Drought Question

[JPS35]

In all seriousness, given California's mandate to reduce its water usage by 25%, as well as drought conditions around the world, why would we not just "mine" glaciers for their fresh water?

It seems to me that if they are melting already (whether you believe in man made global warming or not), sea levels are rising and threatening habitable land, the risk of ocean desalination, and whatever else you can think of, why not put the water to good use?

Could we not float icebergs to where they need to go, transport melted water like oil, build a "pipeline", or something else to use the resource?

 

[Ns1]

In all seriousness, given California's mandate to reduce its water usage by 25%, as well as drought conditions around the world, why would we not just "mine" glaciers for their fresh water?

It seems to me that if they are melting already (whether you believe in man made global warming or not), sea levels are rising and threatening habitable land, the risk of ocean desalination, and whatever else you can think of, why not put the water to good use?

Could we not float icebergs to where they need to go, transport melted water like oil, build a "pipeline", or something else to use the resource?

sounds prohibitively expensive.

 

[gorcorps]

You'd consume more than you get back

It'd be better to just eliminate 25% of California

 

[DrPizza]

Many many years ago, I read about towing icebergs to areas that needed the water. I'm not sure how feasible it is, or how cost effective it is. Seems that you might be able to "carve" them into relatively reasonable shapes for pushing (use of explosives).

 

[vi edit]

Simply not using is *MUCH* more cost and resource effective than trying to come up with different ways to get more. Look at Phoenix and Las Vegas. How much water is wasted watering yards, golf courses, commercial landscaping, car washes, ect there? Something like half of all water used in Phoenix is used to water yards. That's ridiculous. YOU ARE IN THE FREAKING DESERT. Plant a cactus, buy some rocks. Enjoy. Southern Cali isn't that much different. Green grass isn't natural to the area and trying to keep it that way is an enormous burden on the water system.

It's not much different than gasoline. For most people simply driving less is much better for gas savings than a hybrid would ever be.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Why not just get water from the nearest river and build a pipe line to fill up the water towrs? Most of the water from a river ends up in the sea at some point anyway. I guess it would be too expensive and water is not worth it, compared to oil.

 

[Ns1]

Why not just get water from the nearest river and build a pipe line to fill up the water towrs? Most of the water from a river ends up in the sea at some point anyway.

uhh...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Aqueduct

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_River_Aqueduct

 

[DrPizza]

http://www.fastcoexist.com/1678078/...erg-to-parched-people-half-a-world-away-video

Looks like people are still trying to work this out. A single tugboat can do it - but you have to make use of ocean currents very carefully.


(I'm skeptical of such a project being financially reasonable.)

 

[feralkid]

Why not just get water from the nearest river and build a pipe line to fill up the water towrs? Most of the water from a river ends up in the sea at some point anyway. I guess it would be too expensive and water is not worth it, compared to oil.

You went outside and smoked during your geography lessons, didn't you?

 

[vi edit]

How many useable gallons of water are there in in a large iceberg any way? It just seems like there would be a lot of air and it would melt down to be something not nearly as useful as the energy and cost of lugging it to where you want it.

 

[sportage]

Republicans would build a pipe line to transport oil, but never agree to transport water.
Besides, admitting a water emergency is next to admitting global warming.
Both a big no no for the righties.
As one said, CA has no water problem. It's all a liberal Obama sourced hoax.
Just turn on the tap. Water still comes out. So whats the big deal?

 

[Ruptga]

http://www.fastcoexist.com/1678078/...erg-to-parched-people-half-a-world-away-video

Looks like people are still trying to work this out. A single tugboat can do it - but you have to make use of ocean currents very carefully.

http://www.scidev.net/global/water/news/icebergs-africa.html

Nobody wants to finance it. It's probably wiser to install desalination plants, which California is doing.

 

[Red Squirrel]

uhh...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Aqueduct

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_River_Aqueduct

Wow so how is that not enough? If that's flowing at a constant rate that is a LOT of water. Way more water than an ice berg, which would take lot of resources to get and would be a fixed amount per trip and not a continuous stream.

 

[Ns1]

Wow so how is that not enough? If that's flowing at a constant rate that is a LOT of water. Way more water than an ice berg, which would take lot of resources to get and would be a fixed amount per trip and not a continuous stream.

and in SoCal...

also:

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of California was 38,802,500 on July 1, 2014

which is evidently more than the entire country of Canada

Being a new world country, Canada has been predisposed to be a very open society with regards to immigration, which has been the most important factor in its historical population growth. Canadians make up about 0.5% of the world's total population. An estimate in 2014 had the population at 35,344,962.

 

[mmntech]

Simply not using is *MUCH* more cost and resource effective than trying to come up with different ways to get more. Look at Phoenix and Las Vegas. How much water is wasted watering yards, golf courses, commercial landscaping, car washes, ect there? Something like half of all water used in Phoenix is used to water yards. That's ridiculous. YOU ARE IN THE FREAKING DESERT. Plant a cactus, buy some rocks. Enjoy. Southern Cali isn't that much different. Green grass isn't natural to the area and trying to keep it that way is an enormous burden on the water system.

It's not much different than gasoline. For most people simply driving less is much better for gas savings than a hybrid would ever be.

Lawns are great if say you live in England or Ireland, where emerald green turf grows naturally. Not so much in the Mojave.

They require an obscene amount of water for what you get out of them. Even here in the Great Lakes, we don't get enough rain to keep them green all season long. I don't even bother to water mine anymore. If it goes brown, it goes brown. Don't think I haven't considered just ripping it up. A couple of my neighbours have. Turned their yards into large beds filled with native plants and shrubs. Low maintenance. Just weeding and light pruning. Looks good actually.

 

[JPS35]

Clearly, some examples have been posted such as the tug boat and miles of aqueducts. Although it may be expensive to use tugs, oil tankers, etc., I would think that building pipelines, aquaducts, and canals would mitigate the one time cost of building them and maintenance. We do this now for public infrastructure at the federal, state, and local levels and it is incorporated into our taxes, levees, fees, and utility costs. What's the difference if we pay for a new hydroelectric dam, nuclear plant, refinery, wind farm, solar farm, interstates, freeways, roads, etc.? Of course some areas may pay more for it as it is more expensive to deliver, but again, we do that already.

 

[Ns1]

Clearly, some examples have been posted such as the tug boat and miles of aqueducts. Although it may be expensive to use tugs, oil tankers, etc., I would think that building pipelines, aquaducts, and canals would mitigate the one time cost of building them and maintenance. We do this now for public infrastructure at the federal, state, and local levels and it is incorporated into our taxes, levees, fees, and utility costs. What's the difference if we pay for a new hydroelectric dam, nuclear plant, refinery, wind farm, solar farm, interstates, freeways, roads, etc.? Of course some areas may pay more for it as it is more expensive to deliver, but again, we do that already.

we've already built the aqueducts. there are no reasonable sources of water left for us to build them to.

the only thing left is desalination.

 

[master_shake_]

people used to move to where water was.

now we move water to where people are.

 

[MrRamon]

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ca...-pours-mega-millions-desalination-tech-n28066

California just needs to build these. Apparently they are very expensive to run. Didn't read the article and don't want to get into politics but should def but federally funded.

 

[Ns1]

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ca...-pours-mega-millions-desalination-tech-n28066

California just needs to build these. Apparently they are very expensive to run. Didn't read the article and don't want to get into politics but should def but federally funded.

about fucking time.

i wonder how they'll fare when a 7.0 hits tho

But that dash of independence comes at a cost. The water authority is locked into a 30-year deal with the plant's developer, Poseidon Water, to purchase desalted water for about $2,000 an acre foot in 2012 dollars. That's nearly twice as expensive as the current rate for imported water and will add $5 to $7 per month to ratepayers' bills, which is about a 10 percent hike.

yeah I'd pay $5-$7 extra a month for access to clean water.

 

[drebo]

Desalination is way more useful than a $5bn train to nowhere.

I would be for a public infrastructure investment into desalination in California. I would vote yes on that measure.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

We need to reduce the world population. It's pretty simple really. We should start by killing the idiots first. I nominate the OP.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Wow so how is that not enough? If that's flowing at a constant rate that is a LOT of water. Way more water than an ice berg, which would take lot of resources to get and would be a fixed amount per trip and not a continuous stream.

Ignorant or stupid, I don't know which.

 

[Stopsignhank]

So interesting. People don't seem to understand the concept of this all. Yes the California aqueduct brings water from the lakes in the north to the south. BUT the lakes in northern California are getting low. If they run out of water, there is not water to go into the aqueduct.

Desalinization is good too. But do you all realize that 4 years ago we were having floods? By the time the desalinization platens are built the rain hopefully will come back and they won't be needed. That is what happened in Santa Barbara and their desalinization plant.

 

[IronWing]

we've already built the aqueducts. there are no reasonable sources of water left for us to build them to.

the only thing left is desalination.

The Yukon is looking better all the time. We just have to bide our time and be ready to pounce when the Canadian real estate bubble finally pops. Vancouverians will be lining up to dig the ditch for us.