Comments by "Michael Deierhoi" (@michaeldeierhoi4096) on "Geography By Geoff" channel.

  1. I returned to my home on the west suburban side of Cleveland a year ago May. Visiting Cleveland I found much of the city revitalized in ways that I found impressive. On the east side of the city the University Circle had grown in a way that was almost unrecognizable and I used to work in that area on and off for many years. The hospitals have expanded and the area remains one of the most concentrated culture spots in the world literally!! There are numerous high quality museums along with the world renowned Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Institute of Music, Case-Western Reserve University and an Art Institute. It is truly a cultural mecca!! Outside the city proper in the southeast is Cuyahoga Valley National Park!! How many large cities can claim a national park nearby?
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  2.  @Spamlure  Where is that water going to be transported from anyway? Not the Columbia River. That would deplete that water supply. And not east of the Rocky Mtns because that is too far and expensive to transport water. If that could have been done it then it would have been attempted by now.
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  3.  @aday1637  That is a seriously false assumption. The US has sent 40 billion in aid to Ukraine as part of a bipartisan bill. 40 billion hardly scratches the surface to pump water from east to west which would have to cross the Continental divide. It would be more realistic for the southwest to learn to live within its means for the first time. That is precisely the message at the end of this video.
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  4. That doesn't make sense to me, but it is not a good analogy because the Sahara desert does not contain a large population using water at the level present in the southwest. The Colorado river used to provide normal amounts of water but because the population grew dramatically and people thought they could use as much water as they wanted the reservoirs began to decline. The reservoirs also began to decline because of drought and warming temperatures not only Arizona, but also in Colorado which has significantly reduced the snow pack and thus the run off to the reservoirs.
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  5.  @Spamlure  Thanks for your comments. The only thing that I would question is if people were allowed more water if they paid more would leave out most people and leave the rich to take advantage of the system which would hurt everyone in the long run. I would add that if the federal gov was serious about addressing this issue then the cost wouldn't be an issue. The government has all too often run up a debt to find a war but seem averse to doing the same if there is a domestic crisis. We have a growing crisis with these reservoirs declining and we better get serious about it.
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  6. That company obviously didn't consult with the Iowa state government, but saw it as a get rich gimmick.
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  7.  @beverlywade114  Lake Mead is at 1059 ft last I heard and dead pool is 950 ft. The next restrictions will come at 1045 which could come in a couple years. Colorado has a normal snow pack this year so that will give them some reprieve, but the trend in snow pack is downward. That is the main source of water for the reservoirs.
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  8. The truth about climate change is that politicians MAY like to use it as excuse but they are extremely reluctant to do anything about it. If politicians and the public had gotten serious about climate change 30 years ago when it was proposed to Congress as a serious problem then we wouldn't be in this impending crisis in southwest now. The solutions to this current circumstance will be much more difficult for politicians and the public to face in coming years. The longer we put off doing something serious, like with these current namby pamby restrictions the harder it gets.
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  9. We here in New Mexico see that lack of growth as a plus because we don't want to see the state to become over populated like the surrounding states. People have this delusional idea that the country can keep growing and developing indefinitely, but we are already seeing the consequences of our weak efforts to limit sprawl. Declining water availability, degradation of natural areas, decline in wildlife and that is just the beginning. Unfortunately for future generations they will see the negative consequences of this expansion increasingly into formerly wild places.
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  10.  @quercus4730  The amount of water removed from the ocean for desalination even in a big project is miniscule. The bigger problem is the brine produced from the desalination process. What is to be done with millions of gallons of extremely salty water?
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  11.  @duggydugg3937  Brine in large quantities cannot be simply dumped in the ocean because it has such a high saline content thus it would be hazardous to sea life.
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  12.  @duggydugg3937  My mistake. I unconsciously put too many words in my comment not thinking about whom I was dealing with. Here's the nutshell version. Brine is too concentrated to put back in the ocean without diluting it and removing toxic metals in the brine which can be expensive. That's as short as I can make it!!
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  13.  @Spamlure  You do have some understanding why water is sent down a river basin to the ocean don't you?? For one, a minimum amount of water must flow from any hydro dam in order to spin the turbines. Second a minimum amount of water is needed in the river basin for the health of entire ecosystem which includes the river. Third, in areas where there is another dam down stream a minimum flow must be maintained because were it to stop and water kept in reservoir indefinitely the river basin below the dam would dry out. When water flows again from a dam into the river channel the dry soil would soak up much of that water.
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  14.  @Spamlure  So tell me then, how much water do you think "is needlessly poured into the ocean"? Let's start from that point.
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  15.  @RadicalTek  So then don't move there. There are thousands that will if the opportunity arises and eventually circumstances will change in aridification of the southwest or worsening of fires in the west. So try to understand it's not all about you. 🙄
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  16. I think you covered most of the key elements that led to Haiti underperforming like it has. I do think that much more attention could havd been given to the repressive policies put in place by repressive regimes supported by the US. Both democratic and republican administrations bare responsibility, but during the reagan administration it was Baby Doc Duvalier that was propped up in the same way that the reagan Admin. propped up repressive governments throughout Latin America through the 80's. Then the people democratically elected Jean Bertrand Aristiad as president in 1991. He served only a brief time before a military coup removed him from power. Was the US behind that action? Nevertheless aristide was resilient and was reelected to serve in 1996-98 and in 2001-2005 when he was again overthrown by a military coup with possible US backing. His policies to help the poor didn't sit with the hate filled republicans who bent over backwards to try and discredit him. I don't recall the religious community doing much to support Aristide through those challenging times despite Aristide being a ordained Catholic minister.
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  17. There are multiple reasons why piping water from the Great Lakes is not a realistic option. For one the cost of pumping water across the US to the southwest would be extremely high and the cost would be passed on to users which be prohibitively expensive. Then there is high expense of building a pipeline that distance of at least 1500 miles cross country. Third is even with a ten foot wide pipe it would be a drop in the bucket for the needs of the southwest. Plus I have heard that the Great Lake states wouldn't allow the water to be piped out of the region.
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  18.  @MLeibs  I have been pretty much said the same thing and more every time this silly issue comes up. I grew near Cleveland after all. Within a decade or two a lot people will start moving to the Great Lakes states because lack of water out there.
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  19.  @cherylmorris7318  If you look back through the comments on this thread you will see a few address that issue of Great Lakes water. The are numerous reasons beyond that region not allowing it to be piped away.
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  20.  @RadicalTek  What world you living in? Over 400,000 jobs were added in each of the last three months with 670 added in February. These jobs reports were well in excess of what was expected.
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  21.  @firefalcoln  The colder temperatures in NM just mean that the state isn't threatened by forest fires in winter like California is. But because of the climate warming the state is seeing worsening drought and declining precipitation resulting in higher fire risk. This played out in the worst way last year with two fires EACH burning over 300,000 acres last summer. They were the first and second largest fires in state history. The trend throughout the west is bigger more aggressive fires precisely because the climate is warming and becoming drier in the west.
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  22. Probably at least 20 years because the population and agriculture has increased dramatically since then. So even with normal snow packs in Colorado it will take quite a while to replenish the reservoirs. And that is less and less likely because the climate is warming and drought is worsening over time throughout the west.
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  23.  @artnouveau7633  You left out the Great Basin Desert which covers Nevada, most of Utah and parts of states to the north and west. All of Nevada and Utah are now in severe to exceptional levels of drought.
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  24.  @amandajamell7189  Those are everywhere in this country and will continue to proliferate.
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  25. The southwest will never get nor attempt to pipe water from the Great Lakes to the southwest for many reasons including too expensive to pump it that far, too costly to build such a pipeline, the GL states wouldn't allow it.
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  26. For one thing the impact on the environment would be a tiny fraction of the impact that Nusantera will have on the island of Borneo.
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  27. With the drought going on for the last 22 years New Mexico has seen its water availability decline. Some years it has had enough for irrigation and residential needs, but in recent years the drought was more severe resulting in a shortage of water for irrigation. Even after heavy rains last fall and early winter Elephant Butte Lake is still at only 15 %. I expect the water issues to intensify in coming years because you know climate change will have something to say on the matter.
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  28.  @wetbobspongepants  This warming climate is causing birds to move further north and migrate earlier. Here in New Mexico I have seen a dramatic decline in birds which I am out watching frequently. But insects are also in serious decline and that is directly impacted birds negatively.
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  29.  @wetbobspongepants  That's a bumper sticker I'd like on my car.
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  30.  @JimmyMon666  That may well be true. In Arizona I have read that 70% of fresh water is for agriculture which is a pretty hefty figure. The authorities will have to determine what crops can they afford to cut because they will be negative consequences somewhere down the line.
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  31. @Michael H. I can say without a doubt that such a study by the corp is complete fantasy especially because of the claim that it could fill both lakes Mead and Powell in 18 to 24 months. Even if the right conditions were present with normal runoff from a normal snow pack it would still take at least a decade to fill both lakes. And there is no way that the US could pump an equivalent amount of water in the same time period let alone two years.
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  32.  @petemorton8403  Evaporation will likely cause rain conditions, but probably not in the southwest. At least when we are in severe drought conditions. For example during this drought over the last several months I noticed there was very heavy rain in several places in the Midwest.
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  33. The economy of Indonesia is vastly different from California just as every other developing country in the world has a vastly different economy. That means your comparison of the two indicates extreme naivete.
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  34. Yes, indeed and at Miami Beach there is frequent flooding in high tides. The real estate is going to collapse there and other places due to the impact of encroaching sea water. And hurricanes are becoming stronger which Florida is seeing first hand.
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  35.  @Andrew-df1dr  Very likely true.
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  36. New Mexico is a big state, fifth largest in area, and so it is much colder in the northern part of the state, but down in Las Cruces the winters are mild with the temperature going only a little below freezing at night in winter.
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  37. What if's are only really relevant for what could happen in the future. What if's about the past are generally a waste of time because we can't change what's been done.
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  38. Not so perfect a port because it is sinking and way over populated. But then it's also true that Jakarta is a microcosm of the over population that plagues the world and is only getting worse.
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  39. The drought we are experiencing now is not because of those trees being cut 40 years ago. Climate change is the cause of this drought and increasing temperatures in the southwest because it is a global phenomena. Climate change began over 100 years ago and began accelerate in the 1970's. But especially in the last 20 years it has accelerated even more. Globally the seven warmest years on record are in the seven years!!
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  40. Give it up with denying climate change is real Mike. We are seeing the effects of our warming climate with increasing extreme weather occuring globally. You can fix the evidence for it online.
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  41. I think the framing of the title is dumb when saying why so few people live in Rhode Island. Vermont has 6 times the area of Rhode Island, but barely half the population. 628,000 vs 1.1 million! Or take New Mexico which the fifth largest state to Rhode Island which is the smallest state. NM has just twice the population of Rhode Island!! So you can see why this framing about "So few people living in RH is just dumb. I could cite many more state comparisons pointing how silly that framing is! These kinds of titles turn me off anyway. 1.1 million for a state the size of RH seems like a lot to me.
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  42.  @billhosko7723  There are records going back a hundred + years that indicate that the temperature has been gradually increasing. It's called global warming don't ya know?? And no it's not a religion it's science! Did you ever study science? The lack of science understanding is a big reason Americans are getting behind the rest of the world! New Mexico has seen a temperature rise of 2 F and Colorado the temperature has increased 3.5 F over the last 100 years. Much of that warming has been in the winter leading too much milder winters which combined with the ongoing drought has reduced snow pack in the mountains throughout the west. Less snow pack means less run off and that is a big reason that the reservoirs are in decline. The other reason for the decline in the reservoir water levels is growing population and agriculture which in Arizona takes 70 % of the water used in the state.
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  43. Technically speaking Flagstaff is not in the desert.
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  44. Oh, right the sea level rise story has only been in the news for several years now so maybe that isn't long enough for you to catch on. I have been following this issue of sea level rise for over a decade. The warming of the atmosphere because of increased atmospheric CO2 and to a lesser degree methane. CO2 has been increasing since the beginning of the industrial era over 150 years ago. During that time it has increased 50% from 280ppm to 420 ppm now. Increased atmospheric CO2 leads to more heat retained in the atmosphere and thus a warming average temperature globally. This leads to seas warming up which causes them to expand and that is the main reason for sea level rise. The other reason for sea level rise is due to the melting glaciers in Antarctica and Greenland. The warming climate also results in more extreme weather in the form of floods, heat waves, drought, hurricanes and so on. Everything I have stated is well documented which you can verify online.
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  45. It is the growing population that is the problem especially in Jakarta and eventually that will reach Nusantera. The rain forests are already a casualty of population on that island of Borneo. In fact human population growth around the globe is taking us rapidly to the Sixth Major extinction of life on earth.
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  46. I used to visit Duluth back in the 70's on the big ore boats. I have nostalgic memories of that time.
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  47. ​ @Groaznic  Thats the problem. There are far too many humans on earth. Humans and there billions of herd animals are crowding out the natural wildlife. To put it another way human beings are like a cancer that way we spread out into habitats formerly left to nature. In very few places on earth has then been any planning for the growth and development of human wherever we decide to settle down.
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  48. There are problems with that idea including the cost of the pipeline, cost of pumping the water, the law that restricts water being pumped across the international divide, and the fact that the Miss states wouldn't agree to it.
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  49. I am American and have always been shocked at the average water usage of Americans. I know I use a fraction of the average, but I also live pretty simply and that I think is part of the problem. Too many people give little thought to their wasteful habits. And there will be consequences coming down the road which I expect will be quite a shock to many people.
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  50.  @lamarswaggout2011  Yes, Cleveland is seeing a kind of rebirth in many ways. A recent visit to University Circle looked dramatically different and upgraded from what I remember 30 years ago. That area is still very impressive as having one of the highest concentrations of education, culture and medical institutions anywhere in the country.
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