I heard a geologist talking about it on NPR. What he says, without a lot of emotion, is that when the aquifer, pretty much a finite natural resource that can't reasonably be renewed, is depleted is that the High Plains ecosystem will go back to what it was before. Agriculture will lose a lot of productive land. Given that it's pretty clear that once the aquifer is depleted there will be an end to agriculture in great circles around a big pump, you might think that farmers and the government might want to take some extreme steps to extend the aquifer life. But if just a few start doing Israeli style farming that makes the most of limited water resources it won't help much if their neighbors are still pumping millions of gallons that mostly evaporate. But who really wants to think a century ahead when you have a choice of lowering your head and keep doing what you're doing for the rest of your natural life..
Water pipeline.......We can't build an oil pipeline, do you think we could get an water pipeline approved?
Major, be realistic. This would have to go through the habitat of the panhandle grasshopper. We can't have that. It is much better to just put the farms out of business and return the land to its natural state. Besides, grasshoppers provide high quality protein that you cannot get from wheat or corn.
The Oil Pipeline just needed government approval, why would the water pipeline need more than that? With the current administration they would want to build a new department with another 100,000 employees so they could reduce the unemployement rate.
Water is the next big crisis in most of the country. The front page of the Express News today screams that Medina Lake, an SA reservoir built for farming, is only 16% of capacity, the lowest since the 50s. Of course, most new homes here still get a yard full of water hungry St. Augustine grass, so I guess we're not that worried.
It sure seems to me that one of our primary infrastructure needs is a system for collecting, desalinating, and distributing ocean water. I'd love to hear from those more knowledgeable about this angle.
From my limited knowledge, it is expensive and there are environmental issues. I guess running out of water would be more expensive. From a more national perspective, we need to stop using corn for everything under the sun. It is a very thirsty plant.
Ocean water desalinization being pumped all the way to west texas seems like an expensive pipe dream, but who knows what technology and imagination can come up with. I know there is not a lot of extra water above the High Plains in the mountains of New Mexico and Coloroado, that water is pretty much a triickle if any of it ever reaches the Gulf of Mexico or the Gulf of California. Climate change, for good or ill, may make the water issue less or more critical in the future. It seems to me that using the water carefully for maximum benefit should be a goal, now and in the future and not just on the High Plains.
relatively large scale desalination is taking place according to a relative with the core of engineers. They know how to do it but it isn't cheap. Is this kind of crap happening or not happening: The Link conspiracy?
Building a pipeline across a desert to bring water to drought stricken areas can't be much more expensive then building high speed rail across the same desert to bring people to a tourist town.
