CALIFORNIA DROUGHT, TILLY THE CAT, AND THE CREW AFTER BREAKFAST

POST # 161

I came across an article recently which does a pretty good job of showing in picture form what California is currently experiencing regarding the drought conditions there.

The Sacramento Bee,

19 March, 2015

Snow in California's Sierra Nevada range typically reaches its greatest depths in late March, covering peaks like Yosemite's famed Half Dome.

But this is the fourth consecutive year of drought in California. Earlier this month, state officials reported that the Sierra snowpack, which much of California relies on for water, is just five percent of its normal depth.

At Yosemite, Half Dome is generally quilted with snow by this time of year. The iconic peak stands roughly 9,000 feet tall -- and is today virtually snow free, with no big snow storms in the forecast for the remainder of the month.

These images, taken by a Yosemite Conservancy webcam, show Half Dome on 

March 19 of each year from 2011 to 2015.

March 19, 2011 - Before Drought





March 19, 2012 - First Year of Drought



March 19, 2013 - Second Year of Drought



March 17, 2014 - Third Year of Drought



March 19, 2015 - Fourth Year of Drought
]




Note: The Yosemite Conservancy uses donations to maintain this and other webcams. Go here to donate to the Conservancy. | To see time lapse movies of Half Dome going back nearly a decade, check out HalfDome.net. | March 17th photo used for 2014 due to lack of image for March 19 of that year.
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I had the good fortune of standing atop Half Dome back in the early 80's after shall we say, an interesting climb during which I thought at one point that I was going to go sliding down to the valley floor.  After summiting, I laid down on top with just my head hanging over the sheer drop and took a photo.  But that's a story for another time.  The thing is, I was there in the summer and the surrounding countryside looked very similar to the last photo in the series above.  And it's only March which means it's going to be a very dry year again in California.  In fact, here is a quote from Jay Famiglietti, senior water scientist at the  NASA Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena CA:

 

“Right now the state has only about one year of water supply left in its reservoirs, and our strategic backup supply, groundwater, is rapidly disappearing,” said Famiglietti. “We’re not just up a creek without a paddle in California, we’re losing the creek too.”

 

And just to round out the picture here is a map from the US drought monitor site:

 

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/RegionalDroughtMonitor.aspx?west

 

which shows the entire state in drought conditions.  California has a population of over 38 million, which is more than the entire population of Canada.  One can only imagine what kind of a powder keg this is going to be if the drought continues.

 

I remember back to a time in 2006 when there was a boiled water advisory issued in the city of Vancouver where I was living.  It certainly wasn't  an emergency, and yet within 24 hours people were getting into fist fights over bottled water. In more ways than one, it's shaping up to be a long hot summer in California.  And yet, life seems to go on as normal there for the moment. It might be good to revisit this story in September, and see how the Californian's are coping. 

And here is one other viewpoint with regards to the water issues that California is facing.

Get out of California while you still can! It will be America’s first “failed State” very, very soon. I am talking to all my CollapseNet friends, family and subscribers here, and I mean every word. Thirty-nine million people surrounded by hundreds of miles of mostly uninhabitable desert…think on that for a while, but not too long. 

Get your plans in place and put them in action, because this is very real and it is happening right now, albeit in what appears to be slow-motion. That will change faster every week that goes past.

If you live in California, especially in SoCal, you need to pack your shit and move while there are still enough idiots left to buy your property!

I love California, but its fate cannot be more clear. The entire continent and world economy WILL be impacted hard by California’s drawdown (or die-off, if you prefer), but if you live there right now, this is a matter of imminent survival within the coming months.

California will be the world’s most massive demonstration of climate refugees, occurring in the wealthiest and most industrialized nation, but one that STILL HAS NO MEANS to absorb even a significant fraction of the people who are and will be displaced by Liebig’s Law of the Minimum (here, water) from California in the immediate future.

Mother Nature always bats last, hits hardest, and win.
 

Perhaps this appears to be a  more extreme view,  but if the drought continues, then California is not going to be a good place to be in the not too distant future.

 

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OK, moving right along to a totally different topic, I would like to mention Tilly the cat who is one of the three, four legged creatures I am currently caring for.  Now, it's nothing against Bam Bam and Baxter the dogs because they are both very lovable critters, but I have to say that Tilly has become my favourite cat of all time, and considering the amount of cats I've know, that is really saying something.

Here are a couple of videos with my buddy, Tilly.

 

 

 

 And finally, a photo of her, snoozing on my lap.

 

 

And so with that last image uploaded, it's time to go outside and enjoy the morning sunshine with Tilly, Bam Bam and Baxter.

Well, it's almost time.  First though, here's one more video of the group, digesting their breakfast this morning.  They have a tough life.

 

 

 

Happy trails,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

 

MY FURBALL AND BONEHEAD FRIENDS IN SALAMANDER BAY

POST # 160

It seems like ages ago since I left my previous house sit, however it's only been a week.  Maybe that means that I am getting the most out of each precious moment and as a result,  the time spent here feels longer than normal.  Who knows?

After saying my final goodbye to Pippen the dog, I headed to the train station in Albury in preparation for my journey north.  The train was delayed, and while waiting, I took a few photos including this one.  These have to be the most unique bike racks that I've ever come across.  Only a dedicated bike rider could appreciate their appearance.

Eventually the train arrived and I was on my way.  The journey was suppose to be via train all the way to Central Station in Sydney, however due to track maintenance we had to change over to a bus at Gouldburn and continue from there on the highway.  I was expecting a tight connection time at Central for my train journey north to Newcastle, and with the train being delayed and the transfer to the bus, by the time we arrived at Central, it was going to be very close.  Without much trouble, I found the correct platform, but when I arrived, I was informed by the rail attendant with the twangiest of Aussie accents that, "Sorry mate, you missed it by one minute."  The next train wouldn't be leaving for another hour and a half.  Oh well, it's not like it's an unusual thing for me to be hanging out in a train station, bus station, or an airport for that matter.  I think airports are my favourite of the three.

I didn't depart Central until 9:45pm and eventually I arrived in Newcastle (Broadmeadow Station) about 20 minutes before 1am.  I had been up since 6am. Thankfully, my friend John was there to collect me and we drove back to his place.  It had been a very long day, and I was happy to see a bed.

The next morning was spent visiting with John, Linda, and other family members who had been in town for a wedding, and eventually John and his son Patrick and I drove north to my final destination, Salamander Bay. 

And this is where I now sit, typing this latest blog.  I have plenty of four legged friends to keep me company.

BAXTER

BAM BAM

TILLY

It hasn't taken very long for us to get into a comfortable routine, which begins with the morning greeting.

In addition to all this excitement,  Tilly likes to take advantage of my lap every now and again, while Baxter and Bam Bam camp out on the floor at my feet.

It's been a while since I've had the pleasure of spending time with a cat, and it's been even longer since I have found one this relaxed.  Tilly reminds me of another big black cat named Felix who lives with his other furball friends on Orcas Island in Washington state.  Tilly is his Aussie twin.

So it's a happy housesit and I am grateful for the opportunity to take care of these guys for a little while longer.  They like to be wherever I am, as can be seen in the following video.

 

 

I think that's enough for today.  Perhaps next week I'll give another methane update, but in the meantime, I'll focus on my furball and bonehead friends in Salamander Bay.
And just one more thing.  I received a link to a friend's blog in Oregon this morning, so I thought it would be nice to share it here.

http://embracingcollapse.blogspot.com.au/

Happy trails,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

A MIXED BAG

POST # 159

As I come to the end of another house/pet sit, I have a mixed bag today.  As can be seen by the graphic below, it appears that things on the methane front are really beginning to get interesting.
(Hint: The colour red in the graphic is BAD).
However, the industrial juggernaut continues, and with it, so does the increase in methane.  Looks like there's no where to run, no where to hide.

 

 

Methane levels: Code Red

The color code has changed. 

There should be no red or pink on this map if we are planning on surviving. Temperature follows the powerful greenhouse gas methane. 

Oceanographer John Church says with an allegory that the oceans are absorbing heat equivalent to 17 Hiroshima bombs a second. The oceans cannot take this indefinitely. The oceans are switching from absorbing heat to producing it . The atmospheric temperatures can be expected to increase. 

This isn't in the next thousand years. 

This is now and especially in the next four or five years. 

For the new people to the methane issue, Dr. James Hansen considers 1250 ppb as the maximum sustainable level of methane in the atmosphere. 

As you can see, 1250 ppb on the color scale is coded as yellow and light green.

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Moving right along. This past week included the date of March 11th which marks four years since the Fukushima disaster, and every day since that day, approximately 300 tons of radioactive water has continued to pour into the Pacific Ocean.  Of course, it's old news now, and if it is out of the news cycle, then everything must be ok right??  RIGHT??  Well, you might want to think twice about eating any tuna from now on.

In the meantime, the crazies in Washington DC, keep pushing for a "winnable" nuclear war against Russia. Well, if that happens, then it really is time to say goodbye.  No need to worry about your pension plan.   Apparently, the fire storm which would result from such a war would emit so much smoke high up into the atmosphere/stratosphere, that it would remain for years, cooling down the planet to such an extent that no food could grow.  I can just imagine some think tank in DC, coming up with the idea that cooling would solve the predicament of climate change. Ah, wait a minute guys, it's going to be rather difficult to keep on keeping on if there is no food.  But perhaps that detail gets overlooked in the war planning room.  Too many insane people running the show.
If the reader is interested in further research on the nuclear madness, a recent lecture sponsored by the Dr Helen Caldicott Foundation can be found here. http://totalwebcasting.com/view/?id=hcf
Plenty of good speakers, but if you want to cut to the chase, scroll down to the lecture by Dr. Steven Starr, titled, "An Unrecognized Catastrophic Extinction Event Waiting to Happen".  Grab some popcorn, sit back and have a listen.



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A package arrived this week from my sisters in Canada which included a few black and white photos from way back when.  This particular photo was taken in January 1958, just weeks prior to my third birthday.  Seems like I have my sisters to blame for teaching me how to read, and I've never stopped.  That's why I can continue to dig up information that most people don't want to look at.  I like to read.   Thanks sisters.

 

 

 

 

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And finally,  a short video which I took this morning on my final journey into town today.  Tomorrow I leave Albury and head to my next house/pet sit in a place called Salamander Bay, NSW.  Tomorrow I will bid farewell to Pippen the dog who has been my faithful companion during my time here, and prepare myself to meet the new pets, two dogs and one cat.  Who could ask for more?

 

 

 

 

 

Happy trails,

 

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

 

PS.  Happy birthday Bill

AUSSIE AUTUMN AIR

POST # 158

There was a distinct chill in the morning air yesterday, which was a welcome relief to the heat. For the first time since arriving in Australia back in November, I actually had to put on my fleece to feel comfortable.  I could even see my breath yesterday morning.  Perhaps the season is trying to tell me something?  Perhaps it's time to start thinking about heading back to the northern hemisphere in the not too distant future?

According to Aussies, the first day of Autumn is March 1st.  For some reason they don't seem to follow the precise change of the season down under.  I never could understand why.  But with the coolness in the morning air yesterday, maybe they know something I don't?

Whatever the case may be, I for one am enjoying the drop in temperature, and if it stays like this for the remainder of my time in Australia, I won't be complaining.

In just over a week from now, Pippen's owners will be returning here to Albury, and I will be heading off to my next assignment in a place called Salamander Bay, NSW, which is north of Sydney.  At this point, it is my final house sit here in Australia, however, that is subject to change.

Now, on a totally unrelated note.  Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of the "disappearance" of Malaysian airline flight MH370.  Since modern aviation began and right up until this flight went missing, the only other recorded flight to have done the same thing was when Amelia Earhart's flight over the Pacific disappeared way back in July 1937.  In this day and age, when anyone with a smart phone can be located, and when satellites can detect even the smallest of objects from space, I find it impossible to believe that something as large as a Boeing 777 could just vanish without a trace.  Do I know what happened to it?  Of course not.  Do I think that the whole story is being told?  Absolutely not. Do I spend a lot of time pondering this mystery?  No, because there are more pressing issues to think about.  In the greater scheme of things, this is just a small footnote in history as it unfolds, unless of course, you're one of the many family members left behind to wonder what happened to your loved ones.  For you, not knowing, must be quite a burden to bear.

Pippen the dog is giving me "the look".  He's suggesting that a walk would be about the best thing that we could be doing with our time, instead of sitting in front of a computer screen.  For Pippen, this is his pressing issue.  I think he's right.  Time to go enjoy some of that Aussie Autumn air down along the Murray river.