Reminds me of the ruins of an ancient Egyptian or Persian temple.
Fitting, I suppose, as Arizona is most likely going to run out of water and become a blasted wasteland in the somewhat near future.
This is in "Paradise Valley", where it already tops 110 degrees in the summer, and it rains only 10 inches a year, compared to the national average of 40 inches of rainfall, and the average US city receiving 26 inches of snow alone.
For some ungodly reason people are willing to pay anywhere from $1 to $10+ million for houses there. Maybe they're emulating the pharaohs by spending vast fortunes on their future tombs, which will stand lifeless and preserved for thousands of years in the empty desert expanse?
Phoenix is the main draw for most folks I talk to, and by all acounts nice enough to live in.
But the city is quickly running out water, because it has vastly outgrown all local resources and a huge amount of water is brought in from the Colorado River - which is itself struggling, and being increasingly tapped into by seven different states all increasingly thirsty for more water in the face of ever dryer and ever hotter climate patterns in the region.
Unless things start dramatically trending toward greater rainfall on a consistant basis, the area is going to become pretty much unliveable within a couple decades. People might try to stay, but that would require constructing all sorts of infrastructure to bring a new supply of water in from even further away.
Also worth noting, a large part of the reason Phoenix has generally milder weather than much of the rest of the state is because all that water being brought in has an evaporative cooling effect. Once it dries up, temperatures are going to soar.
Yes, all this is true; I hope not to be here in five, let alone ten, years. You should know, though, that Phoenix's climate is definitely not milder than the rest of southern Arizona -- mild spots exist around canals and golf courses, but that's not nearly enough to affect the rest of the metro area. Temperatures are in line with the rest of the desert; with roughly four weeks of highs at or over 110° there isn't much soaring left. That said, I assume there will be enough water here twenty years down the road, but even with extreme conservation measures -- which will be necessary -- it will be many times more expensive than it is now.
Reminds me of the ruins of an ancient Egyptian or Persian temple.
ReplyDeleteFitting, I suppose, as Arizona is most likely going to run out of water and become a blasted wasteland in the somewhat near future.
This is in "Paradise Valley", where it already tops 110 degrees in the summer, and it rains only 10 inches a year, compared to the national average of 40 inches of rainfall, and the average US city receiving 26 inches of snow alone.
For some ungodly reason people are willing to pay anywhere from $1 to $10+ million for houses there. Maybe they're emulating the pharaohs by spending vast fortunes on their future tombs, which will stand lifeless and preserved for thousands of years in the empty desert expanse?
I live in Phoenix; nothing like Stone court Villa, unfortunately. It's very nice for 6 months a year (autumn/spring -- there is no winter).
ReplyDelete@karlG
ReplyDeletePhoenix is the main draw for most folks I talk to, and by all acounts nice enough to live in.
But the city is quickly running out water, because it has vastly outgrown all local resources and a huge amount of water is brought in from the Colorado River - which is itself struggling, and being increasingly tapped into by seven different states all increasingly thirsty for more water in the face of ever dryer and ever hotter climate patterns in the region.
Unless things start dramatically trending toward greater rainfall on a consistant basis, the area is going to become pretty much unliveable within a couple decades. People might try to stay, but that would require constructing all sorts of infrastructure to bring a new supply of water in from even further away.
Also worth noting, a large part of the reason Phoenix has generally milder weather than much of the rest of the state is because all that water being brought in has an evaporative cooling effect. Once it dries up, temperatures are going to soar.
Yes, all this is true; I hope not to be here in five, let alone ten, years.
ReplyDeleteYou should know, though, that Phoenix's climate is definitely not milder than the rest of southern Arizona -- mild spots exist around canals and golf courses, but that's not nearly enough to affect the rest of the metro area.
Temperatures are in line with the rest of the desert; with roughly four weeks of highs at or over 110° there isn't much soaring left.
That said, I assume there will be enough water here twenty years down the road, but even with extreme conservation measures -- which will be necessary -- it will be many times more expensive than it is now.