There has been a 14 year drought in this part of the US and if it goes on much longer Las Vegas will be a ghost town. If you own real estate there you should get while the gettin is good. Vegas may be the next Salton Sea resort area.
•••No. I'm not going. You'll se why in the rest of these responses.
LAKE MEAD, Nev. - When you head out on Nevada's Lake Mead, the first thing you notice is a white line. That's where the water used to be.
What did this look like a decade ago?
"This was all underwater," said Pat Mulroy, the general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority. "I mean boats were everywhere. There was a whole marina here."
Mulroy said that the drought began 14 years ago. Satellite photos show the Colorado River, which feeds Lake Mead, is drying up -- so the lake is rapidly shrinking. Islands are growing, and boats are floating far from where they once were.
Lake Mead is shrinking -- and with it Las Vegas' water supply - CBS News
My prediction? I think we're on the verge of a major uptick in desalination investment generally, with big surge (the new San Diego plant will be online soon) probably coming to California over the next decade. Match that with encouraging developments in desalination efficiency, reduction in energy waste, and the application of new cutting edge materials (the most commonly cited one being graphene) and I think you have a good recipe for how developed countries will successfully tackle their water shortages.
••Israel has been working on desalination for many decades. I'm guessing© the technology has been pretty advanced. The only real barrier is the cost.
Why do I have the suspicion that Las Vegas, LA and the others in So Cal will find their water and our food prices will soar so that Hollywood and Beverly Hills can water it's lawns while casinos still out on shows with fountains and pools?
••I certainly hope so. We'll pay off whomever we have to.
I would love to see Las Vegas as a ghost town. It's already a wasteland in many ways. It might even be the source for the next zombie apocolypse.
••Gee. Thanks. Can the cats and I move in with you? Just for a few years?
Maybe, I have seen several zombie-like creatures wandering around downtown Vegas.
Actually, I'm not too worried about the zombies.
As long as they're the traditional lurching around types a la "Walking Dead" or "Night of the Living Dead".
Those guys are easy enough to dodge and outrun.
But if the zombies are like those fast, relentless ones in "World War Z".....big problems.
Maybe I should stay in Reno.
••Believe it or not, our zombie population has been shrinking. You can go hours without sighting one.
Is Las Vegas even needed any more?
At one time it was thought putting a city out of the middle of a dessert to offer legalized gambling would bring in the masses. And it did. But now you can legally gamble downtown at the local Winn-Dixie with lottery pulls.
Las Vegas saw their unique legalized gambling becoming not so unique so they attempted to seek survival by offering entertainment for family and adults. This worked for awhile but nobody can exist without water.
Las Vegas will become a larger Reno . And when was the last time you ever heard of someone going to Reno for a vacation?
••Las Vegas is already (finally) developing a new source of economic revenue. We are in the process of becoming the center for clouds. Our University has gone from utterly lame to one of the top 10.
Desalination is extremely expensive. It may provide some relief to urban Calif if they really conserve but I doubt the farmers will ever see it, that or a Calif strawberry will cost 10 bucks.
••Water is way too cheap. Once it cost 50¢ to take a shower, you'll see a big change in people's habits.
I'll also point out that Las Vegas is a great place to live. Low cost of living. Plenty of entertainment. 24/7 businesses. Plenty of parking. The city is flat, easy to develope but we are ringed by beautiful mountains. The weather is moderate, just a couple of blazing hot Summer and yes, it's a DRY heat.
Las Vegas is recovering in a healthy way. The losers moved away after the housing bust. The technology people are moving in. I went to a First Friday event recently and I was stunned by how the population has changed. So many "normal" people, nicely dressed, having fun. The changes are unbelievable to an old-timer like me.
There is no more of this lawn stuff. Almost everyone has gone to desert landscaping. I expect that once water doubles in price, there will be plenty. We don't grow crops so unlike CA, we don't really NEED water.
Now, obviously, I want all this to work out. And I think it will. Now, the CA crop issue is a lot more scary. Food is very important.
eace
