Wayne Meulendyk

REHYDRATE THE GREAT BASIN

Rehydrating the Great Basin will help reverse Climate Change and provide social Justice to many indigenous peoples located in the Soutwest USA.

The Great Basin is the largest area of connected watersheds with no outlet to the ocean in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California. Its basin includes a range of topography that varies from the North American lowest point at Badwater Basin in Death Valley to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than 100 miles (160 km) away at the summit of Mount Whitney. Within the Great Basin are many small basins such as: Great Salt Lake, Pyramid Lake, Salton Sink and Humboldt Sink.

Evaporated moisture from the ocean is carried by the onshore breezes. The moist air is driven upslope towards the peak, where it expands, cools, and its moisture drops to the ground. Most of the humidity will be lost to rain or snow before the wind passes over the mountain range. This casts a broad “shadow” of dry climate region behind the mountain ridges. This moisture deficit encourages deserts to form.

Rain Shadow

It is all about the rain shadow. Basically, the Great Basin is a 209,162-square-mile (541,730 km²) desert created by the rain shadow effect. The Cascade Range to the north, the California Coastal Ranges to the west, and the Sierra Nevada Range to the south provide a significant rain-shadow which has created this moisture deficit condition. Currently the problems in the region include the mega-drought and the associated shrinking Great Salt Lake. Also problematic is the diminished flow of the Colorado, Green, Rio Grande, and Snake Rivers. If the Great Basin could be converted to a moisture positive area, the benefit would be huge. Benefits would be delivered first to the basin itself, but then they would have side benefits to all adjacent areas.

Is It impossible To Thwart A Rain Shadow?

If we could flatten out the mountains the rain shadow would go away and the whole of the Great Basin would become moist and fertile. But it is obvious that the rain shadow cannot be removed. The mountains cannot be flattened. But there is another method. Moisture can be added to the basin via mechanical means, by pipes and pumps.

Pipes And Pumps

By moving the water with pipes and pumps we can rehydrate the Great Basin. this is a huge project with a multi-step process, and for brevity this page will address some of the major tasks which must be accomplished to make this occur. This is the most grandiose Move the Water! proposal for the USA where Global Warming can be impacted, and reversal initiated. Not all possible steps can be included in this page, and there are alternate options for every step.

The Benefits Are Immense.

Bringing water to a desert is bringing life to the desert. Where there is life, there are possibilities. The grandiose statement of return on investment is that by rehydrating the Great Basin a broken water cycle will be mended. Mending this water cycle will break the mega-drought, refill the Great Salt Lake, return full flow to the Colorado, Green, Rio Grande and Snake rivers. This will assure availability of water to the billions of people who depend on the rivers for their life and livelihood. The local Climate Change caused by overdrawing water from the Colorado River will be reversed reducing Global Warming in the southwest USA.

The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle or the hydrological cycle, is a cycle that describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. The water moves from one reservoir to another, such as from river to ocean, or from the ocean to the atmosphere, by the physical processes of evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, surface runoff, and subsurface flow. In doing so, the water goes through different forms: liquid, solid and vapor. The ocean plays a key role in the water cycle as it is the source of 86% of global evaporation.

Natural Processes

Once we add moisture to the Great Basin, it will recirculate via the hydrologic cycle throughout the whole of the Great Basin. With the water comes localized cooling and plant growth. Some of that water will exit the Great Basin toward the headwaters of the Colorado, Green, Rio Grande, and Snake Rivers, which all originate in the mountains of Colorado. These rivers will regain their full flow which will provide much needed water drinking, farming and industry, as well as for the fauna and flora of the regions. The cooler environment which will accompany this moisture will combat Climate Change by reducing local Global Warming reduction benefits. On the grand scale, there is no downside. Imagine the below video to be the Great Basin. It can be this way; we just need to add water.

Where there is water, there is life By Afrika24 Reisen

It can be this way; we just need to add water!

The Downside … Change Brings Change.

Change always brings disruption of status quo and unintended consequences, but for the greater global good, these must be endured. The problems are inundation of dry places with standing water, which may render some land unusable for farming or habitation. But standing water is the goal of this initiative and is essential to provide large water surface area for evaporation.

How to Accept Change Is Inevitable by marty wilson

Do you choose death or life?

The Downside … People Live There.

The counter argument is that few people live in the areas which will be submerged. The areas are hot dry deserts. The people who must be relocated can be moved to water’s edge properties, which are usually considered to be more valuable than raw desert land.

The Downside … Farmland Will Be Flooded.

The farmland in a desert is only valuable if irrigation water is available. The good news is that new areas of agriculture will be established. Once water is brought into the desert, and fills the depression, the hydrologic cycle will take over and fresh water will be created via rain, mist and snow, reducing the requirement for irrigation. This is the benefit which will make the change valuable to the farmers. The desert can become fertile and green with addition of water, and some wise land management. The below video gives one option.

From the Ground Up – ‘Regenerative Agriculture’ by festival21

The Downside … Flash Floods.

Rain in desert is associated with flash floods. These will occur and must be endured, but they will naturally diminish as plants cover the ground and impede the unimpeded water runoff. China has done amazing things to stem rapid water runoff from a landscape, and those techniques could be used in the Great Basin (see video near end of article: Regreening the desert with John D. Liu). The below video is aimed at a suburban community, but the information is excellent.

Wetlands Help Prevent Flooding

Flood Control

As the rain increases in the Great Basin, people will work to slow the flow of the rain, which will benefit the environment much. They will engineer wetlands which can contain a lot of moisture and reduce the potential for flash flooding.

Death Valley will become a terminal hypersaline lake.

The Downside … Terminal Water Will Get Salty.

Yes, it will get salty in the terminal lake basin in Death Valley. That is expected and not as much trouble as one thinks. The land which will be initially flooded is already salted from the body of water which previously occupied that location and evaporated. If this is a major problem, recirculation paths for the water can be established to eliminate Death Valley Basin as a terminal pool, but the cost is expected to be such as to discourage such a project.

How to Rehydrate the Great Basin?

This is a multi-stepped process with the end goal of creating a salt sea in Death Valley where the bulk of the evaporation will initially occur.

Rehydrate Great Basin … Step One.

Bring sea water from Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) into Laguna Salada, Mexico via the Coyote Canal. The below video demonstrates the waterway as envisioned by Agess Inc as one option in moving water to Laguna Salada. The option proposed by Agess Inc seems to be one of the less expensive options and it seems to return many benefits.

Binational Restoration of Laguna Salada & Salton Sea by Agess, Inc

This is extremely simple to do.

Rehydrate Great Basin … Step Two.

Bring the sea water from Laguna Salada into the Salton Sea via an extension of the Coyote Canal. This is easily accomplished (easily is a relative term, but it is much easier than the construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct, which is a 242 mi (389 km) water conveyance which crosses the Rocky Mountains delivering water from the Colorado River to Los Angeles CA. The extension of the Coyote Canal needs to be a metered flow to preclude overfill of the Salton Sea. The above video also includes visualization of the extended Coyote Canal. The below video is a video discussion of an alternative idea for filling the Salton Sea with water.

The Salton Sea Solution by stocktondan.

Rehydrate Great Basin … (optional) Step Three.

Install a drain in the Salton Sea. One of the problems identified by StocktonDan is the increasing salinity of the Salton Sea caused by continued evaporation. There are quite a few options presented to mitigate the salt saturation of the Salton Sea being proposed by many people. The solution that I present here is to drain the Salton Sea, but only after steps one and two above have been completed. The below video shows how a drain/valve can be installed in the base of a lake so the water can be drained out like that of a bathtub.

Lake Mead Intake Hydraulic Tunnel, Las Vegas by Salini Impregilo, but a surface level drain is much less expensive.

Rehydrate Great Basin … Step Four.

Step #4 is the construction of pipes with pumps to transport Salton Sea water into Death Valley. This is an expensive project, but the costs can be funded by fees on water diverted from the Colorado River. Those who have been diverting water from the Colorado River have been doing so at no charge for decades. They have been misappropriating the natural resource and have caused damage to the climate as a result. Now is the time to begin charging a fee for Colorado River water. That fee can be used to fund the repair of the hydrologic cycle which they broke.

By pumping water into the Great Basin, the water cycle will be repaired. The Great Basin is an arid desert as a result of the Rain Shadow effect. Adding moisture into the Great Basin will cancel out the effect of the natural rain shadow and encourage the Great Basin to bloom. The additional moisture pumped into the Great Basin will circulate within the Great Basin and eventually make its way to the north and east sides of the Great Basin where some of it will migrate out and stock the snowpacks which create the water for the Colorado, Green, and Snake rivers. With the snowpacks once again full, the flow of the Colorado River will return to its former glory. The hydrologic cycle will have been repaired and the billions of people who rely on that water will be saved and secure for decades to come.

Rehydrate Great Basin … Step Five.

Let the water flow. I expect that it will take much more than the full flow of one 15’ diameter pipe to fill Death Valley with water. If no other input is developed, I doubt that a large lake will form. There will be a balance point where daily evaporation will equal the pipe’s input. Filling Death Valley with water is the subject a paper by Chuan C. Chang: Creating Death Valley Lake His paper suggests multiple intakes with outtakes to keep the salinity to a balanced level. He expects that the land along the new inland sea and along the canals could be sold to individuals and the profit form the land sales would fund the project. Filling Death Valley with water is also the subject of the two videos below.

The Little-Pacific Project by Tribute Flight

Fill Death Valley with Ocean Water by thebillo313

Humorous presentation, but good idea.

We Have Water in Death Valley, Now What?

Now The Fun Begins. No further direct human action is required. What has been accomplished by moving the water there is the most important part. The hydrologic processes do the rest. Let’s review what will occur through natural hydrologic processes.

Water Evaporated and Returns

Water will evaporate from the surface of the newly formed Death Valley Sea. The water will be taken into the air for redistribution in mostly within the Great Basin with smaller amounts passing over the rim and entering the surrounding states. What water is removed will be replaced via the open water path. The evaporated water returned to the Great Basin in the form of dew on the ground in mornings, in the form of rain, and in the form of snow on the tops of the mountains. This returned water is cleaned water, suitable for drinking, for watering plants and irrigating crops.

Plants Grow.

Plants will grow when they have an ongoing supply of moisture. The plants retain water in their structure, they are made up of approximately 90% water, water which is not immediately returned to the ocean but retained as long as the plant lives. The plants clean the air of CO2. They return breathable O2 into the air and use the Carbon as building block for the plant structures, Carbon that will be held in the plant (sequestered) while it lives and be integrated into the soil as the plant eventually decomposes. Plants are natural air conditioners. As water evaporates from plant leaves; the air is cooled. Below is a video about how one desert plant, a moss, collects water from airborne humidity.

PLANT WATER RELATIONS by 7activestudio

Ground Water Collects

As plants shade the ground, the ground temperature is lowered, which allows the water to percolate into the ground, and be held there waiting for use. The soul will become moist and some underground aquifers will be refilled; again, slowing the water’s return to the ocean.

Water Movement in Soil by NRCS NSSC

Step-3:

Given enough time the hydrologic action should re-hydrate the entire Great Basin region. This could generate the natural refilling of several dry depressions within the Great Basin, including the Great Salt Lake. Just by keeping the waterways open allowing the Death Valley inland sea to remain full, these areas could be returned to a healthy fertile area, growing food for many people. The plants and the ground retain water, so the ocean levels are lower. The environment in these very hot places is cooled, which will cool the entire globe.

Videos About Greening Deserts

Get some water into the Great Basin, and then the entire landscape can be terraformed by natural processes, and/or with some human intervention, the Great Basin can become a really nice lush place.

Regreening the desert with John D. Liu

How Peter Andrews rejuvenates drought-struck land by ABC News

Rainwater Catchment for Reforestation & Increased Production by Vida Verde Finca, Vilcabamba

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LAKE EYRE in AUSTRALIA

Here is yet another location in our world which would benefit from the Move the Water! initiative. In this video StocktonDan lays out a good plan to flooding Lake Eyre, Australia with ocean water and extrapolates some of the benefits for the region.

Move the Water!

The root of the Move the Water! initiative is to move ocean water to below-sea-level depressions via gravity flow canal. After the canal is established the only maintenance required is to assure that the canal remains free flowing.

The Benefits

Lowered the ocean level

There will be an immediate lowering of the ocean level. Granted the ocean level will be only lowered by a small amount, but every little bit helps. Over time the ocean will continue to be drained into Lake Eyre as water evaporates out of Lake Eyre. The evaporated water will find many places to stay and will not immediately be returned to the ocean.

Localized climatic cooling

Cooling around Lake Eyre will occur because of several mechanisms. The first mechanism is evaporation, which causes micro-cooling to occur. Second is micro-cooling from rain which is generated from the evaporation from Lake Eyre. Third, the rain will encourage plants to grow, and plants are natural air conditioners, each causing micro-cooling; as they shade the ground, and during the process of photosynthesis.

Evaporation

As mentioned above, causes micro-cooling, but there are other benefits to evaporation. The evaporated moisture returns in form of rain, mist, and snow. This returning water is pure to drink for people, plants and animals. Bringing the water into a region brings life. When the evaporated water is returned to earth; some if it is used for plant growth, but some of it is percolated into the ground for storage and later use. Some of the water which is returned reevaporates and is returned in a different location downwind from its point of evaporation. This is a continuing cycle, continuously bring life to the earth.

Plant Growth

The water supplied via evaporation will cause plants to grow. That brings many secondary benefits in addition to the micro-cooling mentioned earlier. Their little plant bodies are 90%+ water, so they hold water preventing it from immediate return to the ocean. Plants are natural carbon sinks; they use atmospheric carbon to build their tiny bodies. Once incorporated into the plant it does not return to the atmosphere until the plant is burned. The plants provide food for local animals.

Opportunities for life

Bringing water into a desert is bringing opportunities for life. Look around. Major cities are located around water: Rivers; Oceans; Lakes. Much is said about climate refugees. Think of this new living place as someplace where they may settle and conduct their lives. Where there is water, there are a plethora of opportunities for people to thrive.

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Videos

This blog page contains a collection of videos related to our goal of reversing Global Warming by the effort of: Move the Water! These videos demonstrate that this process has been considered. each has their own perspective. Videos added over time. Check again to see if a new one is added.

THE SALTON SEA SOLUTION, CA, USA

This is another excellent video from StocktonDan: The Salton Sea Soultion. The video addresses the Salton Sea, and also Laguna Salada. Laguna Salada is the root to any good solution for the Salton Sea, so one cannot discuss one without the other.

LAGUNA SALADA in BAJA, MEXICO

Laguna Salada in Baja, Mexico is a place which will have great effect in reversion Global Warming. The good news is that Mexico can do this. It is not expensive compared to some other places.

LAKE EYRE in AUSTRALIA

Lake Eyre in Australia is one of the places which will help reverse Global Warming. This video is a serious consideration of this location.

QATTARA DEPRESSION in EGYPT

The Qattara Depression in Egypt is one of the places which will help reverse Global Warming. This video is a serious consideration of this location.

DEATH VALLEY in USA

This video is presented sarcastically; but it makes some very good points. Death Valley in USA is a more difficult place to fill with ocean water, but it has a substantial area to fill so the benefit would be greater.

DEATH VALLEY in USA

Here is a different take on filling Death Valley with ocean water. This proposal includes a single tunnel from Pacific to Death Valley, and then a second tunnel toward Lake Mead with the installation of a desalination plant.

DEATH VALLEY in USA

In the above video, the installation of a drain in the bottom of Lake Mead is documented. This same system could be used in the bottom of the Salton Sea. The Salton Sea water could be drained into Death Valley. The first benefit would be better water quality in Salton Sea. The second benefit would be some rehydration for the Great Basin.

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Can Domino Droughts Be Stopped At Their Source?

The Domino Drought of 2012 [1] could have been avoided and will reoccur if nothing is done to fix the root cause.

What is a Domino Drought?

A Droughts occur when a lack of precipitation causes a water shortage. A Domino Drought is a series of droughts which occur in succession across a landscape. The lack of precipitation in the genesis drought reduces precipitation from transport downwind from the genesis drought. This can reduce precipitation in the successive regions by over 50% triggering the domino drought effect.

So how can they be stopped?

By locating the genesis drought location and making suitable corrections to that local environment. The Stanford Study focused on the 2012 Domino Drought [2], so let’s use that as our example.

What was the originating location of the 2012 Domino Drought?

California. The California drought was distributed across the state but is really made up of two pieces.

The first piece…

This most obvious piece was the part caused by changing ocean currents with reduced rainfall along the Pacific coastline. I agree that this may have had some effect on the Domino Drought, but I think its effect was minimal because almost all the eastbound moisture from the Pacific Ocean is pulled from the air as it travels over the Rocky Mountains.

The second piece…

The less obvious piece is found in southwest California, and northwest Mexico. The root cause of this local drought is the over extraction of water from the Colorado River [3]. I do not expect that the excessive diversion of water from the Colorado River will cease, but something can be done to fix the unintended result of those extractions.

The Colorado River is totally used up.

There is so much water being redirected from the flow of the Colorado River that it runs dry before it reaches the ocean [4]. This maybe viewed as a good thing because humans are getting maximum usage of the naturally fresh water before it commingles with saltwater. However, so much water is being extracted that the flow could dry before the Colorado River even reaches the Mexican border; which is bad for the residents of Mexicali, MX whom depend on that water for their life. Still, Mexico uses the balance of the Colorado River water and there is no water left for downstream flow, leaving a dry riverbed south of Mexicali.

What is the unintended result?

The unintended result is that the Water Cycle has been broken. Most simply stated; the Colorado River Basin Water Cycle is: Laguna Salada > Salton Sea > Death Valley > The Great Salt Lake > Colorado River > > Laguna Salada. With the water being all used, Laguna Salada receives no refilling water [5] from the Colorado River. A dry Laguna Salada has no water to evaporate for rain/snow/mist for the surrounding area and Southwest California, and also none to send north to the Salton Sea. Just like that the Water Cycle is broken and a drought commences in southwest California and northwest Mexico. This drought dominos up through Salton Sea; Death Valley, The Great Salt Lake, and places less water in the Colorado River; which creates a water shortage in the Colorado River Watershed.

Can we fix this?

It is unlikely that we can stop using water from the Colorado River, but we can refill Laguna Salada with water. Laguna Salada translation to English is Salt Lagoon. Laguna Salada covers a large land area and at its deepest it is 30 meters below sea-level in its lowest place. The calculated evaporation rate from Laguna Salada is considered to be very large, which points to its vital contribution to the Hydrologic Cycle. Laguna Salada has a dry stream bed leading from it to the Sea of Cortex (Gulf of California). By reversing the flow of the dry stream bed to allow ocean water to flood Laguna Salada, the water cycle can be repaired.

Is that a lot of digging/dredging?

The dry riverbed from Laguna salads to the sea of Cortez is about 81km (60mi) long. Half a century ago it was widened and straightened. The length, while it sounds like a lot, is considerably less than the California Canals: All-American Canal = 130km (80mi) long; Colorado River Aqueduct = 329km (242mi). One other thing to consider is that the amount of effort to reverse the flow of an existing stream is much less than that which was needed to transport the water from the Colorado River over/around/through the Rocky Mountains to California.

Conclusion:

By filing Laguna Salada with ocean water we can repair the Colorado River Water Cycle, avoid future Domino Droughts, and help reduce the problems of Climate Change.

Climate Change?

How did I get to reducing the problems related to Climate Change? One of those concerns is the increased level of oceans. By removing water from the ocean and placing it in Laguna Salada the ocean level will be reduced. It is just that simple.

[1] http://waterinthewest.stanford.edu/news-events/news-insights/domino-droughts
[2] https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2019GL082475
[3] https://www.watereducation.org/aquapedia/colorado-river-timeline
[4] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-colorado-river-runs-dry-61427169/
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmJOh34OWO0&t=125s

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Open Letter to California’s Imperial Irrigation District

According to Circle of Blue Water Podcast [1]:

“California’s Imperial Irrigation District is suing over being excluded from the Colorado River drought contingency plan. The legal challenge came the same day as President Trump signed legislation to implement the plan, which took years of negotiation between the seven river basin states. The agreement intends to protect major reservoirs on the Colorado River from falling so low that they cannot provide water or power. Imperial Irrigation District, the largest water user in the basin, refused to join the plan unless the federal government included $200 million to address health and environmental dangers at the Salton Sea, a saline lake southeast of Los Angeles. Other parties working on the Colorado River plan thought the Salton Sea demand would stall the process and worked out a way to exclude Imperial Irrigation District.”

Law Suit?

You are suing because you were not included into the Colorado River drought contingency plan after you decided not to participate????

A better Idea…

Refill the Salton Sea with ocean water; which will work to cure the drought.

Cure the Drought?

I know; this sounds impossible, but the main reason there is a drought is your fault.

Why the Fault of California’s Imperial Irrigation District?

As always there is no one cause/fault, but there can be a primary cause. In this case the many causes can include Climate Change, but I do not think this is the primary cause. I believe the primary cause of the drought is the extraction of water from the Colorado River watershed [2]. For people inside the watershed; this is common knowledge, but for the others… The Colorado River is the source of drinking and irrigation water for many places far removed from the Colorado River watershed. The water has been being removed since 1870 [3] with increasing quantiles in more recent years. Now large quantities are being channeled or piped great distances to be used for drinking water, crop irrigation and various industrial purposes. Many of the users of the Colorado River water are within the watershed. What they use is returned to the river. This is not a problem. You are the largest water user in the basin, and what you use is not returned to the river, it is eventually expelled into the Pacific Ocean. This has broken the local water cycle.

What is the water cycle?

The water cycle is somewhat simple, but complex in that it has many moving parts. Let me explain the simple. Water evaporates from its place on the ground and is taken up as water vapor to be turned into rain and snow. The rain and snow are redeposited on land and makes its way into the river. The river flows and returns the water to the point where it started so that it can be evaporated again. I know that this is oversimplified, but good for a brief description of the process.

Is there evidence that the water cycle is broken?

Yes. There is clear evidence. It is obvious because the Colorado River runs dry [4] before it reaches its outlet in the ocean. This is not normal for a river to have a smaller flow at its end than in its middle.

How can this be fixed?

This can be fixed with some relatively simple engineering tasks. These tasks will require much less effort that was expended to divert the water. With the completion of these tasks it is almost assured that the water cycle can be healed and the drought will subside.

Task One:

Talk to your friends in Mexico and get them to fill Laguna Salada, Mexico with ocean water from an open-flow channel dug between the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) and Laguna Salada. Laguna Salada was fed by the Colorado River, but Laguna Salada has been essentially dry since 2000 [5]. There is a water path from Laguna Salada to the Sea of Cortez intended to channel excess water to the ocean. The task which needs completion is to deepen this water path so that the water flow is reversed, and Laguna Salada is filled with ocean water. Once Laguna Salada is refilled with water; that water can begin its work to replenish the Colorado River watershed with rain and snow.

Task Two:

Create the Borrego Valley Reservoir; a new ocean water reservoir between Salton Sea and Laguna Salada. This reservoir is to be fed by Laguna Salada. I am not sure that anyone has ever proposed this before; regardless, this is a logical next phase in repairing the water cycle. The work would require a gravity flow cannel to be dug from Laguna Salada into southern California, where a Borrego Valley Reservoir can be built using the excavated soil from the construction of the canal. This area is also below sea level and is desert with little habitation. The Borrego Valley Reservoir will provide additional water surface area from which water can evaporate to replenish the water cycle rain and snow.

Task Three:

Refill the Salton Sea with ocean water by a restricted flow channel from the Borrego Valley Reservoir. The optimum fix for the water cycle would be to refill Lake Cahuilla [6], but this would dislocate many area residents so it likely will not occur. The best alternative is to refill the Salton Sea to its historic optimum level. This can be done by a gravity flow restricted water release from the Borrego Valley Reservoir. The water could be used for power generation as it travels to the Salton Sea, but this enhancement can be added later. What is most important is to increase the Salton Sea water level so that there is more surface area for evaporation.

Task Four:

This one is a reach, and a bit more expensive. Hire The Boring Company to install a water tunnel drain in the Salton Sea; draining the water into Death Valley. This will be a good test project for The Boring Company on long distance tunnel making. The Salton Sea drain will allow flow-through of water, which will decrease the salinity of Salton Sea (and move the salt to Death Valley). It is expected that any water moved to Death Valley will quickly evaporate and help replenish the water cycle.

These tasks sound like lots of effort.

These tasks sound like lots of effort, but the effort is worth the cost. We humans need to be good stewards of our home planet and when we break something, we should repair it. The effort to conduct these tasks is much less than the effort which has been expended to remove water from the Colorado River. In comparison these are simple tasks.

[1] https://www.circleofblue.org/2019/world/u-s-irrigation-moves-east/?mc_cid=c41f6fa949&mc_eid=beb708555f

[2] https://www.watereducation.org/aquapedia/colorado-river-timeline

[3] https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/hisdiv.html

[4] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-colorado-river-runs-dry-61427169/

[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmJOh34OWO0&t=125s

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Cahuilla

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Open letter to the US House Committee on Natural Resources

Congratulations on passing the 2019 Seven-State Colorado River Drought Relief Plan.

One other thing ..

It may be smarter to fix the problem instead of trying to mitigate the problem. The root problem here is that the water cycle has been broken. I agree that it may not be able to be totally fixed, but the problem can be greatly reduced.

What is the water cycle?

What broke the water cycle?

As always there is no one cause, but there can be a primary cause. In this case the many causes can include Climate Change, but I do not think this is the primary cause. I believe the primary cause is the redirection of water from Colorado River outside of its watershed [1].

How can this happen?

For people inside the watershed; this is common knowledge, but for the others… The Colorado River is the source of drinking and irrigation water for many places far removed from the Colorado River watershed. The water has been being removed since 1870 [2] with increasing quantiles in more recent years. Now large quantities are being channeled or piped great distances to be used for drinking water, crop irrigation and various industrial purposes. Once the water leaves the local watershed it does not easily reenter the local water cycle.

Is there evidence that the water cycle is broken?

Yes. There is clear evidence. It is obvious because the Colorado River runs dry [3] before it reaches its outlet in the ocean. This is not normal for a river to have a smaller flow at its end than in its middle.

How can this be fixed?

Task One:

Fill Laguna Salada, Mexico with ocean water from an open-flow channel dug between the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) and Laguna Salada. Laguna Salada was fed by the Colorado River, but Laguna Salada has been essentially dry since 2000 [4]. There is a water path from Laguna Salada to the Sea of Cortez intended to channel excess water to the ocean. The task which needs completion is to deepen this water path so that the water flow is reversed, and Laguna Salada is filled with ocean water. Once Laguna Salada is refilled with water; that water can begin its work to replenish the Colorado River watershed with rain and snow.

Task Two:

Create the Borrego Valley Reservoir; a new ocean water reservoir between Salton Sea and Laguan Salada. This reservoir is to be fed by Laguna Salada. I am not sure that anyone has ever proposed this before; regardless, this is a logical next phase in repairing the water cycle. The work would require a gravity flow cannel to be dug from Laguna Salada into southern California, where the Borrego Valley Reservoir can be built using the excavated soil from the construction of the canal. This area is also below sea level and is desert with little habitation. The Borrego Valley Reservoir will provide additional water surface area from which water can evaporate to replenish the water cycle rain and snow.

Task Three:

Refill the Salton Sea with ocean water by a restricted flow channel from the Borrego Valley Reservoir. The optimum fix for the water cycle would be to refill Lake Cahuilla [5], but this would dislocate many area residents so it likely will not occur. The best alternative is to refill the Salton Sea to its historic optimum level. This can be done by a gravity flow restricted water release from the Borrego Valley Reservoir. The water could be used for power generation as it travels to the Salton Sea, but this enhancement can be added later. What is most important is to increase the Salton Sea water level so that there is more surface area for evaporation.

Task Four:

Increase the surface level of The Great Salt Lake, Utah. This may occur naturally with the completion of the above three tasks, but there is a more direct method of assuring the water level in The Great Salt Lake. The task here is to create a gravity flow channel from the Snake River, Idaho to The Great Salt Lake. Idaho is experiencing drought related problems, but they have water flowing from their state into the Pacific Ocean via the Snake River. Some of that water could be diverted into The Great Salt Lake, which would then evaporate and return to Idaho in form of Rain and Snow to replenish the Snake and Colorado Rivers.

These tasks sound like lots of effort.

[1] https://www.watereducation.org/aquapedia/colorado-river-timeline

[2] https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/hisdiv.html

[3] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-colorado-river-runs-dry-61427169/

[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmJOh34OWO0&t=125s

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Cahuilla

Help Reverse Climate Change

Mexico Holds One of the Keys to Reversing Climate Change.

Despite Mexico’s commitment to the Paris Accord to combat climate change, it has ignored a crucial solution of refilling the Laguna Salada with water from the Sea of Cortez.

Unfortunately…

Mexico has not used that key and the solution remains securely locked. Mexico has expressed a commitment to helping solve Climate Change by their signing the Paris Accord but seems oblivious to this easy opportunity which only they can accomplish.

Ecologic disaster in Mexico

In the mid 1900’s, Mexico experienced an ecologic disaster created by the draining of the Colorado River at the USA/MX border. This left over 60 miles of riverbed devoid of moisture. The Colorado River had been depositing a huge volume of water into the delta and Sea of Cortez. The loss of this flowing water destroyed 3,000 sq-mi of wet, verdant, green land and created a 3,000 sq-mi parched, dry, brown desert. This change from green to brown is a local climate change. The humidity level is greatly decreased so the area can no longer contribute to its hydrologic cycle. The 3,000 sq-mi desert is now in a constant state of drought. This was the first domino to fall in the domino-droughts.

Paris Accord

Implementation of the Paris Agreement requires nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Each NDC is meant to align with the Paris Agreement temperature goal, taking into account different national circumstances. In the NDC, countries take action to build resilience to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

What is Laguna Salada, Baja, MX.

Time lapse photography, 1984 to 2023, showing dehydration of Laguna Salada, Baja, MX.

Laguna Salada is a below-sea-level depression just north-northwest of the Colorado River delta has been filled with salt water. Laguna Salada was being kept full by the now drained Colorado River and moisture evaporated from the previously green delta. In 1999, with the Colorado river being dry south of Mexicali, Baja, MX., and the delta a desert; Laguna Salada went completely dry. The domino-droughts began in 2000 and morphed into the current mega-drought.

What Is The Easy Opportunity?

Fill Laguna Salada with ocean water from the Sea of Cortez. Reversing the Coyote Canal and refilling Laguna Salada will meet the Paris Accord NDC goal.

Why Is This Easy?

Visualize the Coyote Canal as a nice wide water path from the Sea of Cortez into Laguna Salada.

The Coyote Canal is an existing water path between Laguna Salada and the Sea of Cortez. This dry creek bed was straightened and shortened in recent years. The work that needs to be accomplished today is to make that canal deeper and wider so that the non-existing out-flow from Laguna Salada is reversed to an in-flow from the Sea of Cortez. The effort required to is minimal because the canal already exists, its path is defined, and its length is about 60 miles (120 kilometers). There is minimal excavation required.

How does this help reverse Climate Change?

The first thing…

The first thing it accomplishes is a reduction of the ocean level. The oceans are rising because of the melting of the glaciers. The water that melts off them can flow into Laguna Salada. Any water which flows out of the ocean into Laguna Salada is water, which is not in the ocean anymore, so the ocean level is lower.

The second thing…

The second thing is that Laguna Salada is located in a very hot, very dry, very windy place. This means that the water in Laguna Salada will evaporate quickly and be carried away from Laguna Salada. As the water evaporates, the ocean level will be further reduced to refill Laguna Salada.

The third thing…

The third thing is that the water which evaporates into the atmosphere will be carried away from Laguna Salada. Water vapor carried east or west will return to Laguna Salada as rainwater flowing down from the flanking mountains. Water vapor carried south it will return to the Sea of Cortez. Water vapor carried north it will indirectly replenish the Colorado River watershed, which will begin to reverse the mega-drought and help the whole Colorado River watershed and it’s the varied water users.

The fourth thing…

The evaporation of water from Laguna Salada should lower local ambient temperatures. According to the USGS; heat is removed from the environment during evaporation, leading to a net cooling. In climates where the humidity is low and the temperatures are hot, evaporation can lower the air temperature by 20 degrees F.

The fifth thing…

Wherever the evaporated moisture falls it will encourage plant growth. Plant growth will help heal the atmosphere by absorbing carbon and by cooling the local environment.

The sixth thing…

This will add moisture to the Colorado River delta because of the flow from the ocean through the delta to Laguna Salada. this moisture will aid in rehydrating the Colorado River delta.

Mexico holds part of another key…

After Laguna Salada is filled with sea water, a canal should be built north to the USA border so the USA can join with it and refill the Salton Sea. Refilling the Salton Sea continues all the above benefits to a second location.

Help Reverse Climate Change

The Great Salt Lake

Will It Soon Be The Great Salt Dust-Bowl?

This discussion is greatly simplified, but… The Great Salt Lake was created by water left behind from some global event. Theories include the Ice Age and/or the Biblical Flood. It was massive in size, covering about a quarter of Utah. It is much smaller today and regardless of how it was formed, it is there, and it has unique circumstances.

Unique Circumstances.

The Great Salt Lake is the central/lowest point in the Great Salt Lake watershed. All the water in this watershed eventually drains down into The Great Salt Lake. Water enters and leaves this watershed by airborne moisture. On balance a little more water leaves than is received. This negative flow in the airborne watershed means that sooner or later The Great Salt Lake will become an empty hole in the ground. An example of this is Death Valley.

So? Isn’t That Natural?

It is the natural course that it has been following for centuries. That does not mean that man should not try to find a way to change its future.

What Happens If It Goes Dry?

If The Great Salt Lake is allowed to go dry, there will be serious consequences for the residents of Utah, and the other six surrounding states.

For Utah

The people of Utah are using nearly all their fresh water, so it is not returning to The Great Salt Lake. But The Great Salt Lake provides most of their airborne moisture; which is used to replenish their fresh water by providing rain and snow. Granted that some of the airborne moisture comes from other parts of USA, but the larger volume is created from evaporation off The Great Salt Lake water. If The Great Salt Lake is dry; then no moisture; which means no rain or snow; which means no fresh water. Just that simple.

For Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming

The Great Salt Lake is a large contributor to the airborne watershed which encompasses these states. The people of these states gain all their fresh water from rain and snow. Much of this moisture is obtained from evaporation off The Great Salt Lake. If the Great Salt Lake becomes a dry hole; much of the needed rain and snow will not be available. There will be local Climate Change.

Can this Be Stopped?

Active Climate Rescue Initiative believes that this can be stopped. The solution is simple. Allow some of the water in Idaho’s Snake River to flow into The Great Salt Lake. As projects go; this one would be kind of simple: dig a canal.

Help Reverse Climate Change

Cause of USA Mega-Drought

We broke the Hydrologic cycle! We did it by greedily taking what nature offered for free, without giving back. It is time to give back and help nature restore itself.

Cause of USA Mega-Drought

There is no one cause for the Southwest USA Mega-Drought, just as there is no one cause for to Global Warming and Climate Change, but just go with me for a minute on this one. The draining of the Colorado River water for human use is the major factor causing this 23-year mega-drought in the southwest USA. This is greatly simplified but follow my logic on this…

Water Moves in a Cycle

Water moves in a cycle greater than local watersheds. Again, greatly simplified, some of the water for the southwest USA begins in Mexico, in the Colorado River delta. The water in the river’s delta evaporates into the atmosphere and creates precipitation (fog, mist, rain, and snow). This moisture is moved by wind patterns into the southwest USA. It comes to earth in the Colorado River watershed where it creates the Colorado River and flows into Mexico. On arrival in Mexico, it spreads out across the Colorado River delta. The water in the Colorado River delta evaporates into the atmosphere and creates precipitation. The cycle is perpetual until something breaks the circle…

A water cycle: Colorado River delta > Laguna Salada > Salton Sea > Death Valley > Great Basin > Great Salt Lake > Colorado River headwaters > Colorado River > Colorado River delta.

Water Being Diverted

In a closed terrarium water just keeps being recycled. There is no reason to add more. In real life, there is no closed loop. The Colorado River delta has gone dry. The water used to refill it is syphoned off to other places outside of the watershed. The escaping water must be replaced for the system to continue to function. In this case, that replacement water can most easily be replaced by repairing the water cycle. How can this be done? Can humans control the weather?

Here Is What Happened.

Let’s begin at the Colorado River Delta, which in the early 1900’s was once a lush, verdant, 3,000-sq-mi green oasis in the Sonoran Desert. Beginning in the 1930’s the “wise” humans saw the pure freshwater of the Colorado River and decided not to let it escape into the sea and become ruined. They put the water to human use by removing the water from the river about 90 miles before its delta. On the surface this was a smart plan, but they got greedy and drained the river dry. The water no longer flowed into the delta and the delta is now a dead, dusty, 3,000-sq-mi brown desert wasteland. Gone is the lush green space and most of the life associated with it. All that is left is brown sand and the limited, hardy life suited for dry conditions. Humans created this is manmade ecological disaster, a critical link in this water cycle has been broken. This is Climate Change on a micro level, which has had the domino effect of exacerbating Climate Change in the southwest USA.

Laguna Salada is dry beginning in 1999 through present. The Water Cycle broken for 23+years.

Laguna Salada, Baja, MX

Just northwest of the Colorado River delta is Laguna Salada. This salt marsh, only 33 feet below sea-level at its deepest point, was kept full in three ways:

1) Tidal Flow.

Occasionally there is inflow from tidal flow from the Sea of Cortez. This is still occurring today, but it is so infrequent and such a small amount of water that it cannot keep Laguna Salada filled, or even constantly wet.

2) Local Precipitation.

The Laguna Salada watershed received just a little rain and receives less now than it did in years past. The decrease in precipitation is a result of the change in the Colorado River delta from green to brown.

3) Coyote Canal.

Overflow from Colorado River ran through the Coyote Canal which was the prime water infusion path for Laguna Salada. It entered Laguna Salada via the Coyote Canal when river flow allowed. The effectiveness of this water path has dwindled to nothing in the last half of the 1900s. The water diversions from the Colorado River have caused the Colorado River to be dry before it reaches the Coyote Canal. Because the water of the Colorado River stopped flowing in the Coyote Canal, in 1999 Laguna Salada became fully dry. The Colorado River no longer feeds Laguna Salada or the Gulf of California.

Salton Sea, CA, USA.

Just north of Laguna Salada, in the Imperial Valley, is the Salton Sea. The Imperial Valley once was part of the Colorado River’s path in time long gone when Lake Cahuilla existed. If Lake Cahuilla, with its surface level just above sea level, were there now, 19 communities would be flooded and gone. Lake Cahuilla has been gone for centuries because of a change in the Colorado River’s path. In the late 1800’s and early 1900s the area in the Imperial Valley was known as the Salton Flats. The Salton Flats were the bottom of Lake Cahuilla and full of its salty residue. In the 1910s the residents of Imperial Valley began to farm with water obtained from the Colorado River via canals. The Salton Sea, often referred to as an accidental lake, originated when an irrigation canal escaped its boundaries and carried Colorado River water into the Salton flats. The Salton Sea has been present in the Imperial Valley since the 1920s and hit a popularity heyday in the 1950s as a vacation spot. The Salton Sea level varies and is approximately 236-feet-below-sea-level and has a depth in the deepest point of 51-feet. The Salton Sea is evaporating rapidly and may soon be fully dry. Moisture is added in two ways:

1) Local Precipitation.

The precipitation for the Salton Sea is brought up from the south from and over Laguna Salada. With the Colorado River delta a desert since 1940, and Laguna Salada dry since 1999, the rainfall in the Salton Sea watershed has diminished.

2) Agricultural Runoff.

Agricultural runoff was the primary water supply for Laguna Salada. Unfortunately, that water was highly polluted with fertilizer and salt, causing the lake to have an unpleasant aroma. The drought beginning in 2000, necessitating conservation of irrigation water, has decreased the inflow from the farms. Beginning in 2020 the farm runoff is being diverted westward to meet California coastal water needs. The Salton see is rapidly returning to the Salton Falts.

Broken Hydrologic Cycle.

We now have a broken water cycle. The Colorado river delta no longer sends moisture north to Laguna Salada. The dry Laguna Salada has no moisture to send to the Salton Sea. The lack of moisture in the Imperial Valley leaves little to blow north into the Great Basin. The Great Salt Lake, which obtains its moisture within the Great Basin, is at its lowest level in recorded history. The Great Salt Lake and the Great Basin have no water to send to the headwaters of the Colorado River. While the Colorado River is fed by multiple water cycles, all of them functioning at normal levels are needed to have the full flow in the river. With the measured flow of the Colorado River below optimum, the reservoirs are not staying full. This is not a short-term problem, but a result of permeant ecological damage to the environment resulting in a new-normal flow for the Colorado River. Here is where human activity has damaged the environment and caused local climate change.

Humans Must Fix This.

Humans broke the Hydrologic cycle! In our wisdom we did it by greedily taking what nature offered for free, without giving back. It is time to give back and help nature restore itself. There are three ways which we can remedy this problem:

1) Stop Draining the River Dry.

The simplest option is to stop raping nature and let the Colorado River’s flow return to its natural state, but this cannot happen. This freshwater is being used for life and livelihood by millions of people who would complain loudly if it were no longer available to them.

2) Let Some Water Through.

Don’t take all the water. Let some of it flow to the delta. This sounds like a good idea, but it will not be enough. The Colorado River has a diminished flow which has created a strain on the existing water demand. Calls for conservation have been going on for years, and yet there is still not enough water to fill the current need. How can some be allowed to escape into the delta? Yes, this should be done, but any that is allowed to flow into the delta will be a minuscule amount compared to its original state. Yet some is better than none, but it would not be enough to break the mega-drought and refill the river.

3) Restore the Water Cycle.

The ultimate solution would be to discover a new source of water which is unencumbered and easily available to insert into the water cycle. That source is the ocean. The Sea of California is close at hand.

Move The Water!

The “Move the Water!” initiative proposes to refill Laguna Salada with seawater. The flow of the Coyote Canal can be reversed, and the saltwater can be allowed to flow through the delta and into Laguna Salada. In Spanish Laguna Salada translates into Salt Marsh, so it is already salted and adding saltwater will do no harm. By doing this some moisture will be returned into the delta, and Laguna Salada can be filled up to sea-level. The restored Lagna Salada will once again pump huge amounts of water vapor into the atmosphere, which will blow north toward the Salton Sea. Social justice will occur as the local indigenous peoples will again be able to fish in their ancestral lake. This will begin to fix the now broken water cycle and move toward eventually ending the mega-drought.

Mexico’s Commitment to End Climate Change.

Mexico made it clear in Paris that they wanted to do their part in reversing Climate Change. The loss of water within the Colorado River delta and watershed is one of the causes of Climate Change. The removal of that water allows the area to become warmer. This is their opportunity, and it is a low-cost project to undertake. The work in Mexico could be done in a surprisingly short time frame, easily less than a year. Once completed the drought can begin to end and climate Change can be mitigated.

Move the Water! Again.

The “Move the Water!” initiative proposes to refill the Salton Sea to its 1950s level by allowing seawater to flow through Laguna Salada. Here the Coyote Canal must be extended so that it terminates in the Salton Sea. This is a little more difficult project because there is a 150-foot hill in the way. This is not unsurmountable. Look at the rock cuts along our major highways. Brining the ocean water into the Salton Sea has multiple benefits, the largest being the work it will do against the mega-drought. The moisture evaporated from the Salton Sea will enter the Great Basin and work to refill the Great Salt Lake and also replenish the headwaters of the Colorado River.

Help Reverse Climate Change

Why Active Climate Rescue Initiative?

(Non-Christians should not read this. You would just not understand it.)

Active Climate Rescue Initiative exists because I believe that God led me to do this work. I believe that He has made known to me how to help reverse Climate Change and encouraged me to publish this information to any who will listen.

Here is how God called me to do this; using the foundation of the book: God Told Me by Jim Samara; Baker Books, 2012

God’s Voice, pages 96 & 100

The premise of this section is that “… God does indeed have a distinguishable ‘voice’ which he intends for us to be able to recognize, … The key to recognizing [God’s] distinctive voice is to train our minds using his known patterns of communication.”

I believe that I know God’s voice because for many years I have been listening to him. I have come to know Him through: Attending church since youth; Personal Bible study; Participating in group Bible studies; and Taking seminary classes. I can see and understand God’s will, and I believe that I can spot a counterfeit when it presents itself.

I believe that this effort of Active Climate Rescue Initiative is God inspired in me; all its missions fit within the will of God and His desires for the people of this earth; and that all its actions will be honoring to Him.

God Calls Us to Trust Him More, pages 103-106

“It is helpful to recognize that God usually encourages us down paths that require us to rely on him more and less on ourselves or others. … God’s guidance often defies human wisdom. To put it bluntly, if we follow God’s leading someone should think we are crazy.”

This is truly the case here. How can I, one person of no importance, so clearly see this one simple thing which can have such great impact on Climate Change; while so many billions of other people do not recognize its potential for good?

God Tells Us to Humbly and Sacrificially Love Others, page 106-107

“God is love…. God demonstrated what true love looks like; it is not all about warm, fuzzy feelings, but concrete, sacrificial service done in humility, even for one’s enemy.”

The service I put into conducting the business of Active Climate Rescue Initiative are sacrificial.

First; as of this moment I am not receiving remuneration for my efforts and there are other things which are not getting done while I expend the efforts needed to ‘save the world’.

Second; the effects of my efforts will be most received by people living in desert areas of our earth, while I likely will only receive tangential benefits because I live in a moist region.

Third; the effects of my efforts will be received gradually with possible benefits to me received years after my efforts have been expended, and possibly after I have expired.

The efforts I put into conducting the business of Active Climate Rescue Initiative are done in humility. My name will never be praised because of this effort. This work is being done by the organization: Active Climate Rescue Initiative; of which I hope to be only one worker-bee.

The benefits received from my efforts conducting the business of Active Climate Rescue Initiative are for all humanity, not just my friends and certainly not excluding any enemies. I do not think I have any enemies. I suppose that “enemy” status need not be reciprocal. There may be some who may consider me an enemy, without even knowing me, based on some aspect of my physical being, or religious/political affiliations. The efforts of Active Climate Rescue Initiative will benefit all people around the world as it mitigates the effects of Climate Change.

God Supports His Social Structures, pages 107-109

“… one of the distinguishing characteristics of God’s voice is that he directs us in ways that strengthen the socials structures he has ordained.”

The goals of Active climate Rescue Initiative are too large to be conducted outside of local governmental units, and in many cases will require the cooperation of multiple governments to complete any one project.

God Does Not Work in Confusion, pages 109-110

“God does not work in confusion, dissension, miscommunication, misunderstanding, disloyalty, or doubt … to speak words of guidance to us.”

All through this process I have sensed only clear understanding of what God desires of me. I have seen where others have had similar ideas; all with alternate motives. I am assured that God wishes this work to commence for the general benefit of mankind. There has been no confusion in my mind or in what I have observed.

God Tells Us Not to Fear, pages 110-112

“… God does not use … fear or discouragement to guide us. … that panic that can arise as we think about the daunting nature of a task; that fear of failure, or the thought that we are not good enough. [If] Something or someone is trying to discourage us from embracing this path, … it is not God.”

Even though this is a large undertaking; there has been none of this in my mind during the process which God has used to bring me to the point of creating Active Climate Rescue Initiative.

God Says Unexpected and Mysterious Things, pages 112-114

“When we hear a voice tell us to do something that we have never considered, … there is a strong possibility that God is speaking to us. … God’s ways and thoughts are far beyond our ways and thoughts. Therefore, it makes sense that when God speaks to us, some of what he will say will never have even occurred to us before.”

Imagine my surprise (about 20 years ago) when I began to have the thought that the Dead Sea needed to have infusion of ocean water. Why should I care? I have no connection to the Dead Sea; yet the thought was pervasive and prevalent in my mind.

Chapter 3, The Inner Prompting of the Spirit; page 76

“The inner prompting of the Spirit is an indefinable sense that God is telling you which way to go and what to do, usually at a completely unexpected time.”

This is what it was like for me. The thought that the Dead Sea needed an infusion of water. Why do I care? What can I do about this thought? But I continued to experience the thought, it was pervasive.

Circumstances; page 85

“Most of us can look back on a number of days that were marked by a chance meeting, a phone call, an accident of circumstances, a penetrating insight, a conversation, or another of a myriad of seemingly small events that today holds special significance for us…When we recognize the influence of these occurrences, it makes us wonder if under the veil of the ordinary God isn’t whispering a word in our ears.”

That best explains my movement toward creating Active Climate Rescue Initiative.

The first piece of this puzzle came in High School where I learned one simple fact in Earth Science Class: As air passes across the windward side of the mountain, most of the moisture is drawn out of it. This is because the air cools as it rises up the slope of the mountain and condenses, leading to clouds and rain. On the leeward side of the mountain, the climate is warmer and drier; as the air moves down the opposite side of the mountain, it loses its moisture and warms up. Scientists call this the rain shadow effect.

As with all single pieces of a puzzle; it made no sense to me. Learning that was a beacon of light to me. It was an astounding piece of data for which I had no use, but which caused me much interest.

The second puzzle piece is my pervasive compulsion to ‘help’ water in puddles drain out. Digging small ditches between puddles to connect them, and then just watch the water flow into its new home.

The third puzzle piece was in ≈2000 when I had the odd thought that the Dead Sea should be filled with sea water. I began to study this did research as to how this could be accomplished. While having dinner with a Grand Rapids Theological Seminary Professor one evening; I mentioned my thought and he was enthused to pull out his topographical maps of the middle east and we looked to see that a 200 km canal dug only 200 m deep would make the connection between the Gulf of Aqaba and the Dead Sea.

I then started to wonder why the Dead Sea was evaporating to nothing and realized that the rain shadow effect was at work here. This then expanded to my mind that the rain shadow effect was likely the cause of most of the below sea level dry areas on the globe.

Could the thought of filling the Dead Sea be expanded to other places around the world? I tool a look around and found seven major places where water could be moved to fill a dry (or diminishing) depression.

But what good is gained by taking this action? I realized that if any one of these locations were able to have an open channel to the ocean, it would create a very large surface area of water in a hot dry environment, which would result in evaporation and subsequent rain for the desert dwellers.

With the advent of Global Warming, now called Climate Change; a bible verse came to my mind. The LORD God took the man and placed him in the orchard in Eden to care for it and to maintain it. Genesis 2:15 (NET)

To me this was telling me that it is our job to maintain God’s creation as best we can, and that means to help solve Climate Change.

I began to see that in all these hot dry areas, where there is a dry depression caused by the rain shadow effect, there is also desert. So, if there is a way to move water into these dry depressions, then the water will be past the mountain, and the transpiration cycle can begin anew in that dry place which will revitalize the area. I could see how this would change the world and reduce the effects of Climate Change.

The progress of this thought covered about 20 years. During that time, I was not in any position to undertake the goal placed in my mind. Today, I am convinced that these thoughts were God inspired, which is further confirmed by the realization that he has placed me in a position where I can fully commit to their execution. That is why I am doing this instead of so many other things which could fill my retirement years.