Our relationship with water
The Western U.S. and northern Mexico are experiencing their driest period in at least 1,200 years, according to the new study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change. The last comparable — though not as severe — multidecade megadrought occurred in the 1500s, when the West was still largely inhabited by Native American tribes.
NPR reminds us that there is still a significant drought happening in large parts of the US in its reporting on water supplies and use, weather and climate change.
Here in the SF Bay Area, in days of old, the rainy season would last through March, sometimes into May. For a couple weeks now, my hiking trails in the Eastbay Hills are starting to get dusty. So it begins most years now.
How Bad Is the Western Drought? Worst in 12 Centuries, Study Finds
NY Times – Feb 14
Related: West megadrought worsens to driest in at least 1,200 years
Phys.org – Feb 14
The planned obsolescence of the Ogallala aquifer over the course of the next 3-5 years will have direct impacts of $156 billion in lost economic revenue for the state of Texas.
The Sierra Nevada was named because of the visible presence of snow for most if not all of the year. It may be Sierra, but it isn’t Nevada for about half the year now.
People forget. It’s not just about land. It’s also about water.
One that we struggle with more than the land itself.
If you want to keep up with current US conditions, https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/ publishes maps each Thursday at 8:30 am ET showing current areas of different severity of drought. As you can see from the current map, it’s not just the West – a lot of the central US is also experiencing drought.