Does a Forest Entice Rain Out of the Sky?

   If you want to get over a drought, plant trees -- I mean alot of them. Make them so thick, you'd think you're in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest. 

   Turns out, vegetation and trees draw water out of the soil and exhale it into the atmosphere through processes you and I don't understand because we didn't take the right classes in college. And, water is drawn in from vapor from nearby atmospheres and from nearby water bodies. 

     Anyway, next time someone tells you the Amazon Rainforest exists because there's alot of rain, tell them actually it's the other way around -- the massive rains exist because of the rainforest.

   Now, don't run out and try to persuade state officials that all Utah needs to do is plant billions and billions of trees and the drought will be over. And, don't try to tell the other drought states the same. Just tell Nevada folk the reason for their drought is that they gamble too much. And, tell the people in California their drought is because they have too many movie stars. It sure wouldn't be cool if we persuaded the state it could escape its drought only to simply multiplying our crisis. In 2019, research headed by a team from the University of Utah found that some trees and plants use so much precious soil water that they only make the droughts worse. Common sense, there. 

   In January, Salt Lake County Council member Dea Theodore implored state leaders to take the trees down, not plant more. The trees are consuming trillions of gallons of water that would otherwise flow downstream into the Great Salt Lake, she said. Thinning the trees, she added, would restore enough water for the Great Salt Lake to be well on its way to reaching satisfactory water levels in just five years. 

   But, not so fast. As we mentioned at the top, studies -- I believe even the one from the University of Utah -- are also showing that if the trees and vegetation are thick enough, they draw the water in, then splash it back down, drenching the land below. (It rains about 200 days of the year in the Amazon.) Yes, it is hot in the Amazon, but the rains do have a cooling effect. 

  One wonders if Mother Nature had everything all figured out before man decided to step in and interfere. Everything; she had it all figured out. Even soil erosion and nutrient depletion (I'm thinking of the farmer) caused by rainfall. The roots of the trees and vegetation help anchor the soil so it does not wash away and the nutrients do not wash out.

   Alas, even if we did plant billions and billions of new trees, it would take trillions and trillions of gallons of water to get them tall and leafy enough that they would be drawing in moisture and sending it back as rain. Still, one wonders but what using this knowledge of rain creation might be something we could take advantage of it some places in America and in some places in the world. 

  Work with Mother Nature, don't fight her. 

(Index -- Climate change info)