Could California Turn to Desert by 2011?

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Schwarzenegger declares statewide drought

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought in California after two years of below-average rainfall. “We have a serious drought,” said Governor Schwarzenegger on Wednesday.

“For the areas in Northern California that supply most of our water, this March, April and May have been the driest ever in our recorded history,” Schwarzenegger said. “As a result, some local governments are rationing water, developments can’t proceed and agricultural fields are sitting idle.”

“We must recognize the severity of the crisis we face, so I am signing an executive order proclaiming a statewide drought and directing my Department of Water Resources and other entities to take immediate action to address the situation.”

The executive order enables water officials transfer water around California swiftly dealing with unusually dry conditions that are destroying crops, affecting water quality and creating extreme fire hazards across the state, one of the nation’s top farming regions.

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“Mr Schwarzenegger warned that conditions could be even worse next year if there was another dry winter. The governor wants voters to approve a $12 billion bond to fund delta, river and groundwater improvements, conservation and recycling efforts, and reservoirs. But legislators have not agreed to the plan despite ongoing negotiations with the administration.” USA today reported.

“This drought is an urgent reminder of the immediate need to upgrade California’s water infrastructure,” Schwarzenegger said. “There is no more time to waste because nothing is more vital to protect our economy, our environment and our quality-of-life.”

[Note: Gov Schwarzenegger’s statement is fundamentally flawed and factually incorrect because “to protect our economy,” i.e., business as usual, results in the destruction of “our environment” and therefore harms “our quality of life.”]

Related Links:

• Drought Index

• Failing Ecosystems
• State of the World
• Future Scenarios
• First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
  
• Nuking Earth for Lifestyle

• Giga Trends
• World Problems: The Root Cause Matrix
• Tipping Point
• Topsoil
• Drying Aquifers, Sinking Cities

• The Economy
• Energy
• Food Security
• Future in the Making: A Shrinking World

[Nothing short of a catastrophic ecosystem collapse would make humans change their unsustainable lifestyles!]

Earth Hour Snakeoil

Much Global Ado . . .

The Snakeoil salesmen are having a field day again! From Suva in Fiji to San Francisco, in the US of A; last time it was ban the plastic shopping bag!

Perhaps the only sensible words uttered by anyone came from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who said “It is not just about turning off the lights, it is about raising awareness.”

Unfortunately, his wisdom was soon marred into dark humor as San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge lights were switched off.

Did anyone also switch off their TV sets, freezers, fridges, cookers, electric kettles, computers, air-conditioners, immersion heaters …? Did a single power station reduce their base load?

Would it make any difference even if everyone were to switch off their entire lighting system for an hour everyday? How about 2 hours? Or perhaps 4, better still, 8 hours? May be 16? What if everyone switched off their lights 24/365? How much difference do you think such move would make? Care to hazard a guess?

Organizers of Earth Hour conceded that switching off the lights for one hour would have little impact on carbon emissions; however, they insisted that the participation of so many individuals and business proved there was concern about climate change throughout the world. What they didn’t tell you is the root cause of the problem, the exponential growth economy, and how to switch that off.

Unless the existing system of economy is replaced with a radical, eco-centered, zero-growth economy, every effort to conserve energy, reduce carbon emissions, or stop the collapsing ecosystems is a cosmetic gesture and a waste of time, effort and resources!

Related Links:

• Union of Concerned Scientists Issue Some Global Warming Snakeoil
• The Deep F*cking Greencovered Corporations

• How many are up there polluting our skies?
• 286W