Posted on 02/09/2014 12:05:15 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Much like the polar vortex spiked demand and prices for natural gas in the eastern U.S., another weather phenomenon — a severe drought — is threatening cattle and milk production and food crops in the West.
It’s a threat that can last for months and year, and parched conditions have already driven up prices on milk and cattle futures.
“The hardest hit section of California is the Central Valley — ‘the supermarket to the world’ — and [it’s becoming] increasingly clear the region won’t see relief from the devastating drought anytime soon,” said Kevin Kerr, editor of CommodityConfidential.com. “Retail prices for many key agricultural commodities could jump.”
That means consumers may see higher prices for everything from beef and milk to wheat, nuts and vegetables, and it’ll take time for supplies to replenish.
Drought conditions cover more than 37% of the 48 contiguous states, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor . MDA Weather Services said about 67% of California alone is currently experiencing extreme or exceptional drought conditions.
The state’s Gov. Edmund “Jerry” Brown, Jr. declared a drought State of Emergency on Jan. 17, calling on California’s residents to voluntarily cut water consumption by 20%.
The state is “already taking steps to limit water usage, so it is likely that irrigation supplies will be limited as well,” said Kyle Tapley, senior agricultural meteorologist of weather services at MDA Information Systems LLC....
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
We got about a 1/4” of snow in the DC area. Pretty but nothing to write home about. Maybe some more snow on the way this week. Think I’ll go into the Car wash business.
Is any of the rain in California actually sinking into the ground or is it just running off? Doesn’t the drought areas have catch-basins to hold the run-off?
Does anyone in the California government even know what a “Catch Basin” is? Or am I being too optimist?
Call Herbert Hoover. There’s a dam waiting to be built in California.
new water source in north san diego county
Here’s some info on desalinization
http://www.pacinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/desalination_report3.pdf
Carlsbad Cal is building a plant which is slated to open in 2016, 16 years after the proposal was approved by the city. Administrative hearings and court processes in which environmental groups got several bites of the apple trying to shoot it down.
It will suppjy up to 10% of the county’s water.
What happens to the salt?
The desalination plant typically uses three kilograms of seawater to produce 1 kilogram of fresh water. The extracted salt dissolves in the excess sea water used in the process to form so-called brine. The brine is returned to the sea where it is diluted again in its natural medium.
Can salt be recovered?
The usual desalination processes do not provide for such recovery. Whereas they concentrate seawater 1.5 times, recovery of salt would require seawater to be concentrated ten times. Under such conditions the first crystals would appear in the brine. This would require a lot of energy and cannot be justified on an economic standpoint. Today whenever a large surface area is available close to a sunny seashore, salt pans, which make use of solar energy, are still the best method of salt production.
FYI #103
Yes it is more expensive, but what’s the alternative?
There probably is none.
Nearly all of our rain is soaking in, because the rain has been moderate and steady.
The Mediots tell us “we’re in danger of flooding” out of one side of their mouth, and “this rain is really not doing any good to relieve the drought” out of the other side.
.
Be very afraid!
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