US faces worst droughts in 1,000 years, predict scientists

[n2doc]

The US south-west and the Great Plains will face decade-long droughts far worse than any experienced over the last 1,000 years because of climate change, researchers said on Thursday.

The coming drought age – caused by higher temperatures under climate change – will make it nearly impossible to carry on with current life-as-normal conditions across a vast swathe of the country.

The droughts will be far worse than the one in California – or those seen in ancient times, such as the calamity that led to the decline of the Anasazi civilizations in the 13th century, the researchers said.

“The 21st-century projections make the [previous] mega-droughts seem like quaint walks through the garden of Eden,” said Jason Smerdon, a co-author and climate scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

more
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/12/us-faces-worst-droughts-1000-years-climate-change-predict-scientists

[Octafish]

1. Desalinization on a Continental Scale

Then take it global.

[hughee99]

2. I have 5 feet of snow in my yard and no place to put any more, although

we're expected to get another 1 to 2 feet this weekend, while other parts of the country need water. This sounds like a win-win.

[Orsino]

3. Invest now in chaps and Mohawk Masters.

Water Wars coming soon to your neighborhood.

[RadiationTherapy]

4. Pay people in the Southwest to move to a wetter region.

Replace their homes with millions of solar panels. Re-claim the costs of the migration through electricity production.