Only at WUWT: California's water scarcity is "amusing"

This time it's not so much that Anthony Watts of WUWT doubts the findings (the word "claim" doesn't appear in the headline), it's that he is amused by the notion that there's yet another pressure on water availability in his part of the USA. Yes, he thinks it's humorous. (Archived here.)

A new paper was reported in a press release from UC Irvine, which said in part:

Freshwater runoff from the Sierra Nevada may decrease by as much as one-quarter by 2100 due to climate warming on the high slopes, according to scientists at UC Irvine and UC Merced.

Accelerated plant growth at higher elevations caused by increasing temperatures would trigger more water absorption and evaporation, accounting for the projected runoff declines, the researchers add.

A diminished river flow will only add to the burden of providing resources to the thirsty farms and homes that rely on it. The state is currently experiencing a severe drought, and some reservoirs and groundwater levels are at all-time lows.

The study findings appear this week in the early online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

You can read the full press release here. The research was done by Michael L. Goulden and Roger C. Bales. I couldn't find the study at PNAS early edition. I expect it will be posted online shortly.

At WUWT the paper was treated with a mix of disdain, disinterest, disbelief from commenters, and "amusement" from Anthony Watts himself. He wrote:

From the University of California – Irvine and the “Environmentalists are never happy” department comes this amusing quandary.

The cause? Increased high-elevation plant growth fueled by climate warming

I don't think too many people in California and neighbouring states would be amused. California is suffering extreme drought at the moment, according to the US Drought Monitor:

Source: US Drought Monitor

From the WUWT comments

There were ice age comethers, like James the Elder, who wrote:

September 1, 2014 at 7:41 pm
They should be happy about more trees. After all the coal plants are shuttered, they will need the wood to stay warm.

Then there were Pollyanna types, like Rhoda R who wrote:

September 1, 2014 at 7:46 pm
Doesn’t increased run off have a lot to do with flooding in California?

Jack is an example of someone who doesn't "believe" humans are capable of making projections based on a knowledge of biology, atmospheric science, geology, soil physics, and chemistry. He becomes incoherent with rage that scientists get paid for the work they do:

September 1, 2014 at 7:48 pm
what a load of hogwash. Water is too serious a matter to let fools like that play with failed computer models. Anyone who extrapolates out that far is not a scientist of any repute or regard. We have to use what water we have in much better ways and technology is rapidly advancing in this area.

That advance must not be blocked by these dopes trying to grab so me more climate funding. 

cnxtim, who wastes much of his day writing dumb comments at WUWT and who probably wouldn't open a climate textbook if his life depended on it or engage in any productive activity, says:

September 1, 2014 at 7:49 pm
The problem is really one of unbounded funding.

Why governments have been suckered into approving this enormous waste of taxpayers money is beyond me

With so many real problems facing every country, this climate overstudy nonsense is both reprehensible and just plain STUPID!

Get a job you useless bludgers!

latecommer2014 might be oxygen deprived, making up stuff out of thin mountain air:

September 1, 2014 at 7:56 pm
Lots of “coulds” in this article as in “it could be with warming”….. Of course the fact that the Sierras are cooling makes it irrelevant .

In an attempt to claim that "scientists don't know nuffin'", john robertson is even prepared to become a (temporary) greenie:

September 1, 2014 at 8:25 pm
I guess they never leave the air-conditioned office.
Trees, foothill forests prolong river flow throughout the year.
The forest acts as a sponge for snowmelt, downpours and so on, thus preventing flooding and then their real value kicks in, come midsummer the water flow is clean, cool and steady.
Known in many farming areas where the forests were cleared ruthlessly to create farm land.
Until the foothill forests grew back, there was spring flooding and summer drought. 

SAMURAI decides he has the solution to solve all the drought problems farmers are facing in California:

September 1, 2014 at 9:17 pm
It’s absurd that California has not spent more on desalinization plants given its population growth and its semi-desert climate.
Many desalinization plants have been proposed, but the EPA and enviro-wacko advocacy groups have prevented their development.
Another problem in California is the cyclical nature of its precipitation, which closely follows El Nino/La Nina cycles. Stupid political hacks often propose building desalinization plants during dry La Nina cycles, and then defund the projects once El Nino/high precipitation cycles restart….
The US should follow Singapore’s model of rapid desalinization plant development to address their water shortage problem.
In the future, cheap and abundant waste heat from Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors will eventually supply arid areas of the country with more fresh water than they’ll know what to do with…
Until LFTRs are available, reverse osmosis desalinization plants must rapidly be built in California to meet its growing water requirements.

Which confuses the deniers no end, because denier blogger Andrew Bolt has told them desal plants like the ones that Perth now relies upon for almost 30% of its water supply, are a complete waste of money. Eugene WR Gallun wrote:

September 1, 2014 at 10:01 pm
All that about desalinization plants was also said in Australia a few years back — and they built them. They now sit unused — one of the biggest government boondoggles in Australian history.:

There was one rare person who wasn't mirthful and mocking like Anthony Watts, and took the report seriously. David in Cal wrote:

September 1, 2014 at 9:53 pm
I take this seriously, given that water shortages already occur every few years. This paper will make a positive contribution if it persuades people to take steps to provide more water.