Tag Archives: Lake Mead

Michael Snyder ~ 30 Facts About The Coming Water Crisis That Will Change The Lives Of Every Person On The Planet

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Economic Collapse Blog March 4 2013

The world is rapidly running out of clean water. Some of the largest lakes and rivers on the globe are being depleted at a very frightening pace, and many of the most important underground aquifers that we depend on to irrigate our crops will soon be gone. At this point, approximately 40 percent of the entire population of the planet has little or no access to clean water, and it is being projected that by 2025 two-thirds of humanity will live in “water-stressed” areas. But most Americans are not too concerned about all of this because they assume that North America has more fresh water than anyone else does. And actually they would be right about that, but the truth is that even North America is rapidly running out of water and it is going to change all of our lives. Today, the most important underground water source in America, the Ogallala Aquifer, is rapidly running dry. The most important lake in the western United States, Lake Mead, is rapidly running dry. The most important river in the western United States, the Colorado River, is rapidly running dry. Putting our heads in the sand and pretending that we are not on the verge of an absolutely horrific water crisis is not going to make it go away. Without water, you cannot grow crops, you cannot raise livestock and you cannot support modern cities. As this global water crisis gets worse, it is going to affect every single man, woman and child on the planet. I encourage you to keep reading and learn more.

The U.S. intelligence community understands what is happening. According to one shocking government report that was released last year, the global need for water will exceed the global supply of water by 40 percent by the year 2030…

This sobering message emerges from the first U.S. Intelligence Community Assessment of Global Water Security. The document predicts that by 2030 humanity’s “annual global water requirements” will exceed “current sustainable water supplies” by forty percent.

Oh, but our scientists will find a solution to our problems long before then, won’t they?

But what if they don’t?

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Richard Mills ~ U.S. Power Supply Will Be Impacted By Water Shortages

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Financial Sense | August 24 2012 | Thanks, Thomas

Electricity enables our modern life style – the degree of dependency we have built into our lives in regards to “power on demand” has raised expectations that plentiful electricity will be available to us 24/7.

“Electrical power, in the short span of two centuries, has become an indispensible part of modern day life. Our work, leisure, healthcare, economy, and livelihood depend on a constant supply of electrical power. Even a temporary stoppage of power can lead to relative chaos, monetary setbacks, and possible loss of life. Our cities live on electricity and without the customary supply from the power grid, pandemonium would break loose.” Dieselserviceandsupply.com

According to a 2008 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study the most reliable state electrical power supply in the US is interrupted only 92 minutes a year, the worst is 214 minutes – these figures don’t include power outages blamed on natural disasters.

Outages due to aging wires, pole transformers and other 1960s and 1970s infrastructure pose the greatest threat. Since 1990 US power demand has risen 25 percent, yet spending on related infrastructure has climbed only seven percent.

The United States has the world’s most advanced economy, is the world’s largest electricity consumer and rarely has sustained electricity shortages covering large areas.

Unfortunately that might soon not be the case – the United States is suffering through an extended heat wave and when combined with the worst drought since 1956 energy production across most of the nation is threatened.

Power plants are completely dependent on water for cooling, they are overheating and utilities are shutting them down or running their plants at lower capacity.

If the water levels in the rivers they use for cooling drop too low, the power plant – already overworked from the heat – won’t be able to draw in enough water and if the cooling water discharged from the plant raises already high river water temperatures above safe environmental limits a plant will be forced to shut down.

The lack of rain, and the incessant heat, has also increased the need for irrigation water for farming, meaning increasing competition between the agricultural and power generation sectors for the same water.

Burning Our Rivers: The Water Footprint of Electricity by River Network reports…

“For every gallon of residential water used in an average household, five times more is used to provide that home with electricity via hydropower turbines and fossil fuel power plants (40,000 gallons each month).

Electricity production by coal, nuclear and natural gas power plants is the fastest-growing use of freshwater in the U.S., accounting for more than about ½ of all fresh, surface water withdrawals from rivers and lakes. This is more than any other economic sector, including agriculture.”

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