Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
As the climate destabilizes, by definition heretofore extreme events become more common. I live near Lock and Dam 15 on the Mississippi River where this spring saw the second-highest floor peak in recorded history and this fall has seen a dramatic drop that threatens commercial navigation of the river. Chip got pictures of me walking the riverbed beside the (misnamed) seawall in Davenport. The dry ground I stood on should have been 8' underwater and was near to 12' below the level of the spring flood.
The main channel here has to be at least 15' deep to allow continuous barge traffic - raw materials go north, the harvest flows south - which is mostly manageable down to St. Louis where the lock and dam system ends. From their south, it's 24/7 dredging and praying as commerce gets choked down and seawater begins to infiltrate.
The international science group Science X described the river this week observes"from the Great Lakes in the north to Louisiana in the south, the majestic Mississippi is a shadow of its former self."
David, it seems to me there is a leak somewhere. Someone call a plumber ! On a more serious side I do recall Old Man River running high to very high in the spring. On the other hand I can't recall many years where the water level dropped so low ! I believe more than climate change is effecting the water level. Irrigation & increased draws are also playing a part.
@Derf - well the state where the flow begins (MN) has been suffering through draught to severe draught for the past year and a half so there's that. People from states on line down from there can fill in the precipitation info from there. It helps to be aware that the western half of the US isn't fairing well water wise either.
And yet, there are still climate change deniers all around and without even more pain we will not get any meaningful action. Barge traffic will probably be going to be diverted to roads and that will have more environmental impacts and our underfunded infrastructure will get more strain.
And yet, there are still climate change deniers all around and without even more pain we will not get any meaningful action. Barge traffic will probably be going to be diverted to roads and that will have more environmental impacts and our underfunded infrastructure will get more strain.
Comments
As the climate destabilizes, by definition heretofore extreme events become more common. I live near Lock and Dam 15 on the Mississippi River where this spring saw the second-highest floor peak in recorded history and this fall has seen a dramatic drop that threatens commercial navigation of the river. Chip got pictures of me walking the riverbed beside the (misnamed) seawall in Davenport. The dry ground I stood on should have been 8' underwater and was near to 12' below the level of the spring flood.
The main channel here has to be at least 15' deep to allow continuous barge traffic - raw materials go north, the harvest flows south - which is mostly manageable down to St. Louis where the lock and dam system ends. From their south, it's 24/7 dredging and praying as commerce gets choked down and seawater begins to infiltrate.
The international science group Science X described the river this week observes"from the Great Lakes in the north to Louisiana in the south, the majestic Mississippi is a shadow of its former self."