Donate Bitcoin

Donate Paypal


PeakOil is You

PeakOil is You

The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby onlooker » Sun 03 Apr 2016, 12:18:46

https://meemmobile.com/stories/pakistan-water-draught/
Pakistan’s Largest City is Running Out of Water
To blame is climate change and poor infrastructure.
One woman claims they have not had water for two months.
"We are mortal beings doomed to die
User avatar
onlooker
Fission
Fission
 
Posts: 10957
Joined: Sun 10 Nov 2013, 13:49:04
Location: NY, USA

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby onlooker » Sun 03 Apr 2016, 16:37:32

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/In-Davao ... 37099.html
PHILIPPINES
In Davao, “people are hungry," one dead and 13 wounded in clashes over drought
"We are mortal beings doomed to die
User avatar
onlooker
Fission
Fission
 
Posts: 10957
Joined: Sun 10 Nov 2013, 13:49:04
Location: NY, USA

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby dohboi » Sun 03 Apr 2016, 23:30:01

Water levels along the Ganges falling fast as groundwater is over-pumped.
Potentially grave


https://twitter.com/billmckibben/status ... 0094332928

Is India facing its worst-ever water crisis?


http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35888535
User avatar
dohboi
Harmless Drudge
Harmless Drudge
 
Posts: 19990
Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 04:00:00

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby Jupidu » Mon 04 Apr 2016, 17:56:42

dohboi wrote:Palau declares state of emergency over drought


Do they have no television and no internet?

Desalination
Recent tests on four solar still designs by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in College Station, Texas, have shown that a solar still with as little as 0.7 square meter surface area can produce enough water for a person to survive.

http://www.sswm.info/content/desalination

One possible device (from link above):

Solar Distillation
Image

Or as simple as this (with sea water instead of contaminated water):

Image
Source: http://www.scienceforums.com/topic/1783 ... gineering/

It's just a matter of some wood, some glass pane, some tubes, some sealant and a sea-water pump.

And i am quite sure that El Nino didn't hit Palau for the first time.
Jupidu
Peat
Peat
 
Posts: 94
Joined: Sat 03 Sep 2005, 03:00:00

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby vtsnowedin » Mon 04 Apr 2016, 18:04:07

Jupidu wrote:
dohboi wrote:Palau declares state of emergency over drought


Do they have no television and no internet?

Desalination
Recent tests on four solar still designs by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in College Station, Texas, have shown that a solar still with as little as 0.7 square meter surface area can produce enough water for a person to survive.

http://www.sswm.info/content/desalination

One possible device (from link above):

Solar Distillation
Image

Or as simple as this (with sea water instead of contaminated water):

Image
Source: http://www.scienceforums.com/topic/1783 ... gineering/

It's just a matter of some wood, some glass pane, some tubes, some sealant and a sea-water pump.

And i am quite sure that El Nino didn't hit Palau for the first time.

The first question is there any contaminated water that can be distilled. The second question is how much do they need for the people, the sacred cows and other livestock and to irrigate their crops. Then do the math and see how much of that need can be supplied by the solar distillers that they have room and materials enough to build.
User avatar
vtsnowedin
Fusion
Fusion
 
Posts: 14897
Joined: Fri 11 Jul 2008, 03:00:00

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby Jupidu » Mon 04 Apr 2016, 18:59:39

vtsnowedin wrote:The first question is there any contaminated water that can be distilled..


There is enough sea water around the islands. They don't need to use contaminated water.

vtsnowedin wrote: The second question is how much do they need for the people, the sacred cows and other livestock and to irrigate their crops.


The people do need most probably between 3-5 Liter per day just for drinking.
Cows and other livestock do need a lot more (75 kg man = 3 Liter, 400 kg cow = 400/75 * 3 Liter = 16 Liter per day). So why not start a solar destilation plant factory?
The people in Palau as well in California should have known since last summer that a big El Nino Event is coming, so they should have been prepared in different ways (e.g. by planting drought resistent crops). Trees can spend shade and lower temperatures by transpiration. In this area with very high solar insulation trees are always a very good "tool" to enhance agrarian situations.

vtsnowedin wrote: Then do the math and see how much of that need can be supplied by the solar distillers that they have room and materials enough to build.


Houses do have roofs. Schools and gyms do have big roofs as well as factorys. How expensive is wood and glas or plastic tubes?
How expensive would it be to leave their homes? Can't they get money (credits) from World Bank, nearby Philippines, Indonesia or United States:
Palau
The government is the largest employer, relying heavily on U.S. financial assistance.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau#Economy

When it is possible to build such big bridges in Palau,

Image

then it should be possible to build many small or also big (on factory roofs) solar destilation plants.

Of course it's quite late if the well's run dry in two weeks or so, but it is possible for sure to ship in bottled water for some weeks till there are enough solar desalination plants are built.
Jupidu
Peat
Peat
 
Posts: 94
Joined: Sat 03 Sep 2005, 03:00:00

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby dohboi » Mon 04 Apr 2016, 20:20:04

What happens to these in hurricanes? (Which they get many of every year, iirc.)
User avatar
dohboi
Harmless Drudge
Harmless Drudge
 
Posts: 19990
Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 04:00:00

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby Jupidu » Tue 05 Apr 2016, 04:49:10

dohboi wrote:What happens to these in hurricanes? (Which they get many of every year, iirc.)


When they are bad designed, they will be flown away like roofs, billboards etc.

Do the people there live in bunkers?

Ah, and by the way: With such many hurricanes you can't grow anything but coconuts or grazing cows, right?
Jupidu
Peat
Peat
 
Posts: 94
Joined: Sat 03 Sep 2005, 03:00:00

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby dohboi » Tue 05 Apr 2016, 04:56:19

??

Are you being cute, or do you really not know how people live in these areas?

Traditionally, in many of the areas in the South Pacific where hurricanes are common, people live in houses made of bamboo that bend with the wind. But onlooker would be able to tell you more, since his wife is from the Philippines.

It looks like the folks on Palau have already installed at least one desalination plant (though it's not clear whether it is exactly your design). Probably more will follow:

http://www.cid.org.nz/news/access-to-cl ... residents/

Access to Clean and Safe Water a First for Palau Residents

An increased supply of clean and safe water is now accessible to citizens on Peleliu State in the Republic of Palau. A newly installed solar power generation system and salt water desalination plant on Peleliu has increased water supply from 19 litres of rainwater per day to 150 litres for approximately 450 residents.


ETA: That was 2 years ago. It looks like this company was in the process of installing another plant there (end of last list) as of last year: http://irena.org/EventDocs/T3%20Desal%2 ... 150619.pdf
User avatar
dohboi
Harmless Drudge
Harmless Drudge
 
Posts: 19990
Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 04:00:00

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby dohboi » Tue 05 Apr 2016, 09:46:12

User avatar
dohboi
Harmless Drudge
Harmless Drudge
 
Posts: 19990
Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 04:00:00

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby dohboi » Wed 06 Apr 2016, 13:05:39

http://www.scoopwhoop.com/Bundelkhand-F ... o-Survive/

Drought and Famine Stricken Farmers in India are Reduced to Selling their Blood for Money to Buy Food


As Maharashtra continues to struggle with drought, Bundelkhand in Uttar Pradesh which has been hit by three droughts in successive years, is staring at an acute famine with widespread crop loss, scarcity of drinking water and poor nutrition.

...Drought, hailstorms, unseasonal rainfall and most recently an unusually warm winter have played havoc with crop yields, making farming unviable for many.

Unemployment has soared, and locals are leaving the rural belt to work as unskilled labour in nearby urban areas. Financial assistance provided by the authorities has failed to achieve much on the ground, as it is far lower than farmers' losses.

The present situation has forced people to adopt chapati-salt as staple food


The situation has worsened to such an extent that people in the famine-hit district are dependent on roti and salt for their survival. With no income at all, pulses and vegetables are out of the reach, and they are struggling to get the basic necessities for survival.


The impact on the region, especially the poor, has been acute. From three meals a day, they are down to two. The quality of food has plummeted; the recourse to rotis of grass is an indication that they have reached the bottom of their food stocks.

Villagers are selling their blood for money

Karna, a farmer from Badgaon village revealed a chilling picture of how poverty has affected them. He says he has few options but to sell his blood for money, after persistent drought left him unable to live off his land.

"I was working as a labourer in Jhansi for survival. When my son fell ill, I had no other option but to sell my blood for his treatment.”

The hospital took almost two bottles of his blood and gave him 1,200 rupees.

For many farmers in this part of Bundelkhand, blood has become the new cash crop — a source of guaranteed income as they exhaust other ways of making ends meet.

User avatar
dohboi
Harmless Drudge
Harmless Drudge
 
Posts: 19990
Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 04:00:00

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby dohboi » Sat 09 Apr 2016, 15:28:29

Drought intensifies statewide with extreme conditions on Hawaii Island

The entire state is being impacted by the drought, but Hawaii Island is being hit the hardest. Extreme drought areas on the Leeward side of the island just popped up on Thursday.

On Oahu, brush is dry, and it’s a fire risk to properties. Just last month, firefighters battled a brush fire on the slopes of Diamond Head.

In upcountry Maui, there has been an ongoing request for a voluntary 10-percent reduction in water use.


http://khon2.com/2016/04/08/drought-int ... b-39241861
User avatar
dohboi
Harmless Drudge
Harmless Drudge
 
Posts: 19990
Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 04:00:00

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby dohboi » Thu 14 Apr 2016, 13:14:25

Climate Change Hits Hard in Zambia

Even as drought and the effects of climate change grew visible across this land, the Kariba Dam was always a steady, and seemingly limitless, source of something rare in Africa: electricity so cheap and plentiful that Zambia could export some to its neighbors.

The power generated from the Kariba — one of the world’s largest hydroelectric dams, in one of the world’s largest artificial lakes — contributed to Zambia’s political stability and helped turn its economy into one of the fastest growing on the continent.

But today, as a severe drought magnified by climate change has cut water levels to record lows, the Kariba is generating so little juice that blackouts have crippled the nation’s already hurting businesses. After a decade of being heralded as a vanguard of African growth, Zambia, in a quick, mortifying letdown, is now struggling to pay its own civil servants and has reached out to the International Monetary Fund for help.


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/13/world ... .html?_r=0


Drought has turned parts of the area behind Venezuela’s Guri dam, one of the world’s biggest, into a desert, but the government is optimistic of rain within weeks to drive the vast installation that provides the bulk of the OPEC nation’s power.


https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/dr ... s-for-rain

Hundreds of rivers have vanished in northwestern Gansu, one of the country’s driest regions. Beijing blames climate change for wreaking havoc on scarce water resources, but critics say the country’s headlong drive to build its industrial prowess and huge hydro projects are just as responsible.


https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/ch ... ched-earth

Thanks to 'Andy in SD' on rs's blog for these.

Remember that these are wonderful positive stories, because we must always spin every story into a positive narrative so we can go on feeling super chipper even as we continue to drive the world toward oblivion! :-D :-D
User avatar
dohboi
Harmless Drudge
Harmless Drudge
 
Posts: 19990
Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 04:00:00

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby dohboi » Fri 15 Apr 2016, 15:33:02

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/0 ... xEXufkrK70

El Salvador declares a drought emergency for the first time ever

El Salvador declared a water shortage emergency for the first time in its history on Thursday, citing the effects of climate change and the El Nino phenomenon, the country’s president said.

In the last four years, rainfall has decreased considerably in the Central American country, and river and water reserve levels have reached a critical state, President Salvador Sanchez Ceren said at a news conference.

In recent weeks, residents from neighborhoods on the outskirts of the capital city of San Salvador have protested because of water shortages in their communities.

Countries across Central America declared an agricultural alert last year as a result of the severe drought which has affected some 1.6 million people in the region, in particular growers of coffee, corn and beans.
User avatar
dohboi
Harmless Drudge
Harmless Drudge
 
Posts: 19990
Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 04:00:00

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby JV153 » Sat 16 Apr 2016, 00:17:57

It's getting pretty dry in south and central Finland, brown grass and vegetation - precip in February-March-1st half April at 20% of normal although locally higher. Probably similar in southern Sweden. Sudden warm burst developing in almost all of Russia (temperatures soaring 10 C in space of 5-7 days). Temperatures are surprisingly warm considering extensive snow cover and frozen lakes in Russia, north Finland, Sweden and Norway.
JV153
 

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby onlooker » Sun 17 Apr 2016, 09:03:17

http://www.vir.com.vn/over-130-oxen-die ... vince.html
Over 130 oxen die from severe drought in Vietnam’s Central Highlands province
"We are mortal beings doomed to die
User avatar
onlooker
Fission
Fission
 
Posts: 10957
Joined: Sun 10 Nov 2013, 13:49:04
Location: NY, USA

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby dohboi » Sun 17 Apr 2016, 18:06:19

Thanks for that report, ol.

Now this: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles ... /down-farm

"A cycle of drought and debt has brought great suffering to Indian farmers..."

And this:

We’re running out of water, and the world’s powers are very worried

https://www.revealnews.org/article/were ... y-worried/

Secret conversations between American diplomats show how a growing water crisis in the Middle East destabilized the region, helping spark civil wars in Syria and Yemen, and how those water shortages are spreading to the United States.

Classified U.S. cables reviewed by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting show a mounting concern by global political and business leaders that water shortages could spark unrest across the world, with dire consequences.

Many of the cables read like diary entries from an apocalyptic sci-fi novel.

“Water shortages have led desperate people to take desperate measures with equally desperate consequences”...


And:

http://thinkprogress.org/world/2016/04/ ... i-farmers/

Millions Face Starvation As Haiti’s Drought Stretches Into Its Third Year

But no one much seems to be noticing any of these. I guess the revolution may be televized, but the actual apocalypse mostly won't--it's just too depressing for most people to watch or contemplate.

Just to point out, both fracking and meat production are very water intensive.
User avatar
dohboi
Harmless Drudge
Harmless Drudge
 
Posts: 19990
Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 04:00:00

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby WildRose » Sun 17 Apr 2016, 18:22:43

It's very dry here in central Alberta. We had little snowfall this past winter and it melted fast, leaving no standing water for any length of time. Good in the way that we won't have many mosquitoes, but very bad in the way that our wildfire season is expected to be nasty this summer, what with warmer temperatures and lots of wind, so far dismal precipitation.

Below is a video and news story about a "fire tornado" just outside of Edmonton last week, in an area where I often walk with my dog. A firefighter had to escape into the river to avoid flames when the wind suddenly changed direction.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... -1.3539882
User avatar
WildRose
Heavy Crude
Heavy Crude
 
Posts: 1881
Joined: Wed 21 Jun 2006, 03:00:00

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby dohboi » Sun 17 Apr 2016, 19:21:11

Thanks for the info, WR. Are you officially in drought conditions up there, or just dry? Is there a good drought map for Canada, that you know of, that gets updated regularly?
User avatar
dohboi
Harmless Drudge
Harmless Drudge
 
Posts: 19990
Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 04:00:00

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postby dohboi » Sun 17 Apr 2016, 23:39:07

From the 'We're running out of water' article above:
...
one-third of the world’s population will be affected by fresh water scarcity by 2025,

with the situation only becoming more dire thereafter and potentially catastrophic by 2050
User avatar
dohboi
Harmless Drudge
Harmless Drudge
 
Posts: 19990
Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 04:00:00

PreviousNext

Return to Environment, Weather & Climate

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 70 guests