the parched Ogallala aquifer
DENVER (AP) — The draining of a massive aquifer that underlies
portions of eight states in the central U.S. is drying up streams,
causing fish to disappear and threatening the livelihood of farmers who
rely on it for their crops.
Water levels in the Ogallala aquifer have been dropping for decades
as irrigators pump water faster than rainfall can recharge it.
An analysis of federal data found the Ogallala aquifer shrank twice
as fast over the past six years compared with the previous 60, The
Denver Post reports. ...
Also known as the High Plains Aquifer, the Ogallala underlies 175,000
square miles (453,000 square kilometers), including parts of Colorado,
Wyoming Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas.
That’s one of the primary agricultural regions of the U.S., producing
$35 billion in crops annually.
One can only imagine what will happen when all of that food production loss will hit the tables where we dine. But our imagination is helped by a good many dystopian sci-fi stories.
ReplyDeleteParaphrasing olcharlie, "what will happen when all of that food produced disappears?"
ReplyDeleteThe fact that this is news is pathetic. This should have been well understood and planned for. I am sure the science is already there.
Make me want to shout:
"Didn't this occur to anyone?"
"If someone did know this, what did you do about it?
"What happened?"
"Entire corporate boards officers need to be locked up!"
It also looks like extreme inadequate journalism from the reporter and his editors.
This is really bad:
"If all pumping stopped immediately, it would still take hundreds of years for rain-fed streams and rivers to recharge the aquifer, Gido said."