Posted on 08/06/2007 6:42:30 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
How did you get a photo of my home?
Easy come, easy go.
According to Algore, global warming will raise sea levels enough that the old connection between the ocean and the original salt flats will again be reestablished. So why don’t we just all wait!
(BTW, that’s one theory about establishment of the current Black Sea — sea level rise 7-8000 years ago breached the connection between the Aegean and Black Seas causing a horrific flood and drowning settlements around the fresh water sea.)
Does that make the Salton Sea “a son of a breach”?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
No problem. Just steal more water from your neighboring states.
Actually, the Colorado River does not feed the Salton Sea. It is fed by agricultural drainage, which contains salts leached from the soil, fertilizers and pesticides. This brings salts (& other stuff) in, and evaporation takes water out. This is what is increasing the salinity.
Bringing in seawater from the Pacific - will never happen. Costs considerations aside, the pipeline would either have to cross Mexico to the Gulf - an area protected by international treaty, not to mention Mexico is not too happy because we have diverted nearly the entire Colorado River such that it does not reach the gulf anymore, plus we’re lining the canal and taking away the seepage which feeds the aquifer that sustains an ag region on the other side -— or we would have to route it to the California coast - do you think LA or San Diegans who live on the coast will really go for that?
If only it were that easy ....
We have diverted nearly the entire Colorado River and dried up the Delta. Migratory birds now use the Salton Sea because there isn’t any Colorado Delta left these days. Dry up the sea and where will the birds go?
But what the heck, who cares about some birds, anyway. Let it dry up and all those pesticides & salt & stuff that’s been floating around will cause some pretty bad dust storms.
I am not sure what should be done, but I am not convinced it should take 9 billion to do it.
Maybe to some of the shallow bays in the Sea of Cortez. Birds use a free market model when choosing breeding/feeding sites, and the Salton has not been there that long. It has always been a salt flat or transient lake.
I don’t know what to do either, and I agree that 9 billion is a bit too much.
The shallows of the Colorado Delta are about to dry up, as the lining of the All-American canal will eliminate the seepage that has been replenishing the aquifer, and the Drop 2 reservoir project will now capture all of those ‘non-storable’ flows that end up going to Mexico in excess of treaty obligations. There is no dedicated water supply for the Colorado Delta, and as the drought deepens, everyone will be squeezing every drop they can from that river. The truth is, there is just no easy answer. One of the hitches that I see that isn’t getting discussed much is that the officials down in Imperial County want a recreational lake out of the deal; and that, I think, is maybe pushing it a bit too far. That is likely why the price tag is so high. The previous $6 billion plan did not include a recreational lake ‘big’ enough for them. They think that the recreational aspect will bring tourism dollars that will help pay for the restoration as well as generate more money for the local economy. I think in this day of tight budgets, that they are asking too much, but even $6 billion was a bunch of money.
To narrow it down to one point, it would be that there just are no easy answers to this.
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