Drought in the Southeast: lessons for water management.

摘要: Long spared the persistent droughts that have plagued western United States this century, Southeast suddenly finds itself most rain-starved region of country. In face threat, policy makers and utility companies are struggling to identify sensible, sustainable options for managing region’s water. Although there currently is no immediate public health threat posed by Southeastern drought, it does point a very real situation in regions around world struggle maintain an adequate supply potable water. According Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report 2007: The Physical Science Basis, as global temperatures increase due rising atmospheric concentrations carbon dioxide, so evaporation. That, combined with cyclical could pose dire threats water supplies. By one model, published volume 78, issue 5 (2006) Journal Hydrometeorology, if warming–related precipitation changes continue apace, percentage Earth’s surface severe drought rise from current 3% 30% 2100. The has already had serious economic consequences, according National Drought Mitigation Center at University Nebraska, which estimates its Winter 2008 DroughtScape newsletter 2007 losses major field crops including corn, wheat, soybeans, cotton, hay totaled more than $1.3 billion. Cattle farmers, nursery landscape businesses, recreation tourism also been hard hit. Low lake levels forced power such Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Duke Energy North Carolina reduce electricity generation cheap, renewable hydropower substitute expensive polluting fossil fuels. same token, cooling reservoir were fall far enough, force shutdown nuclear plants. The having political consequences well, pitting downstream upstream users against each other. For example, Alabama Florida successfully sued Georgia over state plan withdrawing Lake Lanier, main source drinking Atlanta metro region. Lanier feeds Chattahoochee River, supplies towns whose flow key survival host endangered species freshwater mussels sturgeon. three states feuded since 1989 how divide water, but exacerbated problem various parties fight much-reduced