The worst drought in years in the western half of the United States has sparked hundreds of wildfires, has crippled thousands of farms, and has produced what could ultimately be the worst water crisis in modern American history. As you will see below, Lake Powell and Lake Mead have both dropped to dangerously low levels, and officials are warning that we may soon be looking at a substantial shortfall which would require rationing. Unfortunately, many in the eastern half of the country don’t even realize that this is happening. The mighty Colorado River once seemed to be virtually invulnerable, but now it doesn’t even run all the way to the ocean any longer. Demand for water is continually increasing as major cities in the Southwest continue to grow, and this is happening at a time when that entire region just keeps getting drier and drier. To say that we are facing a “water crisis” would be a major understatement. (Read More...)
New Mexico
National Emergency: Extreme Heat And Drought Fuel Dozens Of Explosive Wildfires In The Western United States
Firefighters all over the western part of the country are talking about an unprecedented wildfire season, and we are only in early July. It is going to get a lot hotter and a lot drier as we move deeper into the summer, and the wildfires are likely to get a whole lot worse. At this moment, more than 600,000 acres of land are on fire in America. From California to Colorado and from Alaska to Arizona, extremely violent wildfires are raging out of control as firefighters battle relentlessly to save homes and lives. Rain is desperately needed, but right now much of the Southwest is experiencing a historic drought. In fact, things have gotten so bad that some experts are already comparing this drought to the Dust Bowl conditions of the 1930s. If very high temperatures and extreme drought persist, that is going to continue to create ideal conditions for more wildfires. (Read More...)
The Best Places To Live In All 50 U.S. States
We live at a time when Americans are packing up and moving with increasing frequency. Some are moving for new opportunities, some are moving in anticipation of what is coming, and others are moving just because they are bored. As the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog and The Most Important News, I am frequently asked to give my opinion about a potential move. Of course I often don’t know what to say, because often factors that I don’t fully understand are involved in the decision. For example, someone may be moving somewhere truly horrible for a wonderful new job, or complex family relationships are precipitating a move. But there are some general principles that I share with people, and I will be sharing some of them with you in this article. (Read More...)
Why So Many Wildfires? Half The Country Is Turning Into An Intensely Hot, Bone Dry Burn Zone
Did you know that 8 of the 9 worst years for wildfires ever recorded have all been since the year 2000? The western half of the United States just keeps getting hotter and drier, and this is creating ideal conditions for wildfires. The furious wildfire that took the lives of 19 brave firefighters in Yarnell, Arizona on Sunday is just one example of this. That wildfire has already consumed more than 200 buildings in the town of Yarnell, and it now spans nearly 9,000 acres even though more than 400 firefighters are battling it. High winds, record setting heat and bone dry conditions have created a “perfect storm” that firefighters are having a very difficult time contending with. Unfortunately, scientists tell us that things may continue to get even worse for the western half of the country. Most of the territory between the Mississippi River and the west coast seems to be steadily getting drier, and that means it is rapidly being transformed into an intensely hot, bone dry burn zone. (Read More...)