consume each day.
Brown, Lester R. (2012-09-24). Full Planet, Empty Plates: The New Geopolitics of Food Scarcity. Norton.
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robertscribbler
/ July 25, 2014Very true and the difference in water cost between meat and vegetable production is extreme.
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Paul from NSW
/ July 26, 2014Different crops have very different water use profiles. Have a friend who was commissioned to do a report in Australia on water usage. He found cotton to be one of the main culprits, and he got roasted for it.
Hemp would be a much better substitute, but again we are hindered by antiquated perspectives. I don’t advocate smoking it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its industrial uses.
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2013/07/17/hemp-vs-cotton-the-ultimate-showdown/
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robertscribbler
/ July 26, 2014Hemp is a fantastic raw material for sustainability. So versatile.
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John
/ July 25, 2014Reblogged this on jpratt27 and commented:
Getting harder to ignore climate change.
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Tom
/ July 25, 2014Seems all we are doing is documenting our decline (via having wrecked the biosphere, via chemical imbalance, beyond repair) on the way to extinction.
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Bernard
/ July 25, 2014utoutback,
there’s a lot going on here. There are 2 species that exploded in numbers in the last ~4 years: magpie and the western jackdaw. Both are opportunists with a varied diet.
Soft winters have favored insect survival rates, which is probably why we’re seeing an uptick in wildlife that used to be common.
Lastly, a lot of dead trees dotted around the city. Probably also the result of soft winters but I’m not sure whether it’s pests or diseases (fungi) that cause it.
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joni
/ July 25, 2014Regarding the tree deaths, it could be a combination of increased parasite survival and ground level ozone.
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robertscribbler
/ July 25, 2014Ninja’d.
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robertscribbler
/ July 25, 2014May want to check the local ozone levels as well.
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dtlange
/ July 25, 2014Right, ozone and NOX. I’m trying to find a concise and hard hitting term, or phrase, to describe emissions-nitrogen-NOX-ozone process. Here in Portland, OR, USA trees and plants are many signs of severe ozone injury, and the buildup of nitrogen buildup. If this nitrogen buildup was taking place in a waterway, or the like, an alarm would be sounded.
Keep in mind too, that official air pollution monitoring is spotty and under mandated to detect harmful aerosols. The readings at one monitoring station may have negligible pollution while a quarter of a mile away the pollution levels could be much more drastic.
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robertscribbler
/ July 25, 2014Radical oxygen poisoning…
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Paul from NSW
/ July 26, 2014OT: dtlange how do you find Portland? Been thinking about getting my business into the US (in Australia now). Currently looking at the south end of Oregon City around the community college area. Trying to weigh up all the issues for sustainability;
Crime
Price!! (The ability to buy with a decent backyard)
Population density
Access to public transport
Water supply
Radon
Can you add a local perspective?
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Spike
/ July 25, 2014Severe flooding reported in Russia’s far east. Robert do you think there is a link with the Siberian fires?
http://floodlist.com/asia/record-rain-floods-magadan-russias-far-east
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robertscribbler
/ July 25, 2014Probably indirectly due to particulate CCNs. However, we also have a Pacific flow running south to north through that region, it’s a meridonal flow bound for the Arctic and it’s pushing a pile of cloud and moisture ahead of it. This is the flow that would typically run into northwest Canada or the Aleutians but has now been bent backward into Irkutsk and Kamchatka.
According to models, it will try to back into the East Siberian Sea over the next few days. Both moisture and temperature levels will be on the rise there. Looks like smoke from the fires will be drawn in by the building ridge. So we get extra long wave radiation from the black carbon as well as particulate deposition on the ice.
If we had a strong Greenland high digging in, it would be a very rough pattern for sea ice. Now it looks like a potential for moderate to strong melt over the next five days, if the models bear out (this year, the forecasts have tended to overshoot a little).
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Spike
/ July 25, 2014And extreme rainfall in Switzerland – 27L/m2 in 5 hours sounds pretty epic.
http://www.thelocal.ch/20140724/residents-flee-as-river-emme-floods-village
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robertscribbler
/ July 25, 2014Lots of reports coming in from Switzerkand RE floods.
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dtlange
/ July 25, 2014How many more ‘storms of the century’ can we going to cram into a six month period?
And from the the Main ‘Stream’ Media we hear nothing. They are about as useful as a ‘piss hole in a snow bank’. (That’s my colorful analogy.)
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Paul from NSW
/ July 27, 2014OT: dtlange how do you find Portland? Been thinking about getting my business into the US (in Australia now). Currently looking at the south end of Oregon City around the community college area. Trying to weigh up all the issues for sustainability;
Crime
Price!! (The ability to buy with a decent backyard)
Population density
Access to public transport
Water supply
Radon
Can you add a local perspective?
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dtlange
/ July 27, 2014Paul, rather than responding on RS, I will post a comment on your preppingforexile that will have some info for you- within 24 hrs. DT
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Burgundy
/ July 25, 2014“France’s Wheat Exports in Question as Rain Spoils Quality”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-25/france-s-wheat-exports-in-question-as-rain-spoils-quality.html
“Sprouting damage to wheat will hurt France’s ability to sell to North Africa, said Francois Luguenot, head of market analysis at Paris-based Union InVivo, the biggest exporter of French wheat. Valfrance, a cooperative north of Paris, reported part of the 2014 harvest is unsuitable for milling.”
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robertscribbler
/ July 25, 2014Well, another blow to wheat. We may see a bump in prices yet.
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