The Star in Toronto has a front page article about the dire water situation in America’s Southwest, the fastest growing region in the country. They predict a mass exodus to the water-rich areas of the Northeast as these new Southwesterners discover that, while they’ve built 300 golf courses and endless housing developments, they have been ignoring a basic fact: there is no water to support the huge population of this region.

The article is comprehensive and a must-read if you live in our area. Water is going to be the most valuable commodity on Earth, replacing petroleum products. Mass migrations have always followed water since the beginning of time. In spite of all our technology, we cannot make the Colorado river rise and water the entire Southwest (including Mexico which is being shortchanged drastically by our growth).

You think we have immigration issues now? Wait till people realize where the water is….

Tip of the the hat to Franke, our erstwhile Canadian correspondent! (that’s all the links you get this week!)

Add-on: New Scientist cites a study that amalgamates 92 computer simulations using 14 global circulation models and compares these with actual rainfall data from around the world to conclude that changes in water distribution are the major effect of climate change:

‘The findings are important, Zwiers says, because “as humans, our activities are much more constrained by limits of water than by temperature (italics mine). In places where agriculture is marginal, it will become more marginal in the future”.

From the article:
‘Seager’s own research has shown that, in addition to the trends shown by Zwiers’ team, there will also be a significant drying of areas in the northern subtropics, including the US southwest and the Mediterranean.’

In the last two days:

Climate changing Chesapeake Bay
French Alps Ski Resorts closes after 40 years
Indian Glaciers retreat- source of water for hundreds of millions
500 page study funded by energy industry sees 50% increase in energy use by 2032, calls for huge efficiency gains

The Toronto Star notices a footnote to the IPCC report that states that it did not take into account recent observations of the movement of fresh water in polar ice. Now a team led by James Hansen, NASA’s head of climate policy, says there is a strong indication that their could be a non-linear response to warming that could trigger precipitously high ocean levels in decades rather than centuries. This response, should it occur, would be beyond our ability to do anything about it. Similar events have taken place in very short periods many times over the past 400,000 years according to ice core samples.
The only way we have of possibly holding off this possibility is to hold total increases in temperature rise to 1 degree centigrade over the next 100 years- this will not happen in today’s political climate.

Tighten your seat belts- it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

“Inexpensive as it is, though, the Aura Hybrid is controversial. Toyota’s (TM) hybrid business is booming—the Prius’ sales have doubled in the first five months of 2007, to 76,747 units—and Detroit automakers want a piece of the action. But critics will say the Aura Hybrid is little more than another sign of how far behind Detroit is. That’s because the Aura Green Line is a “mild” hybrid that doesn’t have the fuel efficiency of a “full” hybrid such as the Toyota Prius and Camry.”

Business Week gives a rave review to the Saturn Aura Hybrid noting that it is the cheapest hybrid at around $23,000. Only one problem: The mileage is 28/city, 35/highway. My Honda Accord LX was $18,600 and it gets 24/34. The Toyota Prius, a true hybrid gets 51/60 at around $28,000. This is why it outsells all other hybrids. It’s also why Honda dropped its $30,000 Accord hybrid that got one mile more per gallon than my $18,600 Accord.
It’s the same story with the Ford SUV hybrids and most others- they are not true hybrid technology and there is virtually no benefit to paying extra for them.

To me this is cynical marketing at its worst. They make these vehicles so they can claim a green strategy. At least Honda pulled theirs and they still have the most fuel efficient automotive line. I’m guessing they are going back to the drawing board to compete with Toyota. Meanwhile the US carmakers fight any regulatory improvements to fuel efficiency while losing market share every day. The unions and management have to wake up and truly embrace this technology because it is in our national interest.

A note about emissions. These hybrids, with the exception of the Prius, have marginally lower emissions because they still use full size engines. My Honda, however, is what is known as a Partial Zero Emission Vehicle (PZEV) which seems to be a contradictory statement. This designation came about because of California’s strict vehicle emission standards which the Asian manufacturers apply to all their US vehicles. The US makers, for the most part, sell different cars in California to meet the standards- they’d rather pollute the states with lower standards to save a few bucks. Don’t buy American cars until they start acting responsibly. This goes for union members too- if you don’t take your heads out of the sand there aren’t going to be any union automaker jobs left at American car makers because they will be out of business.