The southern US, almost coast-to-coast, remains mired in drought conditions. Comparisons to the Dust Bowl are common; one estimate has the Texas drought lasting another 10-15 years. And Texas has been “in a period of enhanced drought susceptibility” since at least the year 2000. The drought of 2007-2009 “was one of the worst” residents could remember.
In central Texas, the amount of water flowing into the lakes for 11 months of the year (Jan-Nov) was less than 10% of average.
Texas was hit by eight of the nation’s billion dollar disasters [in 2012] – the most of any state in the country. Of the eight, the three most devastating were drought, heat, and wildfires.
Is this the new normal? Some scientists think it could be:
While the worst drought since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s grips Oklahoma and Texas, scientists are warning that what we consider severe drought conditions in North America today may be normal for the continent by the mid-21st century, due to a continuously warming planet.
However, don’t count on traditional media to connect those two dots. They will, however, report losses (at least sometimes):
Economists at the Texas Agrilife Extension Service calculated in August that the drought’s cost to Texas agriculture had reached $5.2 billion.
A preliminary survey by the Texas Forest Service concludes that as many as 500 million trees have died across the state this year as a result of drought….If accurate, the number would represent up to 10 percent of the trees in Texas… the figure does not include the millions of trees lost to wildfires…
Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, director of the Texas Tech University Climate Science Center wrote in mid-August:
[T]his summer is very similar to what is projected under a +2°C global mean temperature increase. We typically average 9 days per year > 100°F in Lubbock; this year we are at 43 and counting.
But some of the damage may also be self-inflicted:
Texas is caught in the perfect storm of drought. Years of unregulated expansion and sprawl, limitless groundwater pumping, and poor conservation management practices have set up the state for disaster. Now come the effects of climate change, with increased temperatures and evaporation rates, and the result is a disaster.
What can you do? Stay informed, look for sources outside of the MSM, share the story of the drought with others. And watch how we respond. For example, Texas thinks it can build its way out of trouble:
Texas approved a somberly worded plan on Thursday that lays out where the state should spend $53 billion to cope with its water needs over the next half century, and warns that future droughts may mean not enough supply to keep up with growing demand.
The 295-page report by the Texas Water Development Board says that to avoid a potentially thirsty future, the state should implement 562 infrastructure and conservation projects that include building 26 new reservoirs as well as numerous dams, pipelines and wells — but it provides little guidance on how to pay for such infrastructure.
I think this response – man to conquer nature – is not only an artifact of the early 20th century thinking, it’s hubris. It also ignores externalities : the cost of each additional person (or business) who decides to move to Texas because of a perceived short-term improvement in today’s cost of living.
Known for gnawing at complex questions like a terrier with a bone. Digital evangelist, writer, teacher. Transplanted Southerner; teach newbies to ride motorcycles. @kegill (Twitter and Mastodon.social); wiredpen.com