Just as a point of info, California now has a severe water shortage.

Anywhere would have a severe water shortage after 4 years of less than 1/2 the usual amount of rain (each year).

The report, which was released on April 2, 2015, classifies 93 percent of California in a severe drought and 41 percent of California in an exceptional drought, the highest level of drought classification.

 

Anywhere would have a severe water shortage after 4 years of less than 1/2 the usual amount of rain (each year).

The report, which was released on April 2, 2015, classifies 93 percent of California in a severe drought and 41 percent of California in an exceptional drought, the highest level of drought classification.

California is an arid region and the state has a long history of droughts over the past 70 years.

However there was not a severe water shortage as there is today. The problem is the "Elephant In The Living Room" of open ended population growth and urban development. To make the matter a lot worse, the agricultural business has cut production of food crops in order to allow more water for ever growing cities.

It's a recipe for disaster: Cutting food production while increasing the population.

 

I'd enjoy debating this with you, @Glenn Holland, but it will turn political, we will talk past each other, some will be amused, most will be annoyed, and this thread will get closed. Look me up when you're in town and we'll do this over beer and cigars.

And, if necessary, we can take it out to the parking lot....

 

I'd enjoy debating this with you, @Glenn Holland, but it will turn political, we will talk past each other, some will be amused, most will be annoyed, and this thread will get closed. Look me up when you're in town and we'll do this over beer and cigars.

And, if necessary, we can take it out to the parking lot....

Hey thanks for the suggestion!!!

Now I can put my nuclear-tipped missiles back on standby mode.

 

Hey thanks for the suggestion!!!

Now I can put my nuclear-tipped missiles back on standby mode.

And I just reholstered my Glock.

 

California is an arid region and the state has a long history of droughts over the past 70 years.

However there was not a severe water shortage as there is today. The problem is the "Elephant In The Living Room" of open ended population growth and urban development. To make the matter a lot worse, the agricultural business has cut production of food crops in order to allow more water for ever growing cities.

It's a recipe for disaster: Cutting food production while increasing the population.

You missed my point. The average rainfall in Long Beach, California is about 12" a year, compared to Tampa Bay with 45" a year. So yes, California is classified as a desert. For the past 4 years, Long Beach, California has had below average rainfall: in 2012, 7.6"; 2013, 6.7"; 2014, 4.6"; 2015, 6.9" (with very little seasonal rain remaining).

70 years ago, the farming in the San Joaquin Valley did not require irrigation. Today, the farmers needs to drill deep wells to get enough water for their crops because the water table has dropped more than 50 feet.

Yes, the increase in population has put a strain on the water situation, but the drought is causing the difficulty. If we had average rainfall for the past 4 years, the water situation would not be dire, and the governor would not have imposed water rationing.

 

I live in another area of the western US, one I consider to be more beautiful than CA, with milder weather to boot, and USUALLY a very, very good water and rainfall situation. This summer we too are facing nearly unprecedented drought in many areas. Winter temperatures much higher than normal, and some exceeding all previous records, have caused a very, very poor snowpack in our mountains. Although our precipitation levels were a bit low at some times and specific locations, the temperature factor proved to be more troublesome by far.

I'm glad for 2 possible related effects: less californication, and changes to irrigation systems and techniques for notably better efficacy.

You and I may argue ad nauseam about global warming, but I'm far more interested in what the real experts have to say, and watching for evidence.

I find it very strange that one pointing to failures, and unanticipated societal and other indirect costs of nuclear programs including power, would call for genetic engineering. Unsettling actually.

 

I might also point out that averages as well as extremes matter not a bit. It's our ability to deal with the situations we face. Keeping records and having statistics to observe and manipulate are only a small part of the mechanisms we must utilize to survive and thrive. I'm really sick and tired of all those babbling about stat's. I always build spare capacity, redundancy, and other strengths into my stuff.

 

California is an arid region and the state has a long history of droughts over the past 70 years.

However there was not a severe water shortage as there is today. The problem is the "Elephant In The Living Room" of open ended population growth and urban development. To make the matter a lot worse, the agricultural business has cut production of food crops in order to allow more water for ever growing cities.

It's a recipe for disaster: Cutting food production while increasing the population.

There is really no shortage of water man. At least no shortage that cannot sustain each and every one of our most basic needs here in the United States. Commercial quantities may be a different matter to be sure. At any rate, if one needs enough water individually to stay alive during any given day water can be gathered quite easily. One could soak up the dew with a mere cloth from plants and beneath rocks in the early morning hours and squeeze the life sustaining liquid into a receptacle of choice. One could dig a hole in the earth and piss in the hole (and/or pick cactus or leaves or grass to throw into the hole) and then place again a receptacle of choice in the middle of said hole and drape plastic over it in order to collect the clean distilled water that evaporates if plastics haven't been entirely banned in California yet! One could take a Fresnel lens (which you can buy as book magnifiers from a local dollar store) and concentrate sunlight in order to heat up one object below an aluminum heat sink for example and place cactus or other water bearing plant material on top of the aluminum in order to produce condensation and collect it at certain optimal times in a 24 hour period. Water is quite abundant even where it doesn't seem to be. Take a look at the saguaro or the Joshua tree for example and in those arid climates if you look very closely you will see mice and all sorts of other beings who live there and thrive. That being said, I am no fan of urban development because personally I think urban development came about for other designed reasons and one out of many I happen to believe to be the destruction of the family unit. There aren't too many Walton's mountains anymore where a family stayed together and stayed put and didn't over burden the land. This happens to be an electronics forum and given that... well, if you have an area that is suitable to live and designed to sustain so many amps of usage as it were on a scale that exceeds the amps intended you end up with a blown circuit or at the very least an ineffective one! It would be like trying to run a TV from a 1.5V battery connected to a joule thief. I was born in California (Burbank to be specific) but I have no desire to go back because in my estimation using a quote I read someplace... "Professing themselves to be wise they became fools". However, if I did live there still I would personally have no shortage of water as indicated above.

 

One of the problems with water shortage is that most people in California live in apartments or condos rather than single family homes. Therefore most people are subject to communal living and they don't have any options for "Independent living".

However, if your own your digs and can modify the interior and exterior of the property, here are some simple ways to get free H2O and energy:

• Install a pipe from the roof drains to a large tank and you can have rain harvesting. The average rainfall in S.F. Cal. is about 24"/year. The average roof will catch enough to last two persons about 50% of the year or more.

• Run the discharge from the washer into another small tank or a plastic garbage can and recycle that for the next wash cycle or use it to flush the crapper.

• I am thinking about building a water/heat recycling system for a shower or tub. However, I'm trying to get a patent so I'm going to be tight lipped about the details.

• Energy harvesting by solar thermal or solar PV is another option - if you own your roof.

 

One of the problems with water shortage is that most people in California live in apartments or condos rather than single family homes. Therefore most people are subject to communal living and they don't have any options for "Independent living".

However, if your own your digs and can modify the interior and exterior of the property, here are some simple ways to get free H2O and energy:

• Install a pipe from the roof drains to a large tank and you can have rain harvesting. The average rainfall in S.F. Cal. is about 24"/year. The average roof will catch enough to last two persons about 50% of the year or more.

• Run the discharge from the washer into another small tank or a plastic garbage can and recycle that for the next wash cycle or use it to flush the crapper.

• I am thinking about building a water/heat recycling system for a shower or tub. However, I'm trying to get a patent so I'm going to be tight lipped about the details.

• Energy harvesting by solar thermal or solar PV is another option - if you own your roof.

This interests me:

"I am thinking about building a water/heat recycling system for a shower or tub. However, I'm trying to get a patent so I'm going to be tight lipped about the details."

Seems to me that using Peltier modules in a certain way may be somewhat effective in relation to turning some of the lost heat from shower or bath for example into reusable heat or electricity. Or one could utilize a pump and send the normally lost water through black pipes affixed to a roof in order to reheat it and reuse it via solar energy. At the same time it would be effective and wise to capture the water which normally goes down the drain and reuse it for drinking or cooking whatever utilizing a simple still. One could even merely use the normally lost water for gardening. I know you have probably thought of all of these things but now you've got me considering options apart from basic survival in relation to what I tend to waste daily (without meaning to) in order to do more than I currently am with the resources I pay for and utilize in a somewhat immediate and perhaps short sighted manner. Good luck on your patent by the way!

 

One of the problems with water shortage is that most people in California live in apartments or condos rather than single family homes.

...

• Install a pipe from the roof drains to a large tank and you can have rain harvesting. The average rainfall in S.F. Cal. is about 24"/year. The average roof will catch enough to last two persons about 50% of the year or more

...

There are 2 inaccurate statements in your post.
First, while driving around LA and Orange County, you will note the lack of tall buildings (except downtown LA and the center of the major cities). In fact, outside the city centers, the homes are either 2 story or ranch, depending on the area. Condos tend to be 2 story town homes (maybe 3 story if the garage is below).
Second, the average rainfall for southern California is about 12", not 24". The majority of the rain falls between November and March (maybe April). There is very little precipitation between June and October (most years, none at all). Most homes don't use gutters, the rain just runs off the roof to the ground; so if anyone wants to collect the rain, they need to install the gutters.