Tag Archives: california

A Mega Storm in California might cost $1 trillion & destroy a third of America’s food

Posted on October 18, 2023 by

Preface. Hurricane Katrina cost somewhere between $109 and $250 billion dollars (Amadero 2017). Estimates of hurricane Harvey range from $100 to $190 billion (Kollewe 2017, Lanktree 2017). The next California ArkStorm is likely to cost $900 billion, or even a … Continue reading →

Posted in Floods, Planetary Boundaries | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on A Mega Storm in California might cost $1 trillion & destroy a third of America’s food

The Impact of Climate Change on California: 8th Largest Economy, 40% of U.S. Shipping

Posted on August 6, 2023 by

Preface. California’s economy and population relies on one of the most extensive and costly infrastructure systems in the world. This includes thousands of miles of roads, highways and railroads, nearly 200 large water reservoirs of varying capacity, miles of canals, … Continue reading →

Posted in Electricity Infrastructure, Energy Infrastructure, Extreme Weather, Heat, Oil & Gas, Rail, Sea Level Rise, Transportation Infrastructure | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Impact of Climate Change on California: 8th Largest Economy, 40% of U.S. Shipping

Book review of “Agrarian Dreams”

Posted on September 9, 2022 by

Preface. This is a book review of Guthman’s “Agrarian Dreams.  The Paradox of Organic Farming in California”.  Since world oil production likely peaked in 2018, and renewables can’t replace fossil fuels (read my books), there’s no choice but to go … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Books, Farming & Ranching | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

USGS Groundwater Depletion study of aquifer decline in the U.S.

Posted on January 7, 2022 by

Preface. I summarize two major research papers on the state of the Ogallal below.  It and many other aquifers are depleting rapidly, and polluted from pesticides, feedlot waste, intruding salts, and other pollution. Rainfall isn’t replenishing the Ogallala. Many won’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Government study predictions, Groundwater, Peak Food, Peak Water | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Aquifer decline in California

Posted on September 17, 2021 by

Preface. On top of aquifer depletion, water shortages in California are also expected in the future as rainfall and snowfall decline and snow melts earlier. Over half of Americans rely on underground aquifers for drinking water (Glennon 2002). Seventy percent … Continue reading →

Posted in Groundwater, Peak Water | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Aquifer decline in California

Challenges to making California’s grid renewable

Posted on September 10, 2019 by

What follows is a report from the California Energy Commission. But in less bureaucratic language, this may summarize it better (Petersen 2019): “I’ve always been amazed at a strange mental disconnect that’s common among renewable power advocates. On one hand, … Continue reading →

Posted in Grid instability | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Climate change effects on hydropower in California

Posted on June 14, 2019 by

Preface. Climate change will impact California agriculture without the snow melt that allows for up to three crops to be grown a year, perhaps just one crop in the future. Not to mention the impact on the 40 million people … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy Climate Change, Hydropower | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Will California’s high-speed rail go off the tracks?

Posted on May 9, 2019 by

Preface.  In 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom said “there simply isn’t a path” for completing the project “from Sacramento to San Diego, let alone from San Francisco to L.A”, so instead he proposed building a 171-mile starter segment in the Central Valley … Continue reading →

Posted in Railroads, U.S. Congress Transportation | Tagged | 3 Comments

California’s central valley aquifers may be gone in 2030s, Ogallala 2050-2070

Posted on April 6, 2019 by

Preface. Clearly the human population isn’t going to reach 10 billion or more. California grows one-third of the nation’s food, the 10 high-plains states over the Ogallala about a quarter of the nations food, and exports a great deal of … Continue reading →

Posted in Groundwater, Peak Water, Water Infrastructure | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on California’s central valley aquifers may be gone in 2030s, Ogallala 2050-2070

Earthquakes in California could cost over $200 billion dollars

Posted on February 14, 2019 by

Preface. The figures below don’t do justice to the harm an earthquake would do.  There is $1.9 trillion dollars of property at risk from earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay Area, where a catastrophic earthquake on the Hayward Fault would … Continue reading →

Posted in Earthquakes, U.S. Congress Infrastructure | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments