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.’