4 ms·

Thats a bad way to look at it. A better way: The moisture is being sucked out of some places and falling to others. So one area is becoming barren, and anothe

Thats a bad way to look at it. A better way: The moisture is being sucked out of some places and falling to others. So one area is becoming barren, and another is being flooded. This means a few things: - It is harder to farm. Can't farm when it is flooded, can't farm when it is barren - It is harder to keep fixed cities because the climate changes. Imagine having to move NYC every 10 years. It is far worse when people don't have good infrastructure. - The displacement of people will make the syrian refugee crisis look pale in comparison to what is coming. - Entire ecologies being destroyed is gonna be an economic hit we can barely comprehend. - Extreme weather is another effect. Example being freezing temperatures mid-bloom. Or a hot week mid winter. Crops grow and freeze causing entire crop failures. And fires are only gonna get worse. The fact that right now this tree survived is great. But will it in 10 years?

throwaway1777 6y ago
Overly pessimistic. We have irrigation, dams, and drainage, we’re not totally beholden to the natural rainfall cycle anymore for farming. As far as coastal cities go, we should be investing more in sea walls, but I think technology can help solve these problems too as it has so far in Miami and Venice. If it eventually gets too expensive to maintain that will happen gradually, not like a sudden refugee crisis.
- stingrae 6y ago
  we're not too protected either. What percentage of the US's food gets grown in CA? https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/27/california-farms-produce-a-lot-of-food-but-what-and-how-much-might-surprise-you/#:~:text=While%20California%20produces%2013%20percent,more)%20for%20the%20following%20crops https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/27/california-farms-prod.... The solution to California's droughts isn't just dams. You can't build a dam large enough to hold enough water for going multiple years without rainfall and the aquifers, which bank water in the ground were deeply depleted in the last drought.
Isamu 6y ago
> The moisture is being sucked out of some places and falling to others. I would like to learn more about this, can someone post more information?
eloff 6y ago
I don't see how that makes it "a bad way to look at it" I didn't discuss the implications of likely changes in precipitation at all. Just stated what kinds of changes are likely in my opinion. I also don't think the consequences as easy to predict as you think. For example cross crops may transpire less because of their pores being closed more due to higher CO2 concentrations. That may be good, depending on the crop and location. There will be higher flow in most rivers, and by association most lakes (but offset by higher evaporation) which could be good both for humans and irrigation. I think the answer is complicated and difficult to predict. Current unsustainable practices with respect to both soil and groundwater depletion will still be unsustainable. Parts of California are not a great place to grow crops sustainably, at least not the kinds of water and soil intensive crops currently grown. That may increase or decrease on the whole over time due to climate change, it's tough to say with any certainty.

throwaway1777 6y ago

Overly pessimistic. We have irrigation, dams, and drainage, we’re not totally beholden to the natural rainfall cycle anymore for farming. As far as coastal cities go, we should be investing more in sea walls, but I think technology can help solve these problems too as it has so far in Miami and Venice. If it eventually gets too expensive to maintain that will happen gradually, not like a sudden refugee crisis.

stingrae 6y ago
we're not too protected either. What percentage of the US's food gets grown in CA? https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/27/california-farms-produce-a-lot-of-food-but-what-and-how-much-might-surprise-you/#:~:text=While%20California%20produces%2013%20percent,more)%20for%20the%20following%20crops https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/27/california-farms-prod.... The solution to California's droughts isn't just dams. You can't build a dam large enough to hold enough water for going multiple years without rainfall and the aquifers, which bank water in the ground were deeply depleted in the last drought.

Isamu 6y ago

> The moisture is being sucked out of some places and falling to others. I would like to learn more about this, can someone post more information?

eloff 6y ago

I don't see how that makes it "a bad way to look at it" I didn't discuss the implications of likely changes in precipitation at all. Just stated what kinds of changes are likely in my opinion. I also don't think the consequences as easy to predict as you think. For example cross crops may transpire less because of their pores being closed more due to higher CO2 concentrations. That may be good, depending on the crop and location. There will be higher flow in most rivers, and by association most lakes (but offset by higher evaporation) which could be good both for humans and irrigation. I think the answer is complicated and difficult to predict. Current unsustainable practices with respect to both soil and groundwater depletion will still be unsustainable. Parts of California are not a great place to grow crops sustainably, at least not the kinds of water and soil intensive crops currently grown. That may increase or decrease on the whole over time due to climate change, it's tough to say with any certainty.