It's well to remember that most of the US west of the Mississippi ranges from relatively dry to very arid, to desert, to lifeless near-moonscapes. The number of people that could be supported by the land, especially in the Southwest, was always small and concentrated along the riverbanks. Tribal clusters died out with some regularity. And that's the way it would have remained, except for a bit of ingenuity that suddenly loosed two powerful forces on the area: electrical power, and an abundance of water that seemed as limitless as the sky.

. . .

The rise of Vegas is well chronicled, from a middle-of-nowhere town to the largest city founded in the 20th century and the fastest-growing in the nation – up until the 2008 housing bust. Somehow, those 8,400 souls turned into a present population of over 2 million that exists all but entirely to service the 40 million tourists who visit annually. And all this is happening in a desert that sees an average of 10 days of measurable rainfall per year, totaling about 4 inches.

In order to run all those lights, fountains, and revolving stages, Las Vegas requires 5,600 MW of electricity on a summer day. Did you notice that that's more than 2.5 times what the giant Hoover Dam can put out? Not to mention that those 42 million people need a lot of water to drink to stay properly hydrated in the 100+ degree heat. And it all comes from Lake Mead.

So what do you think is happening to the lake?

If your guess was, "it's shrinking," you're right. The combination of recent drought years in the West and rapidly escalating demand has been a dire double-whammy, reducing the lake to 40% full. Normally, the elevation of Lake Mead is 1,219 feet. Today, it's at 1,086 feet and dropping by ten feet a year (and accelerating). That's how much more water is being taken out than is being replenished.

This is science at its simplest. If your extraction of a renewable resource exceeds its ability to recharge itself, it will disappear – end of story. In the case of Lake Mead, that means going dry, an eventuality to which hydrologists assign a 50% probability in the next twelve years. That's by 2025.

Nevadans are not unaware of this. There is at the moment a frantic push to get approval for a massive pipeline project designed to bring in water from the more favored northern part of the state. Yet even if the pipeline were completed in time, and there is stiff opposition to it (and you thought only oil pipelines gave way to politics and protests), that would only resolve one issue. There's another. A big one.

Way before people run out of drinking water, something else happens: When Lake Mead falls below 1,050 feet, the Hoover Dam's turbines shut down – less than four years from now, if the current trend holds – and in Vegas the lights start going out.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

Sounds like the Cubs.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

BB have lost me in the car, when the option is a quick flick of the steering wheel away.

Meanwhile they're laughing about Chicago's impending financial collapse.

Fishman sees a more realistic scenario in which “places like Chicago start using their water supplies to woo companies.” Companies like Intel, whose water-guzzling microchip plants sit near bone-dry Phoenix. This could could have all sorts of implications for where economic growth occurs in the future — shifting, for instance, the balance of prosperity from the Sun Belt back to the Rust Belt. And it might not be too far off. Because while the average person may not think much about the future of water, says Fishman, “these huge corporations have water security on their top-five lists of critical issues.”

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

http://www.salon.com/2012/03/31/the_imp ... er_crisis/


Southwestern development as a facsimile of development back in the midwest/northeast was always a house of cards. We've got this.

Boers and Matt gave it to lil Danny pretty good there

I'm a big dumb shitlib baby

'Bout what?

I'm a big dumb shitlib baby

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

Matty and Terry gave him the why not push for all sports teams to leaven AZ.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

Matty and Terry gave him the why not push for all sports teams to leaven AZ. Why just pick on the NFL and the SB. Danny only had that the SB is portable while others are not. He also threw in CODED WORDS.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

I wonder at what point do we stop deluding ourselves that any corporate entity, least of all a sports league or even just a given franchise, is in any way, shape, or form some sort of social "leader" rather than what any other corporation is, which is a means to acquire wealth.

If it has a negative effect on their ledger, they'll "take a brave stand" ... otherwise, no.

Les Grobstein's huge hog is proof that God has a sense of humor, isn't it?

anyways, i'm trying to figure out what the state of arizona did to curious hair to warrant this offensive today.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

In a strange way that was my take. I knew without commenting on this law at all that due to pressure it would get vetoed. But I thought to myself so what if it passes. Ok so now legal to discriminate on basis of religious beliefs. Aside from some weird mom and pop shops what fucking corp is going to risk legal hassles, sales and margin to do that? None. And if they did they would be out of biz quickly I imagine? I know Nas and maybe others thought more than you think would be happy to take advantage but IDK. Would have been an interesting social experiment.

I also would find it interesting, but like you (I presume!) it's only because we'd have the luxury of (a) not having anything to do whatsoever with anything Arizona-related, and (b) not being a fruit ... so I would have indeed had an interest in seeing how it would have all shook (shaken?) out over time, but I'm not sure in the meantime that the cost would have justified the end result (which is, I think, just as likely to be inconclusive as it is to be any degree of measurable 'vindication' for those slighted), so I again presume that you, like I, are okay not knowing what might have otherwise been.

Flagstaff is weird in that it looks like it shouldn't be in AZ. Brother's GF goes to school at NAU and my cousin lived up there to escape the nuttyness of the Valley. I enjoy all the outdoors activity and elevation of Flagstaff.

Metro Phoenix is essentially just a collection of suburbs and transplants or retirees from rorthern state suburbs. Not really surprising a metro area of WASPs vote the way they do. And then of course you have the hillbillies who love tearing up the desert in lifted trucks, dirt bikes etc and shooting guns. Must say after trying it I can see why.

with no real knowledge of hill folk who live there this statement made me wonder a bit that nobody seems to have a problem with the stereotyping or assuming this was a true statement about these people but rather if that were Elmhurst Steve or chas or even RPB from a couple weeks ago making similar statements about different minorities how many people would put on their crusader caps and denounce the post, whether or not those stereotypes may indeed be true to an extent. Ill hang up and listen to your answer.

Face it if you are white and especially male you must feel shame and keep quiet. Unless you are a really smart radio guy.