Op-Ed: About that drought nobody told you about

Climate change is propelling a range of threats to health, including droughts that have hit the yields of important food crops – Copyright ${image.metadata.node.credit} ${image.metadata.node.creator}

Were you aware that 44 per cent of the US is in major long-term drought? That’s no coincidence. Many years of total public indifference and government inaction have a lot to do with it.

The big US droughts aren’t new, and they do actually get a lot of media coverage. The subject just doesn’t get any traction. Nobody is under any pressure to do anything about it. Who needs water, anyway? You’re not told what the consequences will be.

The decades-long drought patterns that began with the super-droughts in the southwest are still going on. New Jersey is the latest state to get hit with serious drought.

There was a lot of coverage of the super droughts in media at the time. California was on severe water restrictions. The Hoover Dam was drying up, and that barely raised an eyebrow. Since then the situation with the Hoover Dam has improved a bit, but it’s still pretty iffy.

The world’s supply of freshwater is also shrinking. The US and the world now finally have something in common. It’s pretty simple, really.

No water = No food.

No food = No people.

Much more expensive water = Big hits to bottom lines.

In the US, 47 million people are in food insecurity situations. If food becomes more expensive, they’ll be significantly worse off. Water prices naturally affect food availability and volume of production.

It’s just another slow clumsy typical American disaster in progress. This drought situation has been going on for a long time. If you want appropriate musical accompaniment for these fiascos, Turkey in the Straw at 25% playback speed will do the trick.

The incoming administration, which has never mentioned any of these issues, will no doubt solve everything with a magic press release. This is a massive systemic issue, and it can’t be fixed by blaming “woke clouds” or whatever.

Maybe Americans are so used to total mismanagement at every level that whatever the current disaster may be, they assume it’s normal. In any case, it should be an interesting few years for America’s food supply. The proposed gutting of the public sector and instant loss of expertise should make agricultural production a true pinata for policy and spending.

All it needs is a little more mismanagement. Know where you can find some?

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Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.