California is in one of its worst droughts, and we are no where near the end. It is predicted that if we had known how severe the drought was going to be, we could have better prepared for it, lessening its impact. Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research found that so far the drought has cost California around 30 billion dollars. In a recent study conducted by the National Science Foundation, monitoring snow melts and soil moisture aid in predicting droughts months in advance. Anjuli Bamzai supports this when stating, "Advance knowledge of a drought even a month or two ahead of time can greatly minimize the effects on society". Flash droughts have proven to be devastating to the regions they hits, and through extensive monitoring and can be prevented. For example, California's drought is partially a cause of a high pressure system off of the west coast. Using this information, one can see that California would not be getting any storms, meaning no rain. In conclusion, as we advance our methods of predicting natural disasters, we will be in turn saving money and lives.
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Within the last couple years, two parts of the world have experienced some unusually cold years. Florida and China both saw some of their lowest temperatures within recent years, altering the environment for species. It was proven that temperate wildlife tend to be able to adapt better to this altercation of weather than that of tropical wildlife. In Florida, tropical fish declined along with crocodile, while more temperate fish and alligators remained unchanged. These cold spells can likely be attributed to man made climate change for these obscure weather patterns do not just occur randomly. These spells have even taken a toll on one of Florida's largest economic factors, the fishing industry. Numerous species saw high mortality rates during the cold spells,yet increased in the years to follow. However, this was not the case for all species. Many non-native species took up to five years (and counting) to recover, while some have yet to even start. This exemplifies the need to awareness and action against man made climate change.
California is now in its 5th year of severe drought, and things are not looking up. While over the past year, we did accumulate around 12 inches of rain water (which is a high) it is still not enough to substantiate the major loss of water we have seen within previous years. The central valley is a heavily reliant on farming, which exacerbates the drought because around 80% of water goes to agriculture, meaning that if the majority of our area relies on farming, large quantities of water are required to maintain farms. The California State Water Resource Control Board want more water flow to the San Francisco Delta Bay in order to help struggling salmon and smelt populations survive. They plan to divert the water from 3 main rivers, one being the Tuolumne River. This is problematic because it diverts needed water away from local farmers. Due to the severity of the drought, many are upset with the boards proposal and are fighting back. The majority of our jobs rely on agriculture which relies on water, creating a domino effect that losses jobs, food, an money. Based off of what I have read, I disagree with re-direction of water, however, I have not adequately read into the opposing side so take my argument with a grain of salt.
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Matthew Hesse16 Years old Archives
May 2017
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