President Obama's preliminary deal with Iran is a good one for many reasons, and one of them is economic -- we simply don't have the resources to militarily impose our will on the world and take care of our needs at home at the same time. This is a lesson that we have failed to learn. Now, the chickens are coming home to roost -- California is in the midst of a drought that happens once in a thousand years (at least), with no apparent end in sight.
But while it is a major national crisis, it is also an opportunity. We have an obligation to upgrade our infrastructure to deal with the reality of man-made climate change. This will create millions of new jobs and move us along the goal toward universal employment. For starters, we must find a way to somehow bring water to California, which imposed mandatory water restrictions for the first time in history.
These megadroughts are predicted to be the norm:
There are two crucial differences between the droughts that occurred a millennium ago and modern drought events, however. The first is obvious: There are now about 38 million thirsty Californians living across the state, watering their lawns and golf courses, and irrigating crops in what is the most agriculturally productive state in the country.
The second has been clear to climate scientists for years, but is just now gaining more public recognition. We are now seeing the rise of a new, supercharged type of drought We are now seeing the rise of a new, supercharged type of drought, in which global warming-related temperature extremes combine with dry conditions to transform what would otherwise be an ordinary drought event into a far more severe event.
California's current drought kicked off in early 2012, and now encompasses the entire state as the typical dry season gets underway. Climate scientists have been examining different aspects of the drought, from the role that ocean conditions in far-flung places such as the tropical Pacific Ocean and even the Atlantic Ocean may have played in triggering it to how it falls into a broader historical context.
There are other challenges and obligations we have to take on. We have to find a way to produce the food that we lose from California should this megadrought continue. If we don't, expect astronomical food price increases caused by the lack of supply. And we have to find a way to do so that does not make a bad climate situation even worse. If done right, we could create opportunities for other parts of the country that we might not have been able to do otherwise.
The article notes that there have been megadroughts in the area before that have wiped out entire Native American civilizations before we arrived here. But obviously, the consequences, if this is not addressed, would be far worse.
Last August, the Pew Research Center asked what sort of work is left for us, given the major advent of technology. I submit that building the sort of infrastructure to mitigate California's water problems along with other infrastructure tasks will see exponential job growth in coming years.
The National Geographic notes that if all the world's ice were to melt, an event made more likely by manmade climate change, it would wipe out the entire state of Florida, most of Cuba, much of the Gulf Coast, and a chunk of California and Alaska. This means that we have an obligation to create jobs to either stop coastal flooding or relocate people to safer ground. Coastal flooding is already becoming more of a problem and storms like Hurricane Sandy could be a regular occurrence. If we do not come up with a comprehensive plan to address coastal flooding, then scenes like those depicted in Grapes of Wrath will be dwarfed as tens of millions of migrant workers will be displaced, with nowhere to go.
And on top of this, trillions of dollars worth of water infrastructure upgrades will be needed, including $1 trillion here in the US, to replace aging water systems, some of which were built in the 19th century.
Besides installing the latest irrigation technology, making critical upgrades to outdated municipal infrastructure is a driver across the globe. While electric smart grids get a lot of attention, the water grids are often far older and in worse shape. Leakage is greater than 50 percent in some areas. Kleinwort Benson sees this as another ripe area for investment, as companies come up with novel solutions to help municipalities get the most out of their assets. For example, the firm has invested in Pure Technologies, which offers a SmartBall acoustic sensor to find leaks in water systems.
Cutting-edge technology will be essential, as cash-strapped municipalities have to choose between water upgrades and other services. The total cost of infrastructure upgrades for drinking water in just the U.S. between now and 2035 is estimated at $1 trillion, according to the American Water Works Association, meaning water companies will have to work smarter.
We are at a fundamental crossroads. All of these challenges require jobs -- and there are millions of people in this country who are deemed "unemployable" or "overqualified" who would like nothing more than a chance at making a living wage and living the American Dream again. We can either do the hard work of creating universal employment for all and addressing California's water crisis and other critical infrastructure problems, or we can sit back, do nothing, and watch this country and the world slip back into the Dark Ages like we did after the Fall of Rome. We got into this mess, and this is a problem that will take all of humanity to fix.
Certain politicians in both parties would like nothing more than to scuttle Obama's deal with Iran and go to war with that country. But when bombs start to fly, it is only a matter of time before "military advisers" are needed. And when "military advisers" are deployed, it is only a matter of time before ground troops are needed. Iraq cost the taxpayers more than $2 trillion. Given the much greater difficulty in effecting a similar regime change in Iran and subduing its inhabitants (something even the Romans couldn't do), I submit that a ballpark figure to occupy Iran would be $10 trillion, with even less of a guarantee of success. I submit that $10 trillion would pay 20 million of our people a living wage at $50,000 a year and create the sort of infrastructure that we would need to mitigate the effects of California's megadrought and manmade climate change.