Rural Mysteries of the North Fork Polygon

Global Parching vs. Global Flooding

January 31, 2007

The month of January 2007 has been the driest, least rainy January since the season of 1888/1889 when Thomas Stephens completed the first bike ride around the world and Hiram E. Butler established the Esoteric Publishing Company.

The last rainfall occured on January 4th, 2007 which just happens to coinside with the point in the earth's orbit that brings us closest to the sun!

"This is one of the driest seasons on record," Leighton said. "Unless we get some rain before the end of the month it will mean we are setting a really old record." - Auburn Journal

According to the U.S Drought Monitor, the North Fork Polygon is currently "abnormally dry"! And yet, at this time last year, we were still recovering from the Great New Year's Flood of 2005/2006.

To deal with these opposing forces, Senator John T. Doolittle is proposing to build a dam on an earthquake fault in Auburn and keep the reservoir empty to prevent floods, while at the same time keeping the reservoir filled with water to prevent droughts. His proposal would also submerge thousands of acres of open space and hundreds of miles of recreational trails in the American River Canyon in order to enhance recreation opportunities, and then drain the reservoir in the summer to produce electricity.

Also see our article on Global Warming vs. Global Cooling.

Rural Mysteries of the North Fork Polygon