Ponce
5th May 2010, 11:48 AM
This post was part of a larger article but one that I didn't know about..... notice the 800 gallons per minute.
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The Drying Up Of The Ogallala Aquifer
Most Americans have never heard of the Ogallala Aquifer, but it is absolutely critical to food production in many areas of the United States.
The water from this massive underground lake is used to irrigate much of America's Great Plains. But it is being drained at a rate of approximately 800 gallons per minute and it is starting to dry up.
So why is that a bad thing?
Well, the Ogallala Aquifer is a gigantic underground lake that stretches from southern South Dakota all the way through northern Texas, covering approximately 174,000 square miles.
If it gets depleted, the era of "pivot irrigation" in the region will be over. That would mean that the Great Plains could quickly turn into the Great American Desert.
America could very well see a return to the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s.
Are you prepared for that?
Even if agricultural production continues to grow normally, scientists are telling us that the world is heading for a massive global food shortage. So what happens if our food production does not increase or is even reduced?
Sadly, the United States has only enough grain stored up to give about a half a loaf of bread to every man, woman and child in the United States.
How long do you think that is going to last in the event of a major emergency?
The truth is that "the good times" we have all grown up with are not going to last forever. The United States is in big trouble economically, and all of these natural disasters and environmental problems are not helping things one bit.
We are not entitled to endless wealth and prosperity just because we are Americans. In fact, we have recklessly squandered the wealth that prior generations have left for us.
But even as the economy crumbles around them, millions of Americans will remain in denial until the day they have to cook a dinner of "mouse soup" for their starving family.
=======================================
The Drying Up Of The Ogallala Aquifer
Most Americans have never heard of the Ogallala Aquifer, but it is absolutely critical to food production in many areas of the United States.
The water from this massive underground lake is used to irrigate much of America's Great Plains. But it is being drained at a rate of approximately 800 gallons per minute and it is starting to dry up.
So why is that a bad thing?
Well, the Ogallala Aquifer is a gigantic underground lake that stretches from southern South Dakota all the way through northern Texas, covering approximately 174,000 square miles.
If it gets depleted, the era of "pivot irrigation" in the region will be over. That would mean that the Great Plains could quickly turn into the Great American Desert.
America could very well see a return to the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s.
Are you prepared for that?
Even if agricultural production continues to grow normally, scientists are telling us that the world is heading for a massive global food shortage. So what happens if our food production does not increase or is even reduced?
Sadly, the United States has only enough grain stored up to give about a half a loaf of bread to every man, woman and child in the United States.
How long do you think that is going to last in the event of a major emergency?
The truth is that "the good times" we have all grown up with are not going to last forever. The United States is in big trouble economically, and all of these natural disasters and environmental problems are not helping things one bit.
We are not entitled to endless wealth and prosperity just because we are Americans. In fact, we have recklessly squandered the wealth that prior generations have left for us.
But even as the economy crumbles around them, millions of Americans will remain in denial until the day they have to cook a dinner of "mouse soup" for their starving family.