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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Think we have it bad? Think again:
A court in India has recommended the shifting of Indian Premier League
games from the western state of Maharashtra to save water, as parts of
the state are suffering from severe drought.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35975498
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Apr 10, 2016 - 10:12am PT
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Not to put a "damper" on your rain party, DMT (nice camera work ^^^ as usual), but I was rummaging through older files just now and came on this.
It's dated 8/23, six days after the beginning of the Rim fire;
and it plainly shows the dryness of the hills north of town from where it was made on the summit of one of those small round-tops.
One week following the ignition of the biggest burn in state history.
This odd design is done with cobbles from the immediate area by some hippie freaks, pagans, or culties.
I did not find any cairns out there like the ones that the pagan Fritz and Heidi have made at their place in Choss Creek.
Brittle brown grass and old, old cobbles.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Apr 10, 2016 - 10:34am PT
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Dam, Sam!
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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May 21, 2016 - 11:08am PT
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I don't see anywhere in the media, the long-term underground deficit, estimated by JPL at 15 Trillion acre-feet. This deficit will continue to get worse, as the people who have drilled wells will use them, rather than purchase water from the State.
The drought isn't over until this deficit is erased.
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c wilmot
climber
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May 21, 2016 - 11:14am PT
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I dont see the media addressing the fact that CA de facto slave workforce is the reason that so much of our AG is located in such a relatively small area and that its because of the massive profits earned using said slave workforces that have allowed them to expand and drill ever more private wells
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zBrown
Ice climber
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May 31, 2016 - 07:49am PT
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Couldn't the farming be moved to the big white area? I'd add one more instance of a huuuge level of obliviousness, a candidate for president.
Good point about the water table, Ken M. I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere either.
There are some worldwide maps, but I can't recall where I saw them.
Very little white showing.
http://www2.ucar.edu/sites/default/files/news/2010/2030-2039wOceanLabels.jpg
Droughts are complex events that can be associated with significantly reduced precipitation, dry soils that fail to sustain crops, and reduced levels in reservoirs and other bodies of water that can imperil drinking supplies. A common measure called the Palmer Drought Severity Index classifies the strength of a drought by tracking precipitation and evaporation over time and comparing them to the usual variability one would expect at a given location.
Dai turned to results from the 22 computer models used by the IPCC in its 2007 report to gather projections about temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind speed, and Earth’s radiative balance, based on current projections of greenhouse gas emissions. He then fed the information into the Palmer model to calculate the PDSI index. A reading of +0.5 to -0.5 on the index indicates normal conditions, while a reading at or below -4 indicates extreme drought. The most index ranges from +10 to -10 for current climate conditions, although readings below -6 are exceedingly rare, even during short periods of time in small areas.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2010/10/20/206899/ncar-daidrought-under-global-warming-a-review/
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bixquite
Social climber
humboldt nation
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May 31, 2016 - 08:02am PT
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we do farm in the big white area, oh you mean food.
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
Shetville , North of Los Angeles
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Jun 12, 2016 - 06:08pm PT
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Pow on Mammoth Mt. today...sick braj...
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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And we go blithely on our way thinkin' the drought is all done.
I think not.
I believe it's a 50-50 chance we will have another fairly wet winter.
Notice how nobody's saying anything recently?
I cannot find any relevant posts anyplace on the expected cut-off of irrigation water this year here.
There were some fireworks displayed out at Lake McSwain on the Merced R. over the fourth of July holiday, however.
http://www.facebook.com/MercedIrrigationDistrict/
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rwedgee
Ice climber
CA
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Aug 10, 2016 - 12:56pm PT
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http://la.curbed.com/2016/8/10/12422000/resnick-wonderful-water-california-kern-drought
How a Los Angeles couple came to control a water empire
Whether you’re familiar with their massive agricultural holdings in the Central Valley, you may have heard the names of Stewart and Lynda Resnick. Known for their many charitable efforts, they’re the Resnicks who gave their name to LACMA’s Resnick Pavillion and UCLA’s Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital. They also use more water than absolutely anyone else in California—and that includes businesses, farms, and even the city of Los Angeles.
How is this possible? An excellent profile in Mother Jones has the full story, but here’s the gist of it. Back in 1978, the Resnicks entered the agricultural business with the purchase of some orange groves in Kern County (their initial fortune came not from agriculture but from the Teleflora flower delivery service). They later expanded their assets, buying farms on the cheap during the drought years of the late 1980s. Their company—then known as Paramount Farms, but now called the Wonderful Company—soon became the largest producer of pistachios and almonds in the world. Their many brands include Wonderful Pistachios, Halo clementines, Fiji Water, and Pom Wonderful.
Now, all that farming requires a ton of water. Fortunately for them, the Resnicks own a majority share of what’s known as the Kern Water Bank. The state spent $75 million developing this massive underground storage facility before mysteriously handing it off to Kern County officials, who then gave much of it to Westside Mutual Water Company, a private water supplier owned by the Resnicks.
In 2014, a superior court judge decided this shady series of transactions was just that—shady. He ruled that California’s Department of Water Resources hadn’t fully examined the environmental impacts of the water bank, and later ordered the Environmental Impact Review to be resubmitted.
In the meantime, the Resnicks have been going hog wild with all that water. Based on current estimates, their Central Valley crops receive more yearly water than the amount used by every single home in Los Angeles combined. Their citrus crops alone use up more water than the city of San Francisco.
Not only that, but, having also set up a huge network of deep groundwater wells, the Resnicks are water rich enough that they’ve actually been selling the increasingly precious commodity back to the state. So far, they’ve made about $30 million in the process.
Plenty of legal questions are still swirling around the ownership of the Kern Water Bank, and it’s possible that the Resnicks might soon have to cut back like all the rest of us. But amid the uncertainty, they’re still hoping to expand. Turns out, Chinese consumers can’t get enough of those California pistachios.
https://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xNRaZczfLjj5QZf1_gCxoD4c_PY=/0x5:1692x957/920x613/filters:focal(0x5:1692x957)/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/50337881/GettyImages-496194440.0.jpg
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Coach37
Social climber
Philly
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Aug 10, 2016 - 02:11pm PT
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The Guardian had a related article today, focused on Eagle Lake drying up.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/10/lake-eagle-spalding-california-climate-change
Pretty funny quote in there too, from some morons lamenting the lake drying up, but refusing to accept the obvious:
"At a picnic table outside, there was skepticism as to whether Eagle Lake was at the vanguard of a more ominous, human-influenced global shift. “I’m not an over-the-top believer that we can adjust the climate of this earth that much,” said Scott McCullough, a retired marine.
“I agree with Scott,” said Lee Crane, a semi-retired dentist from Sacramento, who was eating burgers at the other end of the table with his wife, Dottie. “You could take all the diesel stacks in the United States and let ‘em go and the earth wouldn’t know the difference, in my opinion.”
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neverwas
Mountain climber
ak
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Aug 10, 2016 - 03:28pm PT
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^ These people probably look up at the sky, see the Sun, moon, and stars, and assume there's air all the way up. Half (very roughly) of the mass of the atmosphere is in the first 3 or 4 miles of height -- there's just not much of it there! It's not hard to rationally understand that this thin layer of gasses can be affected by what is being dumped into it, but no one's accusing these folks of being rational.
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bergbryce
climber
East Bay, CA
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Aug 10, 2016 - 03:54pm PT
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I was in the Mission a few weeks ago and was thinking that the City was really in use of a good, hard rain. Sidewalks are nastolio in appearance and odor.
The CA drought is back page news now that el nino "saved us" with it's average/less than average water year. I've not seen much hype regarding this coming season which quite possibly could mean we might actually get a big year. But I'd be happy with average again.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Aug 10, 2016 - 05:30pm PT
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hey there all, say... thanks for the bump... i been wondering what's going on, etc...
thanks again...
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Aug 11, 2016 - 10:09am PT
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^ These people probably look up at the sky, see the Sun, moon, and stars, and assume there's air all the way up. Half (very roughly) of the mass of the atmosphere is in the first 3 or 4 miles of height -- there's just not much of it there! It's not hard to rationally understand that this thin layer of gasses can be affected by what is being dumped into it, but no one's accusing these folks of being rational. To use a rather impolite analogy, people like that are like monkeys looking at the stars. However, the reality is probably worse. People have the ability and access to information to educate themselves, but willfully decide not to and, despite that, accept an alternate truth of their own making. One can forgive the monkeys' their ignorance; people, not so much.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Aug 11, 2016 - 11:52am PT
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Yes, it is, Dingus.The Merced River is about at optimal swimming temp now and I managed to enjoy a swim in it for the first time in I don't know how long.
I felt like a new person after the brief examination of the bottom and a brisk crossing and re-crossing. Must be all that beet juice and soy and no coffee.
This is just below the Cedar Lodge, seen from the opposite shore. Cedar Lodge is one of the area's most-used areas, but I'll bet only a tiny percent bother to swim here, which is AOK with me.
That's right, beet juice.
And man oh man, I can't wait to see what Ma Nature and her buddy Gravity are cooking up for the Ferguson slide on Hwy 140 when the rains really return.
A while ago, within the last six months, according to John, my neighbor, who rides the YARTS bus every Friday like clockwork, there was a "fail" of the steel mesh curtain spread over the upper slide. It was meant to keep rock from rolling all the way down to the bottom, not to keep the hillside in place. The curtain had been lifted into place by choppers at enormous cost. How much do those chopper jockeys make per hour?
A section gave way and you can plainly see how the rocks treated the steel mesh, rolling it up like a cigar. NO ONE WAS BELOW WHEN IT WENT! The mesh was put in place by choppers and anchored to a cable, I guess, running from stanchion to stanchion above the slide.
God, nature is so awesome in its ability to keep us in our place, though we seem never to learn very much.
And yes, it is nice to have the Big C gone. Not a very rational man. Not one to listen to others. We're better off. RIP Chief. Frickin' dolt!
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Aug 11, 2016 - 01:20pm PT
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With the drought came the bark beetles. They have wiped out a lot of trees, 100% of some populations. Rain won't help.
Jeff Mathis, my BFF, could spend the rest of his life felling the dead trees on his 2+ acres. There is a state program that provides felling and hauling of dead trees if the parcels of various owners collectively total ten or more acres, he says. He's currently trying to enlist neighbors to come together in the Greeley Hill area where the devastation is nearly complete.
It's interesting that I saw very few dying trees near the river yesterday when we traveled to El Portal. The gray pines (bull pines) are not resistant, but the ones in the Merced Canyon have a higher rate of survival than those up on the arid slopes. This is based on my own observations only.
Ma Nature rolls along like a river, regardless of our intents and purposes.
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Coach37
Social climber
Philly
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Aug 11, 2016 - 04:17pm PT
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Interesting stuff, Timid.
Do the Ip species generally tend to be specific to one tree species, or are they opportunists? Or some species generalist/opportunists and some specialists?
I know almost zero about entomology.
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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Aug 12, 2016 - 10:48am PT
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Good read on why California water is such a clusterf$k;
http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_30235421/california-drought-san-luis-reservoir-at-lowest-level
Farmers versus fish. The quandry. Blue's solution? scrap the multi-billion dollar "bullet-train" that nobody will use, and start building more water storage in the high/mid-high country. Like Lake Shasta, New Melones, and Don Pedro. I think New Molenes is the newest. Only about 25 years old I think. I remember fishing it when it was 3 years old, small bass, but has grown into a great recreation area, and more importantly, a great storage area off one of our main rivers.
Let's make California great again.
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