-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
D&D and the rising pandemic
- Thread starter GreyLord
- Start date
GreyLord
Legend
We've had rain where I'm at. At one point the creek was only about one inch lower then the bridge this spring!
I hear it is bad in the Southwest US though. All sorts of stories, like Arizona won't have any water at all in a few years, and other states are fighting hard over the river water. California also has a severe water problem but no one wants to face up to it and take steps to slow down consumption which could possibly put them in the same scenario as Arizona soon also.
I hear it is bad in the Southwest US though. All sorts of stories, like Arizona won't have any water at all in a few years, and other states are fighting hard over the river water. California also has a severe water problem but no one wants to face up to it and take steps to slow down consumption which could possibly put them in the same scenario as Arizona soon also.
Zardnaar
Legend
Have been watching Lake Meade videos. Watch one and YouTube spits out more.
There’s a half-baked idea about divert water from the Mississippi River to help alleviate the droughts out west. Today, I was reading an article by a civil engineer who worked on “mega projects” discussing the plan.
His take? Too much money and energy for too little benefit. The numbers just don’t add up.
And that’s before he started noting the problems it would cause where the Mississippi actually runs…
His take? Too much money and energy for too little benefit. The numbers just don’t add up.
And that’s before he started noting the problems it would cause where the Mississippi actually runs…
Zardnaar
Legend
Yeah it's a stupid idea.
Use less water and stop growing water intensive crops. Failing that move.
Thomas Shey
Legend
I suspect, political heft or no, that the people growing rice and alfalfa in California are going to soon come for a long awaited reckoning.
Ryujin
Legend
Lots of crops in California only exist because of bringing water into what would otherwise be desert.
Rabulias
the Incomparably Shrewd and Clever
Until they do. As time goes on, the cost of such a project will shrink relative to the economic impact the loss of water will have on the southwest states.
This is another matter entirely, and more valid reasons to strongly dismiss this idea. There are always unintended consequences with such massive projects. Even assuming a cross-country pipeline solves the problems in the southwest, we may well have a bunch of new problems down the Mississippi.
I don't want to stifle out of the box thinking, but this idea has too many unknown factors. China has been working on a massive water redistribution project since the early 2000s and it has cost them over $70 billion so far. It's not complete and they are already running into water pollution issues last I heard.
Ryujin
Legend
More than once the idea has been floated to create water pipelines from northern Washington State, to funnel water to California, thereby robbing Canada of fresh water.
In the Niven/Pournelle novel "Oath of Fealty" the company that built the arcology of Todos Santos convinced local officials to permit the construction, in part, by towing icebergs to the Port of Los Angeles for fresh water and it became a bargaining chip when they were threatened with closure.
So, let us be clear - the issue isn't just the southwest - it is the West, Southwest, and High Plains. Indeed, much of the lower half of the Mississippi is also under drought conditions! We are talking about nearly half the area of the country being in drought.
The phrase "robbing Peter to pay Paul" comes to mind for such projects.
Also, the time for such a project was a decade ago. Now, no such project will complete in time to save the area from its behavior.
