New U.S. Drought Portal Unveiled
by Tim McGee, Helena, MT, USA on 11. 4.07
A civilizations lifeblood is available fresh water. Drought is a stealthy natural disaster, it doesn't have the huff and puff of a hurricane, the shock of an earthquake or the terror of a tornado- but it can be just as deadly. We have been covering the devastating drought in the Southeast, as well as the fires in California, now we have a tool to get better acquainted with this silent stalker.
The U.S. government unveiled the U.S. Drought Portal last week that effectively provides a comprehensive center where anyone with an internet connection can see the current drought conditions, impacts, and forecasts. It is actually quite intuitive, and easy to use. The front row seat to drought is part of the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), created in response to the emerging impact of extended drought conditions in the U.S., and recommended by the Western Governors Association in 2004 and enacted into law in 2006.
Led by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Drought Portal is designed to be used for drought risk assessment and management.
“The U.S. Drought Portal centralizes drought information in an unprecedented manner, and paves the way for planned early warning system development pilots in select watersheds and states across the U.S.,” said Roger Pulwarty, director of the NIDIS program office located on NOAA’s campus in Boulder, Colorado.
The portal is also the spearhead of the U.S. commitment to cultivating information services for drought-risk management and adaptation internationally.
Via: NOAA :: Drought Portal
I moved to Atlanta 15 years ago. The whole time, the main topic of conversation has been that it is growing too fast for it's own good. At no point have I ever heard plans to increase the water supply for the city and surrounding area. Now, the moment has arrived and the powers that be seem surprised. Maybe because I come from the UK where this has been an issue for decades, it seems obvious to me, but with more businesses and apartment complexes watering landscaping, where do they think all this extra water is going to come from. Not to mention the more concreting of the land and removal of open land, the less land available for any rain to soak into. it now becomes storm water and is removed.
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Authors Note:
Good points. If you look at the portal, you can see that the biggest impact has been on the Southeast...although the Southwest has been in drought as well, they expected it. To my young knowledge the southeast has not really needed to think about water conservation and management- thus when it hit, it hit hard. There is a lesson in there somewhere.
One thing this map doesn't show is how the entire drought throughout Texas is gone. It was the big drought area last year. Droughts come and go. Always have and always will. No matter how many of us start riding out bicycles....but then again we can't even do that because my car puts out less carbon dioxide over 20 miles than my body does when pedaling at 10 mph for those same 20 miles. Whats a guy to do?
The CO2 argument for your car is ridiculous - how much fuel do you think was consumed to make your car vs. the bicycle. Not to mention the fuel and CO2 cost of keeping your car on the road - amazing...
According to some scientists the US was settled during a wet period. They said droughts came frequently in past history and this is just another period of droght but possibly combined with global warming. Water shortages will happen. Life will change. Why doesn't anyone address reducing world populations now at 6 billion, shortly to rise to 9 billion? What quality of life will anyone have?