Sunday, February 15, 2015

Worst Drought in 1,000 years by Vern Blossfeld

Summary: Scientists warn that parts of the U.S. are in danger of a dangerous drought, shown in recent studies of the Earth's water levels. The drought is due to global warming on water supplies in the region. The chances of the 35-year drought hitting the Southwest and central Great Plains by 2100 are above 80%. But this is only if the world stays on its current trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions, say scientists from NASA, Columbia and Cornell University. If countries were to reduce their green house emissions, the chances of the drought drop to 60 or 70 percent for the Great Plains, but will remain at 80% for the Southwest.
Analysis: This is a world issue because global warming is effecting all parts of the world. If we want to stop this drastic changing of the earth's climate, we need to put a stop to all the pollution we are contributing to the atmosphere and to the Earth. It looks as though there aren't a lot of clear solutions to the drought at this time; although water managers have been looking at the possibility of a drought, "Water demand has passed supply in some areas. Throwing thirty years of drought on top of that means that we're going to have to change the way we live out here" doesn't sound much like they have a big plan.
Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/02/150212-megadrought-southwest-water-climate-environment/

1 comment:

  1. Although this is still a growing problem, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has taken steps to limit a power plant's carbon emissions.

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