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It's more complicated than that. Climate change doesn't lead to global increased atmospheric water vapor and the water cycle is very complicated on a global sca
by criley2 7y ago
It's more complicated than that. Climate change doesn't lead to global increased atmospheric water vapor and the water cycle is very complicated on a global scale. Climate change leads to floods and storms... and droughts and wildfires. Some areas could see greatly increase groundwater recharge while others will see greatly reduced recharge. Even if the global net effect were to increase water, there would still be extreme examples of local droughts causing extreme water stress.
In the U.S. for example climate change is leading to decreased rainfall meaning less runoff and less groundwater recharge. The southeast of the US is going to have some very serious water issues for the next generation, albeit not as soon as India.
- jessaustin 7y agoIn the U.S. for example climate change is leading to decreased rainfall meaning less runoff and less groundwater recharge. Where are you getting this? It certainly doesn't agree with figures published by the government. [0] The aquifers that are dropping are dropping because of massive well pumping. The wildfires are because we've stockpiled understory fuel while building homes in fire-prone forests. Overstating the case for global warming will convince some people, but others will only grow more skeptical. [0] https://www.drought.gov/drought/data-maps-tools/current-conditions https://www.drought.gov/drought/data-maps-tools/current-cond...
- criley2 7y agohttps://nca2014.globalchange.gov/highlights/report-findings/water-supply https://nca2014.globalchange.gov/highlights/report-findings/... >Surface and groundwater supplies in some regions are already stressed by increasing demand as well as declining runoff and groundwater recharge. In some regions, particularly the southern U.S. and the Caribbean and Pacific islands, climate change is increasing the likelihood of water shortages and competition for water. Water quality is diminishing in many areas, particularly due to increasing sediment and contaminant concentrations after heavy downpours. I find that people's skepticism regarding climate change has almost nothing to do with data and evidence and nearly everything to do with their personal politics, to the extent that I draw a causative link between right-leaning politics and "climate skepticism".
- jessaustin 7y agoYou made a specific claim about rainfall. That claim contradicted my experience over the last several years. I searched for "USA drought", and a very simple government site confirmed there is no drought underway in USA. (EDIT: there certainly will be a drought in future, just as there will be floods and hurricanes and comfortable sunny days with light breezes.) I'm not sure what this most recent link is supposed to prove, but I'm not going to wade through it. I only consider specifics when it comes to weather/climate.
- criley2 7y agoLet me get this straight, you asked me to source my claim that climate change will affect america, so I use an official government report titled "National Climate Assessment" which details the effects on America, and you're rejecting this canonical source? Your reply is "I'm not reading this, I did a fast google search instead?" Oof owie, my intellectualism. I shouldn't have to spoon feed you after I gave you an extremely high quality source. But whatever: "Climate changes pose challenges for an already parched region that is expected to get hotter and, in its southern half, significantly drier. Increased heat and changes to rain and snowpack will send ripple effects throughout the region’s critical agriculture sector, affecting the lives and economies of 56 million people – a population that is expected to increase 68% by 2050, to 94 million. Severe and sustained drought will stress water sources, already over-utilized in many areas, forcing increasing competition among farmers, energy producers, urban dwellers, and plant and animal life for the region’s most precious resource." >Theobald, D. M., W. R. Travis, M. A. Drummond, and E. S. Gordon, 2013: Ch. 3: The Changing Southwest. Assessment of Climate Change in the Southwest United States: A Report Prepared for the National Climate Assessment, G. Garfin, A. Jardine, R. Merideth, M. Black, and S. LeRoy, Eds., Island Press, 37-55 http://swccar.org/sites/all/themes/files/SW-NCA-color-FINALweb.pdf http://swccar.org/sites/all/themes/files/SW-NCA-color-FINALw...
- jessaustin 7y agoOh, now we're talking about the Southwest? I would have sworn that the topic was the Southeast? I've lived in both areas, and I would classify them as having different climates. Sorry, is that too specific?
- Retra 7y agoIf it rains less, you dig more wells. Why do you think drought and pumping are independent?
- jessaustin 7y agoThey've been pumping the Ogallala since the 1940s. Western Kansas and Nebraska are not naturally green areas. That they don't have enough water for the type of agriculture they practice is not the sign of a drought.
- treis 7y ago> Climate change doesn't lead to global increased atmospheric water vapor and the water cycle is very complicated on a global scale. It also doesn't lead to groundwater depletion and the absence of well water. That's more or less independent of climate change. Well water is a semi-renewable resource. In other words, there's only a certain fraction of rain that will filter down to where the wells are pulling it from. If wells pull more than that the water table gradually drops until the wells run dry. That's what is happening in India (and in a lot of other places.). They've drilled too many wells and depleted the ground water. Fixing climate change isn't going to help with that problem.