Reply to W Coast drought questions

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[quote=Anonymous]It's hard to say what the "near term" is because this is not a new issue.  Most of the west is arid, with just a thin line of humid coastal areas.  I grew up in the Bay Area (one of those more "humid" areas, nothing like here lol) and we were in a pretty serious drought most of the 80s. Like, you couldn't wash your car or play in sprinklers. So it's not new, and people keep moving there, and I guess scientifically it must be worse now ... but people's lived experiences in my hometown seem to be about what they were in the 80s. Lots of native plant gardens and chatting about the snow pack, but no other changes.

That's with regard to drought and water use.  The huge fires and long fire season are new.  IMO, fire will be a more immediate issue than water rationing.

The west has some really interesting options for environmentalist improvements -- solar power is amazingly effective there, there are wind power options, combustion-based heat is unnecessary in many places, and the job centers are more dispersed which can in theory lead to less driving even without telework. We're already seeing government moves in some of those areas, such as a ban on wood stoves in new construction, and mandating solar on new buildings; I assume at some point they'll have to address the nonsense of tech workers all commuting 2 hours to Mountainview. But none of that solves the water problem or the fire problem.

FWIW, I've chosen not to move my family back west because (among other things) there is too much strain on natural systems. I don't love everything about Virginia but I don't worry about watering the garden here, let alone getting caught in a wildfire. [/quote]

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