[ RadSafe ] USA Drought

Tue Sep 15 16:37:54 CDT 2015

A few  quick thoughts.

There was a time when CA was encouraged to be self-sufficient because of 
transportation issues (Dairy products come to mind)
Israel has water issues and has done a lot to be able to minimize water 
usage
One proffered solution was to artificially raise the price of water until 
a supply/demand equilibrium was established 
So now that we're locked in to CA agriculture, as was stated earlier maybe 
it's time for some serious thoughts about infra-structure.

BTW, I'm a kayaker and semi-outdoors type so I'm all in favor of free 
flowing streams.  On the other hand, nothing feels better after a cold day 
on the river, than a looooong warm shower. ;-)

 - - jmr

From:   "KARAM, PHILIP" <PHILIP.KARAM at nypd.org>
To:     "The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing 
List" <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>, 
Date:   09/15/2015 03:32 PM
Subject:        Re: [ RadSafe ] USA Drought
Sent by:        radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu

Water storage and utilization is certainly part of the problem. But the 
root cause is that much of California is a desert or near-desert, which 
happens to be home to several million people, several million lawns, 
industry, and a lot of crops. If people were not trying to live in and to 
farm a desert then water storage, snowpack depth, and so forth would be a 
non-issue. 

For what it's worth, California is not alone in this - Las Vegas may be 
the most egregious example, but much of the Great Plains is also 
near-desert (and, in fact, was known as the Great American Desert before 
the discovery - and exploitation - of the Ogallala Aquifer). At some point 
this aquifer is going to dry up or become unusable, which will really suck 
for the couple of million people and all of the agriculture from southern 
South Dakota, western Kansas and Oklahoma, the Texas panhandle, and 
eastern Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico - all desert areas that are 
supported by "mining" groundwater.

There was a comedy routine a few decades ago that is particularly 
relevant. The comedian (Sam Kinison I believe) was talking about a famine 
in a desert country. He pantomimed picking up a handful of sand and 
letting it dribble through his fingers while saying "See this? This is 
sand. You live in a desert. We have deserts in America too - we just don't 
live in them." (laughter)

But, alas, we do.

Andy

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [
mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Johanning, 
Jeffrey R.
Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2015 4:15 PM
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] USA Drought

As a CA resident, this does strike a bit of a nerve with me.  Our drought 
is not only self-inflicted, it is government inflicted.  It is not the 
fault of the farmers and the crops they grow, it is not the fault of the 
metropolis' population using water for whatever.  We haven't built a dam 
here in some 50 years to store water and as best I can tell, there are no 
plans for the future, just fining those who are in violation of an 
arbitrary restriction.  Saving the Delta Smelt is actually separate from 
building reservoirs but the same people are behind (or not behind, as the 
case may be) both/either of them as a solution.  Maybe the upcoming 
forecasted El Nino will help but only for a short time.

Jeff Johanning
Sr. Health Physicist V / RSO
Leidos, Inc.
858-826-9725

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [
mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Brennan, Mike 
(DOH)
Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2015 11:09
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] USA Drought

I get nervous when people use phrases like "... to save a smelt fish..." 
and "... drains into the ocean", because it often is followed by, "...so 
let' pipe the Columbia down to California where it can be used, instead of 
wasting it by letting it go into the ocean."  Fresh water flowing into 
salt water is WAY more complex than draining or wasting.  There are 
ecological, economic, political, and even geologic factors involved in 
messing with a river more than a few tens of percent.  Often the long term 
loss of messing with the flow is larger than the gain (though by the time 
that is realized it may be too late to change back).

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [
mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Amoling, Ronald
Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2015 10:32 AM
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] USA Drought

It's not all self-inflicted.  From what I've read some of it relates more 
to the water collection and storage.  The current system is designed to 
collect and use water from snow melt.  No snow, no snow melt.  They've not 
yet developed adequate methods of collecting rain/stormwater and 
collecting it in reservoirs so it pretty much runs through storm drains 
into the ocean.  I'm sure that this is a woefully inadequate 
oversimplification on my part, but the main point is that they're geared 
toward getting water from snow, not rain.

Ronald Amoling, RSO / EHS Manager
American Science and Engineering, Inc. | www.as-e.com
829 Middlesex Turnpike | Billerica, MA 01821 USA Office +1-978-495-9012 | 
Cell +1-508-728-1348 | RAmoling at as-e.com

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [
mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Dixon, John E. 
(CDC/ONDIEH/NCEH)
Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2015 8:55 AM
To: 'The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List' 
<radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] USA Drought

CA's problems may in fact be self- inflicted. 40 years of not building and 
utilizing storage reservoirs to save a smelt fish might be one reason...

John

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [
mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of S L Gawarecki
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2015 2:25 AM
To: RadSafe <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] USA Drought

There is plenty of moisture available in the atmosphere whether icecaps 
are freezing or not (and they are currently melting). The California 
drought is a result of at least a couple of problems.

   1. Changing storm tracks - in recent years a persistent high pressure
   system has developed in the Gulf of Alaska (normally under the 
influence of
   the Aleutian Low), which has diverted the jet stream, and this causes
   Pacific cyclones to bear northwards away from California then dip
   southwards in the mid-continent. Coincidentally, the Gulf of Alaska has
   warmed as much as 5 degrees above its normal seasonal averages.

   2. Winter temperatures in the Sierra Nevada are warmer, so that rain is
   increasing in proportion to snow. Snow pack is what feeds the 
reservoirs
   into late summer, and consequently the water distribution systems.

Climatologists are hopeful that a strong El Nino predicted for this year 
will restore normal storm tracks and bring more rain to California. I say 
"prepare for mudslide season."

Regards,
*Susan Gawarecki*

ph: 865-494-0102
cell:  865-604-3724
SLGawarecki at gmail.com
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