Dehydration thread

[bykfixer]

A few years ago when researching for the Vintage California Cop Light thread I was researching 'crime in California.

I learned that 500 years ago a very large portion of California was a freakin' desert.

No wonder it's over 100 degrees in summer.

Back then people figured out how to not die of thirst. I wonder how much of a role pickle juice played.

 

[knucklegary]

Temps in Death Valley the other day 127°
Heck, feels like that out my front door.

 

[kerneldrop]

Y'all should add some humidity and no wind to those temps

 

[Poppy]

A few years ago when researching for the Vintage California Cop Light thread I was researching 'crime in California.

I learned that 500 years ago a very large portion of California was a freakin' desert.
View attachment 31669
No wonder it's over 100 degrees in summer.

Back then people figured out how to not die of thirst. I wonder how much of a role pickle juice played.

Yes Mr fixer,
It is still a desert. Desert is defined in part by the amount of average annual rainfall.

If not for the Colorado river, and the underground aquifers, it would not be able to support human life. It is my understanding that the aquifers are being drained, and then they collapse upon themselves, so that they can not be refilled. We've all seen on the news how the Colorado river is drying up, and Lake Mead is becoming a puddle.

Scary scary times ahead for Californians, and all the states that feed off of the Colorado, and Mexico.

 

[knucklegary]

Y'all should add some humidity and no wind to those temps

Been there done that, wearing tshirts hang down to my ankles from the humidity.

 

[kaichu dento]

California has all the water they could ever use right alongside their incredibly long coastline; but rather than go to the expense, they'd rather steal all the cheaper water from the ever shrinking Colorado River and aquifers.

 

[jtr1962]

A few years ago when researching for the Vintage California Cop Light thread I was researching 'crime in California.

I learned that 500 years ago a very large portion of California was a freakin' desert.
View attachment 31669
No wonder it's over 100 degrees in summer.

Back then people figured out how to not die of thirst. I wonder how much of a role pickle juice played.

I think it's more likely they just avoided settling in places with climate not compatible with human life. I've learned that most indigenous people tend to avoid settling right along coastlines, for example, because they know sooner or later nature will reclaim them. Deserts just can't support large numbers of people living a hunter/gatherer lifestyle. They can't support farming at all without irrigation. As a result, you didn't have large human settlements in deserts until we developed air conditioning and large-scale irrigation.

I think of how all this has been thrown to the wind by "modern" man. Millions of people live within flood zones near coastlines. The entire southwest USA is a lesson in what not to do regarding settling in deserts. Too many people, not enough water, along with the need for large amounts of power for air conditioning just to keep people alive. The southeast has the same issue with needing AC, but at least they don't have the lack of water issues.

 

[jtr1962]

Scary scary times ahead for Californians, and all the states that feed off of the Colorado, and Mexico.

I see only two possible paths for California:

1) Massive depopulation to maybe 1800s levels.
2) Start desalinating seawater on a massive scale, add a lot more power generation. The good thing is since it's "sunny California" solar will work great. You just need large amounts of energy storage for when the sun isn't shining. And hopefully we'll have commercial fusion within a decade or two.

 

[knucklegary]

California has all the water they could ever use right alongside their incredibly long coastline; but rather than go to the expense, they'd rather steal all the cheaper water from the ever shrinking Colorado River and aquifers.

I believe CA has a desalination plant in San Diego. But like all reusable energy it's too little too late.
Most of the water Socal uses is channeled down from NorCal reservoirs (Folsom Dam) so the aristocrats can keep their huge front lawns green.

 

[Poppy]

What powers the desalination plant?

 

[kerneldrop]

What powers the desalination plant?

Tesla batteries

 

[knucklegary]

Googled but couldn't find a definitive answer. As far as I know, it's' either fossil fuel, wind mills, or reconstituted horse sh!t

 

[knucklegary]

I think you can rule out nuclear power. San Onofre power plant appropriately nicknamed Doll Parton by the size and shape of containment domes. Lol. That plant was shut down about 10yrs ago due to newly installed steam generators "failing" they blew up. Take a guess where they were built?

Btw, the surf spot San O, located in Camp Pendleton is one of the best easy going waves in CA. You'll see some strangest sea life around there. I swear, saw a two headed seal one day, and it was fighting over the same fish 🤙

 

[kaichu dento]

What powers the desalination plant?

What's close to most desalination plants that could possibly be used to generate electricity; waves?

 

[jtr1962]

What's close to most desalination plants that could possibly be used to generate electricity; waves?

And that looks more promising than even I would have thought:

How waves could power a clean energy future

Waves off the coast of the U.S. could generate 2.64 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity per year — that's about 64% of last year's total utility-scale electricity generation in the U.S. We won't need that much, but one day experts do hope that wave energy will comprise about 10-20% of our electricity mix.

 

[bykfixer]

Kinetic energy roads could be a thing.

Raising liquid intake to 3 litres a day is helping ward off the cramps. Phew!! 😎

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Hot new trend in alternative micropets?

Discovery explains how unkillable tardigrades survive without water

Scientists studying the biology of the tardigrade have filled in important new details around how the tiny aquatic creature can survive the harshest of conditions. The discovery centers on a newfound mechanism that kicks into gear as dehydration sets in, protecting cells from death due to…

newatlas.com

 

[bykfixer]

So if they live at the bottom of the ocean how did they crash land on the moon?
Or.... how do they get dehydrated if they live under water?

The newest sports drinks, "now with tardigrades protiens"....

 

[PhotonWrangler]

The newest sports drinks, "now with tardigrades protiens"....

Oh yum

 

[bykfixer]

Tastes like chicken