Groundwater depletion accelerating in many parts of the world, study finds

boem@lemmy.world to World News@lemmy.world – 212 points –
Groundwater depletion accelerating in many parts of the world, study finds
english.elpais.com
17

The US is in for a rude awakening when the Ogallala aquifer runs dry. Nobody ever talks about it, but it's one of the major sources of water for central US agriculture and it's being depleted rapidly. Have fun trying to replace that with desal.

It's going to wreak havoc the cattle industry.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Ogallala\_changes\_1980-1995.svg/300px-Ogallala\_changes\_1980-1995.svg.png

Yeah, but they've been sucking that thing dry for centuries, surely after centuries of careless use, rampant wastefulness, pollution and countless other things, you aren't suggesting that water sources can deplete!

If I cover a cup with my hand and keep drinking, I won't know when it's out of water, therefore it will never run out! Its brilliant.

Also if I can't see you, you can't see me.

Flawless logic..

I've literally heard people say groundwater can't rub out because it still rains....

I’ve literally heard people say groundwater can’t rub out because it still rains…

Lol those people should take a geology class. Useful idiots, all of them.

I’ve literally heard people say groundwater can’t rub out because it still rains…

Depends on what you're drawing from. If you're talking about somewhere like Denmark with tons of groundwater because of porous valleys, that's pretty much true (though you can certainly use so much of it that the rain won't replenish it, similar to surface water). Fossil aquifers like ogallala, not so much.

Farming, not drinking for those that don't read the article.

I'm genuinely surprised that nothing has changed after no effort was made to change things. The fuck?

To many oeople see federal regulations as evil so they only the states to handle it. Then you have people that just want to kick it down the road. Lastly a lit of people just cant care about an indirect invisable threat

Don't worry, let's keep making no effort and maybe this time things will change!

Is almost like concentrating so much of our population and our agriculture in the desert is a bad idea. Yeah the weather sucks in my part of the country and the only thing that grows here is corn and soybeans but we have an excess of water.

Other things grow, but corn and soybeans are heavily subsidised (not to mention genetically modified).

Anything you buy at the grocery store is generically modified

Yeah, because I'm a tightarse and only buy the home brand stuff :)

As someone who has gardened in the western US and gardened in the east, there is a difference between growing and growing well. Lots of things around here are grown in greenhouses to help mitigate environmental challenges.