(With expanded coverage of all the Western States)
by Patrick Ruckert
www.californiadroughtupdate.org/20230810-California-Water-and-Infrastructure-Report.pdf
A Note to Readers
Notable this week is the flurry of articles arguing that climate change requires that farmers stop growing food in California and Arizona, that water rights be restricted for agriculture, and that farms in the Central Valley should be replaced by thousands of acres of solar panels. And there are two articles attacking the growing of food from the waters of the Colorado River. One of them has this stupid sub-headline: “Mega-Dairy and Alfalfa Industries Perpetuate Egregious Cycle of Water Abuse.” There is more, and it all can be found beginning on page 5.
The report begins with the map from the U.S. Drought Monitor and an article, both showing the beginning of increased drought conditions in the state.
The Colorado River section reports on the boost in the water levels of both Lake Mead and Lake Powell, driven by the snow melt. While the rising reservoirs puts off for now drastic measures to curtail water use for the 40 million people who depend on the water from the river, the drought generally continues in the region, and it is expected that decisions will soon be made for more serious water conservation measures.
Next is the series of articles mentioned in the first paragraph above.
Under the title “The Fraud of “Carbon Offsets,” you will find this article: “A giant Oregon wildfire shows the limits of carbon offsets in fighting climate change.”
The final section this week reports on “A Second Breakthrough for Lawrence Livermore Labs in Demonstrating Progress in Achieving Fusion Power.”
