Those alarmed by global warming call it “the other water problem” – not rising sea level, but diminishing snowfall over the western United States. Climate models indicate that snowfall levels could drop as much as 70% by the end of the 21^st century – a prediction that, if true, would require a seismic shift in the way the United States uses water for agriculture and human consumption.

Before you start drilling a 600’ well and building a million-gallon cistern, it should be noted that the climate models we’re talking about have, to put it politely, a sub-optimal record in their predictive accuracy. But even if the models are completely wrong and snowfall levels remain where they are, the west, and agriculture in general, still faces a long-term water problem…. To read more, visit http://blog.alextiller.com