The Core

Wow. That is extreme.

Reminds me of a Rusty Dewees (aka "The Logger") line. In a skit where he's complaining about people who move to Phoenix from Vermont and then tell you (in an airy voice) that it's not bad because it's a dry heat. He says that's BS. "How do I know? Because when it's twenty below and humid, you ain't hot."

>>fifth-largest

Discussed on the weekly Economist podcast about the US
https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2021/08/13/wildfires-soaring-temperatures-and-water-shortages-does-nature-have-the-upper-hand-in-the-american-west

Today, U.S. officials are expected to declare the first-ever water shortage from a river that serves 40 million people in the West, triggering cuts to some Arizona farmers next year amid a gripping drought.

>The Great Lakes region isn't sure it wants a bunch of Coasties and Texans moving here

Hhh, don't worry. Too damn cold! And too near Ohio.

I see more & more "don't move here" comments in the NC /r, though it is not really affecting my area. We lost 93 in my county since the last census ...a little bittersweet, but it'll help keep the area LCOL.

Climate Change In California Is Threatening The World's Top Almond Producer

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/17/1028452988/climate-change-california-drought-heat-almond-production

During the last severe drought, many farmers switched to *more* water-intensive crops.

Why? If you are the guy with the well and can pump enough water, you can grow those crops when others can't, so they're worth more. So hedge funds put millions into very deep wells so farmers could switch to crops that drank more water and made more money.

>>wells

I think I recounted that this is what was keeping me up. In 2020, I was telling everyone that I would be so relieved when Nov 5 was passed. They kept saying, "You mean November 3?" meaning election day. I said, "No, November 5, when our utility district makes the final decision on adding new customers to the water system."

In coastal CA and to some extent the Owens Valley, earthquakes are a significant threat. But for most of CA there are only two threats that matter: fire and water, and the both tend to be bad at the same time.