Forget power outages in California. Forget Mad Cow striking U.S. beef. Forget even oil peak. Try this on for nightmare scenarios:
MSNBC – West drought could be worst in 500 years
The drought gripping the West could be the biggest in 500 years, with effects in the Colorado River basin considerably worse than during the Dust Bowl years, according to scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey.
On Friday, the U.S. Climatic Data Center added its voice, saying that 67 percent of the western United States was in moderate to extreme drought at the end of this spring.
The Colorado River in particular has been in a drought for the entire decade, cutting an important source of water for millions of people across the West, including Southern California.
And just to make matters interesting, all the water agreements were drawn up four generations ago, during what was a very damp time. Now, with ten times the population and half the water… hoo boy.
I thought last year was the worst drought in 500 years!
Nobody really seems to notice as much, because, like last year, we get *just enough* moisture to stay afloat, as it were.
But I haven’t been out here in Denver three years yet, and people were saying it was a drought before I moved here.
It’s not getting any better.