3 Reasons for the Drought in the U.S.?

Click on the link below for more... Lately, I've been curious about the water situation in the western U.S. This megadrought. It's drying up lake Mead which is the largest reservoir in the U.S. A reservoir is human created lake (not natural) usually due to a damn on a river. Lake Mead is at its lowest level since 1937 when the reservoir was first filled. If it gets too low then it doesn't generate electricity and no drinking water. What the western U.S. is experiencing is a mega-drought and it's different than a normal drought. A normal drought is a dry spell, but then it gets wet again. With a megadrought it just stays dry without the wetness and this region has been experiencing this since the year 2000. A drought is caused by 3 things. Lack of snowpack Lack of soil moisture High temperatures What happens is snow falls on mountains in the winter. If not a lot of snowpack is formed on the mountain then this can create a drought. Then spring comes and the snow melts creating water that travels down the mountain to reservoirs like Lake Mead and the Colorado River. Before the reservoir or river gets the water the soil first consumes it. If the soil is "super" dry then it's going to drink a lot more of it. Also if the temperature is "super" hot then the water will evaporate and less of it will get into the river and reservoirs. All three of these factors can contribute to drought. Lastly, is the consumption and I thought lawns and golf courses were consuming all the water. The truth is 14% of water use in the west is commercial and residential you know homes and businesses. The VAST majority of water use (86%) is for the irrigation of crops. What is even more fascinating is the crop that eats the MOST water isn't even one humans eat its alfalfa. Other water-thirsty crops would be ones that feed cows such as hay. Around 32% of the water that is consumed is for cattle. You might be wondering what the U.S. is doing about this megadrought. As you can imagine they want the states that use the water to figure out how to reduce their use of it. As you can guess the states that use the water can't figure it out so the U.S. government is stepping in (like the responsible adult) to impose restrictions. To discover what areas of the U.S. Will be most impacted by the drought and 2 things you can do to prepare for the drought click on the link below or go to trustthelink.com. Bye for now.

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3 Reasons for the Drought in the U.S.? is an episode from Kevin Whitsitt by Kevin Whitsitt.

This episode is 00:03:54 long.

This episode was published on Jan 11, 2023.

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