Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Sierra Snowpack now 32% of normal for this time of year

I suppose it is a lot better than being a 10% of normal in January but 32% of normal still isn't enough water for farmers to farm this summer or fall here in this state so this likely will make all things grown (including all processed foods) much more expensive in the coming year throughout the U.S. because California is one of the few states in the U.S. that actually has 4 growing seasons a year because of the good soil and climate.

But, just like Florida will become much smaller during the next 100 years from sea level rise I believe the Sacramento Valley and San Joaquin Valley might start to feel the ocean coming nearer as well. Eventually some of the best farmland on earth in these valleys as well as the Salinas valley might be under sea water once again within a couple hundred years of sea level rise.

For example, the city of Sacramento is only 47 feet above sea level. And Salinas is only 52 feet above sea level at present. Also, in Florida one of the highest points is:

Britton Hill is the highest natural point in the state of Florida, USA, with a summit elevation of 345 feet

end partial quote from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britton_Hill

However, most of the state of Florida is under 50 feet in elevation. So, eventually it might consist of mostly islands within a couple hundred years.

If I owned property in Florida likely I would want to increase the altitude of the lands there by bringing in large boulders and increasing the height of where my house was going to be built to over 100 feet in elevation. Though it might eventually be an island, still your descendents might still want to own such an island with a house and solar array for generating electricity even if it were an island one day with a sailboat or power boat tied up outside. But likely you would need to gather rainwater for your water supplies by then too.

This same thing is going to be true of lowlands along the coasts of all the world under about 50 feet in elevation during the next 100 years. Because storms and tidal surges will greatly increase the elevation of the oceans during storms above whatever they are now.

No comments: