Southwest to run out of water by 2021

Two of the largest man-made reservoirs in the United States may run dry in 13 years due to climate change, scientists warn.

There is a 50 percent chance that the Lake Powell-Lake Mead system, which serves 20 million people in the Southwest, may essentially run out of water by 2021, said researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

In addition to water scarcity, scientists warn that the several million people who rely on the reservoir system for hydro-electric power may experience an “abrupt drop” in production in the next decade.

“People talk about a tipping point, but we’ve been there and done that,” researcher Tim Barnett said in a Reuters.com article.

Oil prices will continue to rise, according to industry expert

Oil prices are closing at all-time highs, as demand increases worldwide. Energy analyst Matt Simmons predicts oil prices will top $300 per barrel in the coming years.

“Demand, on the other hand, shows absolutely no sign of slowing down because we are now at $100 a barrel, which I still think is a preposterously cheap price,” Simmons said in an article at ArabianBusiness.com. “It works out at just $0.15 a cup. A cup of gas will get a car with six passengers in, with the air conditioning on and go two miles. It’s a bargain.”

Jim Hansen, an investment consultant and UW alumnus, said he’s not a fan of price predictions because if they are wrong, then people discredit the entire argument. Even so, he acknowledges that while price specifics and rates of increase are uncertain, the trajectory is headed up, not down.

“We have a better chance of seeing $300 [per] barrel than ever seeing $30 again,” Hansen wrote in an e-mail.

Spending priorities show lack of interest in mitigating climate change

“For every dollar allocated for stabilizing the climate, the government will spend $88 on achieving security by military force,” wrote research fellow Miriam Pemberton, Ph.D., in a new report titled Military vs. Climate Security published by the Institute for Policy Studies.

The ratio of spending on military security to climate security has averaged 97-to-1 over the last five years, according to the report.

The report acknowledges that while terrorism is a serious threat, climate change could threaten humanity.

[Reach columnist Aditya Ganapathiraju at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]