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 Expert
Posts: 1432
  
Location: Never in one place long | You are very right in this, I work in a Conservation job and attended a "Future of water" planning meeting led by KDHE (Kansas Department of Health and Environment) even if drastic measures are taken, it will only slow the inevitable, even in their "50 year vision" they are not planning to prevent the running out of water but draw it out.... there is no plan that has been thought up that will make life in the Great plains sustainable... none that anyone will agree with. No one wants to stop growing water thirsty and unsustainable crops on their overinflated land...... this generation is using it all up and there will not be anything left for the next.
Well I guess I can only hope that eventually they'll plant it all back to native grass and raise dryland crops or maybe even buffalo again.......it's so scary I cannot believe more people aren't in the least concerned...... Nature is going to take it back and rightly so I guess. |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
 
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | dhdqhllc - 2014-02-19 1:36 PM ThreeCorners - 2014-02-19 1:22 PM dhdqhllc - 2014-02-19 12:01 PM DLV - 2014-02-18 11:43 AM It should be no surprise that the West is having water problems.... we have built up HUGE populations in areas that cannot sustain them in the long run, the truth is there is not enough water and we are running things dry.... Cadillac Desert is a great book to read explaining these issues. The populations cannot and will not be sustained in these areas that were meant to be DESERTS and yet we have turned them into lush areas using the water at alarming rates.... in addition damaging ecosystems. 1,000's of acres of water intensive crops are planted in areas that they NEVER should have been with the amount of rainfall in the area.
I am not surprised about this at all and I do believe the economy is going to get much worse. That is the reason I have decided to only have two horses, pay off all debt as quickly as possible and start saving... it's a smart thing to do in any time but especially uncertain times and they are coming... maybe not now or in the next year but sooner then we think...you are smart to question breeding your horse in my opinion..... ^^dead on^^
and climate change is only exacerbating this water issue.....not only with extreme drought but also extreme amounts of precipitation.....both which decrease ag production...... but some places will also benefit from this and see increased ag production...
in the bigger picture, i don't really think anyone cares about the luxury of breeding horses for pleasure purposed....
Ag doesn't have to be the waster it is. Tailwater recovery and PHAUSET (system to increase efficiency) make a huge difference. And PHAUSET is very cheap to implement, just takes more work. We have proven it works, now more growers need to sign on. Tailwater recovery is a lot more expensive to implement, but along with storing excess surface water, is something that's going to have to be widely used in the future. |
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 Always Off Topic
Posts: 6382
Location: ND | Three 4 Luck - 2014-02-19 2:25 PM dhdqhllc - 2014-02-19 1:36 PM ThreeCorners - 2014-02-19 1:22 PM dhdqhllc - 2014-02-19 12:01 PM DLV - 2014-02-18 11:43 AM It should be no surprise that the West is having water problems.... we have built up HUGE populations in areas that cannot sustain them in the long run, the truth is there is not enough water and we are running things dry.... Cadillac Desert is a great book to read explaining these issues. The populations cannot and will not be sustained in these areas that were meant to be DESERTS and yet we have turned them into lush areas using the water at alarming rates.... in addition damaging ecosystems. 1,000's of acres of water intensive crops are planted in areas that they NEVER should have been with the amount of rainfall in the area.
I am not surprised about this at all and I do believe the economy is going to get much worse. That is the reason I have decided to only have two horses, pay off all debt as quickly as possible and start saving... it's a smart thing to do in any time but especially uncertain times and they are coming... maybe not now or in the next year but sooner then we think...you are smart to question breeding your horse in my opinion..... ^^dead on^^
and climate change is only exacerbating this water issue.....not only with extreme drought but also extreme amounts of precipitation.....both which decrease ag production...... but some places will also benefit from this and see increased ag production...
in the bigger picture, i don't really think anyone cares about the luxury of breeding horses for pleasure purposed....
true...but the vast majority are not going to unless forced to by the govt or the public....as with any kind of conservation measure that does not directly put money in their pocket....... |
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 I Don't Brag
Posts: 6960
| I graduated from high school a LONG time ago. Back when computer programming consisted of punch cards...
I remember when a friend (a self proclaimed know-it-all) predicted that water would become the new crisis in this country. That there would be pressure to pipe water from the Great Lakes to the dry Southwest. I guess he DID know quite a bit. When we were looking for a place to settle, hubby wanted to move South (I can't take heat+ humidity) but any place that was comfortable dry made me worry about water and water rights.
I analyzed each state and area where we looked at property from the Southeast to the Northwest. And came to the conclusion that horse ownership was about as cheap as you can get where we are at now. We have to put up with the cold and snow (especially this year!) but droughts are few and far between and alfalfa is usually plentiful.
So to the OP's original question, I have been worried about all of this probably longer than you have been alive.
Edited to add: did not read all posts and now I see that some have already touched on "people living and farming where they really shouldn't" already.
An aside. People continue to move to arid areas for"climate" and then insist on using water as they are used to. Take Phoenix and Las Vegas for he population growth has been exponential in the last 3 or 4 decades. And greenery follows. There are orange groves around Phoenix where there was only arid desert. They discovered the soil was extremely fertile so there began pumping water in and growing crops where they should not. And the population flooded in and the population wants grass and trees and flowers. Now that climates are returning to more ere is a REASON those areas were desert and basically uninhabited. But Man, with "his" ability to manipulate his environment, thinks he knows better and can manage this planet better than "Nature" (or God, if you will).
Edited by rodeoveteran 2014-02-19 2:39 PM
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| I have heard that the USA may import water from Canada. I don't know if it has been done or still in the works but a big water pipeline from Canada to southern USA. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 253
Location: EDGE OF INSANITY | this world makes me fear for my children (in so many different ways). People are so "right now" and "me" it scares me. |
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 Balance Beam and more...
Posts: 11511
Location: 31 lengths farms | It is hard to decide which is worse...building cities in deserts and then needing water for those cities or building cities and homes on good fertile farm ground where the water goes to washing cars and watering lawns but not to feeding a nation. And it just keeps rolling downhill from there. |
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