Global warming not a US campaign issue
What you need to know:
- The truth is that whoever becomes president will be facing the reality in 2020. That is when aquifers and rivers in the southwest will start drying, according to scientists.
- Las Vegas is now having difficulties getting water from Lake Mead. So it is investing nearly $1 billion (Sh91 billion) to build a lower intake tunnel. In the meantime, farmers are being paid not to grow crops and the grass is being replaced with desert plants.
The race for the US presidency has begun and the first issue is climate change.
Last week, Senator Ted Cruz announced his candidacy. Mr Cruz is a deeply conservative Texas politician who believes a majority of the scientists are wrong about global warming.
California Governor Jerry Brown immediately tore into Cruz’s candidacy. A drought in California threatens to shatter a recovering economy.
If you follow American politics, expect more exchanges. From a historical view, though, the debate will be short.
The truth is that whoever becomes president will be facing the reality in 2020. That is when aquifers and rivers in the southwest will start drying, according to scientists.
I first noted the problem in 2007 when I drove by Lake Mead. The lake, which is the result of the Hoover Dam, feeds water to Las Vegas and mega cities downstream.
DROPPED IN DEPTH
The dam was built during the Great Depression to regulate water from the undependable Colorado River. It would ensure that there would be food and water for the desert cities.
What I saw astounded me. The lake had dropped in depth by about 100 feet. Even more concerning in Las Vegas were the fountains and waterfalls adorned casinos. Water blasted into the air every day and night. At The Venetian Hotel casino, there were canals where crewman took guests around on boats. In the suburbs, lawns were packed with sprinklers.
That August evening, near a man-made lake outside the city, an Italian opera star was serenading visitors who paid $5,000 (Sh455,000) a seat.
Las Vegas is now having difficulties getting water from Lake Mead. So it is investing nearly $1 billion (Sh91 billion) to build a lower intake tunnel. In the meantime, farmers are being paid not to grow crops and the grass is being replaced with desert plants.
But the problem is much larger than Las Vegas. By many estimates, 40 million people depend on Colorado River in the US. Besides Las Vegas, other cities include Phoenix, San Diego and Los Angeles.
Mexico is already experiencing the future. The Colorado, which once reached the Pacific Ocean, is now a sandy, dried up riverbed spanned oftentimes by meaningless bridges.
There is debate by some about what to do. Too many US voters are like those lakeside concertgoers in Las Vegas in 2007. Distracted by politics, we have yet to grasp what is happening.
