No more Lake Mead?

[SgtMaj]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

Considering that the profile footprint of the earth is 15,705,369 square miles, 1% would be 157,053 square miles, or 1.005135e+008 acres. The satelite deflectors would have to be well over 100 million acres. Now there's a well thought-out plan.

Actually they would have to be less than 1km per satelite. You're not trying to totally block out the sun over 1% of the earth's surface, you're only trying to block out 1% of the sun over the entire earth's surface. Now you're probably scratching your head about how to do this, but it's really quite simple, you just position them where the solar observation satelites are, that is at the point between the sun and the earth where the gravitational pull between the two cancels each other out. That is sufficently far enough away from the earth that you will be blocking a percentage of the suns energy across the entire earth. 1% is a huge amount by the way, it only needs to be something like .0001% to be effective enough to reverse the effects over a period of time.

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

The oil serves as a natural coolant for the earths surface. We have finally removed so much of it the earth has started to heat up,thus we have global warming....Just too much of a demand for it.

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

It's all about the sacred cows. Stop eating dead cows and Lake Mead will fill back up.

But, if we let them live, there will be even more of them creating even more methane... we should therefore kill them if we want to be global warming P.C..

 

[gonefishie]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

No magic pill or device gonna rectify the situation, only conservation will. Just like our current oil situation, we just gotta conserve, conserve and conserve. If y'all look at that water level record chart, the 60's were actually lower then now.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

But, if we let them live, there will be even more of them creating even more methane... we should therefore kill them if we want to be global warming P.C..

What I meant is 80% of every drop of water in Lake Mead is used to grow cows. Reduce the demand on water by 80% and the lake will last forever.

 

[gonefishie]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

It's all about the sacred cows. Stop eating dead cows and Lake Mead will fill back up.

 

[arboldt]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

hate to tell you this but global warming will cause a ice age

I've not gotten too excited to take in the long view. The world has always been cycling through warm and cool periods, even though not to the extreme of a Jurassic warm nor major Ice Age.

1,000 years ago, the Norse settled and farmed on the SW coast of Greenland. Their coastal villages are still far up from the current Atlantic shoreline, which tells us that today's sea level is abnormally low compared to 1,000 years ago. This is referred to as the Medieval Warm Period.

Beginning around 1200 AD the world cycled to the Little Ice Age. The Greenland growing season was shortening such that about 1250 the northern / western Norse settlement disappeared, and within a couple decades the southern / eastern settlers returned to Iceland. A few, in search of their lost friends sought for them and eventually searched Hudson Bay, down rivers to Lake Winnipeg and evenutally into NW Minnesota, approx 1320 AD. Most historians believe the northern settlers assimilated into the Inuit.

The Little Ice Age lasted until the late 1800's. We have seen less snow, ice, and severe winters over the last 120 years as the globe emerges from the Little Ice Age, so of course, with very short-term memory, we cry about global warming, even though it's just returning to normal.

So, yes, if the globe cycles like the Medieval Warm Period and back to the Little Ice Age, we shouldn't be surprised at a 1500 year cycle -- and we're still on the upswing.

 

[QC]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

80% of every drop of water in Lake Mead is used to grow cows.

I had not heard that before. You're always dependable in these discussions, where 'dat info?

P.S. I didn't realise we could hide social controversy over here . .. Good idea

Edit: I think I am having a steak tonight. This thread just made me hungry . . . Doh!! If you don't think advertising works, DR just sold me a steak by telling me to stop eating cows.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

QC, the best source of information on the subject is this>> Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, by Marc Reisner.

You can find used copies on Amazon for just a few dollars. This should be required reading for everyone living west of the 100th meridian.

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

What I meant is 80% of every drop of water in Lake Mead is used to grow cows. Reduce the demand on water by 80% and the lake will last forever.

I say, reduce the demand by eating them all! What a delicious idea... mmmm, steak.

 

[v1_0]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

I say, reduce the demand by eating them all! What a delicious idea... mmmm, steak.

Well... We kinda are eating them all - even the old and sick. There's a recall on that.

 

[v1_0]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

QC, the best source of information on the subject is this>> Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, by Marc Reisner.

You can find used copies on Amazon for just a few dollars. This should be required reading for everyone living west of the 100th meridian.

You can find it online - well some of it - FREE! "http://web.archive.org/web/20030225052337/http://www.kteh.org/cadillacdesert/caddesert.html"

 

[studlymandingo]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

I must say, winter here in St Pete was more like late summer; since I have lived here (7 years) we have never had such a warm wet winter.

Regardless of global warming or cooling, it is a good idea to use resources wisely. I am harvesting rainwater for irrigation at my home, heating my water with the sun, installing a geothermal heat pump, and installing high efficiency windows and doors in my home. Why? because I really don't like high energy bills; I intend to be off the grid in the next couple of years because I would rather not pay the utility companies for something that is readily available to me for next to nothing. By doing the installs myself, the payments on the purchase of the equipment is roughly what my electric bill is now; in 7 years the payments will be over, then... no electric bills!​

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

Well the PacificNorthWest has not suffered from lack of moisture over the last 5 years and the local lakes are not dropping at all...at least around these parts. That said, thankfully we've had a slightly dryer winter this year which has been just fine by me.
That said, there has been enough moisture in the ski hills north of here (Mt. Washington) to have a base near 15' deep (about 450cm). It's some of the best snow conditions in years. I think Whistler/Blackcomb are experiencing the same thing. Not sure of the Washington state conditions but I'm sure it's similar.
That said, its a good idea to do what you can to use whatever resources you have access to intelligently. I've been thinking about adding a few rain barrels around the house as well.
I'd love to come with some sort of power generation system to reduce that cost....solar seems to have a ways to go, but I'm keeping an eye out.

BP

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

I've been thinking about adding a few rain barrels around the house as well.

Been thinking about that myself. Watering the lawn in summer costs us nearly $175 a month... and that's JUST the lawn. I found out that you can get old 55gallon barrels from Simoniz car wash... was thinking about modifying a few of them and using them as rain barrels. When it does rain it pours, and just 1 shower would probably be enough to fill em. If I could cut that bill in half, it would pay for a cheap vacation... or something for the boat.

I just had a thought... I could build them out of fiberglass and have them look like they are just a part of the house instead of sticking out like a sore thumb. Plus I could make them in almost any gallon size... within reason of course. Three layers of Roven Woving, with 3 layers of cloth in between should be enough to provide the str. to hold 100-120 gallons I would think. Of course I would probably only make them to about 70-80 gallon capacity... and I'd make, oh, say 4.. though I do have places for 5 if I wanted the extra one... I think I will do that this year... I'll start with one, and see what kind of savings I can get from it, then make the rest with the savings from the first one. This will be cool.

Power is a little less feasable as most systems don't pay off for 10-15 years. There is a photovoltaic ink now that promises to print out solar panels at pennies on the dollar of the cost for silica ones. But I have yet to see them marketed commercially, and the power inverter/exchanger would still be expensive.

 

[v1_0]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

I just had a thought... I could build them out of fiberglass and have them look like they are just a part of the house instead of sticking out like a sore thumb. Plus I could make them in almost any gallon size... within reason of course. Three layers of Roven Woving, with 3 layers of cloth in between should be enough to provide the str. to hold 100-120 gallons I would think. Of course I would probably only make them to about 70-80 gallon capacity... and I'd make, oh, say 4.. though I do have places for 5 if I wanted the extra one... I think I will do that this year... I'll start with one, and see what kind of savings I can get from it, then make the rest with the savings from the first one. This will be cool.

If you are worried about appearance, why not bury it? I've been thinking of something similar - making a cistern a little down slope from the house and piping the water into it. I'm thinking about burying it so it will be hidden...

-V

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

If you are worried about appearance, why not bury it? I've been thinking of something similar - making a cistern a little down slope from the house and piping the water into it. I'm thinking about burying it so it will be hidden...

-V

I thought about it, but then I'd have to mess with digging a huge hole in the ground, and wiring up a pump... if it's above ground I don't need a pump, just a spigot. I'm thinking of making it into a 10" x 10" box that'll run all the way up to the eves.

 

[gonefishie]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

or get yourself some bricks and cements and build a mini above ground storage tank. Whatever system your going with, make sure it's closed or it would be a mosquitoes breeding heaven.

 

[Ezrider_92356]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

a large storage tank tied into your rain gutters more than enoguh capacity to get threw the dry seasons and enough surface area to collect alot of rain fall wired to a pump to power your lawn sprinklers, flood irrigation is not effecnet. i sujest a pump/sprinkler system

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: No more Lake Mead?

Bear in mind - 1 inch of rain over an acre is equivalent to 27,154 gallons.