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Well whether or not they acknowledge it they'll have to deal with it. The research I'm working on right now has large implications for West Texas water supplies moving forward and the picture is not good.
How political hacks installed by ideological assholes and replacing professionals can and do cause real damage
Gov. Perry’s water board still won’t acknowledge climate change as Texas faces dire drought in 2013
Two top environmental officials in the state of Texas told Raw Story this week that not only is the state ill-prepared to face a summer this year even hotter than the record-breaking drought of 2011, it has largely neglected to begin planning for the unprecedented drought conditions forecast for the next several decades by the U.S. government’s 2013 National Climate Assessment.
The situation is so dire that if fundamental changes are not made to how water is conserved in Texas, the clashing trends of climate change and population growth threaten to utterly strangle the Texas economy over the coming 20-30 years as water costs soar, and activists warn that Gov. Rick Perry (R) is doing nothing but making the problem worse.
“Because the folks on the Texas water board are appointed by Rick Perry, they tend to fall in line with what Rick Perry believes when it comes to climate change,” Alyssa Burgin, executive director of the Texas Drought Project, told Raw Story. “There are many people whose jobs are on the line when it comes to talking about climate change. A mention of it did appear in the most recent state water plan, but any discussion given to it was rudimentary and symbolic, as if they didn’t wish to be accused of being ignorant as scientists… Most of our reservoirs are already in dire need and we’ve not even begun the really hot months. Taken together, it’s going to look like the dust bowl of Oklahoma.”
Reacting to a prediction by the state’s climatologist that 2013 is likely to be the hottest year on record, Robert Mace, deputy executive administrator of Texas Water Development Board and a key figure in the state’s water conservation efforts, said that the most immediate effect of the anticipated water shortages will be rising rates.
The state’s top environmental regulator, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), refused to comment on this article, telling Raw Story they have no opinion on climate change and insisting that “causes of the drought” are not within their purview. The same agency unilaterally deleted all mentions of climate change from a 2011 scientific report on the health of the Galveston Bay estuary, and ultimately sought a Texas Attorney General’s ruling in order to deny Raw Story’s information request for the names of the individuals involved in the censorship.
But just how bad could it get? The Texas AgriLife Extension Service found that the 2011 drought cost farmers more than $7.6 billion in 2011 — so take that for a baseline. Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon, the Texas state climatologist, told Raw Story he’s concerned that agricultural and drinking water supplies will face unprecedented and systemic strain again in 2013, and that heat-related damages could be worse than 2011.
And if that short-term problem sounds challenging, consider the long-term implications: “Water plans look out 50 years in the future,” Mace said. “So, our plan is focused on a repeat of the drought of record [in the 1950s]… We take a look at what we think our population is going to do, and we think our population is going to almost double in the next 50 years.”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/2...ought-in-2013/
Well whether or not they acknowledge it they'll have to deal with it. The research I'm working on right now has large implications for West Texas water supplies moving forward and the picture is not good.
"they'll have to deal with it."
they'll wait until it's HUGE disaster and public outcry, then raise water rates and/or privatize water utilities and/or invite their for-profit buddies in to practice "disaster capitalism"
It's not as if the state is not aware of it and actively working on conservation methodologies.
http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/waterpla...2012/index.asp
The problem is the low hanging fruit is gone. Now comes the grinding of data and work by guys like you, Manny.
In my lifetime, it's been either massive flooding or drought.
Two "hundred year" floods in a five year period.
And all caused by Trucks, SUV's, and cow farts.
Disagree with your last statement although I guess it depends on what you mean by low hanging fruit. I guess in a political sense thats true but water conservation out West isn't a tough nut to crack. I'm not sure about Texas' numbers, but I know that NM is basically in deep mainly because of the idiocy of the way water rights were handed out and agriculture in general. We simply need to cut agriculture out of the loop here in NM. It sounds harsh, but an industry that makes up 2% of our economy is using up the vast majority of the water. I'm almost positive its the same out in West Texas but I haven't looked at usage numbers.
What if a human believes that climate change does exist but not to the extent of The Day After Tomorrow? What if it's just natural and humanity is not really responsible for it? Why the gloom and doom?
I think it's natural but obviously driving cars and taking s in the ground probably hurt the environment a little but not to the extent of that the Al Gore types preach about. And you can't stop people from driving their cars because a lot of people don't have the luxury of living in a huge metropolitan area that has mass transit. Some people rely on their cars heavily and cannot use public transportation because they are either too far away or it's not available.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/2...nter-olympics/
I have spent the last 5 minutes trying to come up with a yakov smirnoff joke to go along with this, but I gave up.
In soviet russia you.
Even if you've been duped by ALEC/Kock Bros/BigCarbon/US CoC propaganda/lies, as a typical ignorant right-wingbat, that GW is not AGW, GW is, and will be, a huge problem for water, agriculture. Lots of large corps, the US military are already planning for the disaster. Humans have had a very stable, nourishing planet for 1000s, 1000s of years. That epoch is coming to an end.
I think NM and West Texas share a lot of traits, especially in the water rights aspect. However, I think Ag is a much larger player in West Texas than in NM. Cotton is still a pretty large piece of the economy out there.
All of the West is in deep because of water shortages. Mining for minerals, fracking, etc are consuming Bs of gallons of water and poisoning plenty of streams, deep injection of wastewater will poison deep "fossil" water reservoirs which will eventually be needed.
Growing cotton in a desert. SMH.
Deep aquifers are never potable water. We need them now and if we could use them we would be.
It's got what plants crave!
Tip: find companies that have cutting-edge reverse-osmosis membrane technology for desalinization and invest in them.
Reading's for s.
Good tip...might need to start a bottle water company too...
Climate change has given us more days of snow this year than any ever recorded here in Western Pa (including every single day this week - gonna drive twenty miles and roast that ing Groundhog). Maybe Climate Change will bring y'all more rain, not less.
SAWS is predicting first ever Stage 3 in May, and Stage 4 a couple months later. extreme TX drought predicted through end of 2013
That is weather and not climate change.
no, that's Edwards aquifer level, not weather nor climate.
Aquifer level is determined by rainfall over the recharge zone which has been influenced by weather. The jet stream is way out of normal position right now.
AL GORE!!!
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