Climate change will hurt NM water supply

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071024/ap_on_sc/climate_study_2;_ylt=Au_Y6TA_maP3e1g1sMCRXmJrAlMA

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Researchers at New Mexico's two largest universities are painting a grim picture of New Mexico's economic and agricultural future with predictions that climate change will mean less water in the Rio Grande watershed.

New Mexico State University agricultural economics professor Brian Hurd and University of New Mexico civil engineering professor Julie Coonrod say a wide range of climate models predict warmer weather and a change in precipitation patterns in New Mexico.

The researchers said in a study released Tuesday that those changes could lead to a drop in the basin's water supply by as little as a few percent or as much as one-third. That, in turn, could result in direct and indirect losses ranging between $13 million and $115 million by 2030 and from $21 million to more than $300 million by 2080.

The researchers noted that water is used by people, plants and animals and it's used to grow food and provide economic and ecological benefits.

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We in the northwest conserve our water and won't share with the folks in the southwest.

Those folks will simply have to move to the Northwest and tolerate our nasty rainy fall and winter weather which will then entitle them to our water!

out from underneath some rural NV county or other where there's supposedly no need for it.

Places on the earth that don't have much rainfall or surface water simply can't sustain large populations and industry that uses water.

There are a lot of areas in the Rust Belt with plenty of water for people and industry, and plenty of space available for re-development.

Everyone much clean up the water after use, though.

> The researchers noted that water is used by people, plants and animals
> and it's used to grow food and provide economic and ecological benefits.

Maybe those New Mexico professors are cribbing from eight year olds ...?

:banghead: