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EP: 153 No Food No Water in 2027 · Humanity Unplugged Podcast

0:08
[SPEAKER_00]: What's up?
0:09
[SPEAKER_00]: What's up?
0:10
[SPEAKER_00]: What's up people?
0:10
[SPEAKER_00]: What's going on man?
0:13
[SPEAKER_00]: It's another one man.
0:14
[SPEAKER_00]: How you guys doing?
0:16
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm Jemaine McCrimon.
0:17
[SPEAKER_00]: This is Amanda I'm plug.
0:19
[SPEAKER_00]: We'd like to welcome you guys to today's episode 153.
0:25
[SPEAKER_00]: We'd like to thank all our long time listeners for continuing showing us support.
0:33
[SPEAKER_00]: Uh, last few episodes, we have pushed out, been about our community, things that's happening, things that continue to happen, and we don't want to lose focus of that.
0:49
[SPEAKER_00]: So we might as well stay in that area, today's nothing changes, we're going to talk about things that affect our community.
0:57
[SPEAKER_00]: We like to give a shout out to all the kids.
1:02
[SPEAKER_00]: all over the world who has started went back to school all the parents that made it possible um... you guys hustled up strong got school supplies clothes and new sneakers the new coats uh... new shirts the new uniforms
1:23
[SPEAKER_00]: The new pencils, book bags, I give a shout out to all the kids that think it's cool to go to school and get an education or back in the day when my kids were in school, I called to the education.
1:39
[SPEAKER_00]: I used to question my kids and I always tell them why we go to school.
1:54
[SPEAKER_00]: as a parent you want your children to always succeed pass their parents to do better to do more to explore to be great and the structure that we in place in them when their children is what they lean on as they get older as young teens, as young adults and then as adults.
2:19
[SPEAKER_00]: So today's episode
2:22
[SPEAKER_00]: are the topic is no food, no water in 2027.
2:31
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, that topic ironically is the topic today due to so much things that are going on in our food and water supplies.
2:44
[SPEAKER_00]: Our food and our water are being tampered with a legit Leo.
2:49
[SPEAKER_00]: You could say it is, they're putting so many different chemicals in our food today.
2:56
[SPEAKER_00]: It has been looked at upon our community and around the world and infrastructure on agriculture is, can we exist on this planet with the way we're going?
3:14
[SPEAKER_00]: If you don't know if you've been on under a rock or maybe you have been distracted.
3:22
[SPEAKER_00]: We have a major crisis upon us.
3:26
[SPEAKER_00]: And one of the crisis we have is food.
3:32
[SPEAKER_00]: Economy, producing, organic, healthy food has fallen by the wayside, along with us having water.
3:46
[SPEAKER_00]: Out on the West Coast, water has been,
3:51
[SPEAKER_00]: disappearing.
3:53
[SPEAKER_00]: The drought has been since it's over 25 years long on the drought we have had.
4:00
[SPEAKER_00]: about our water, and our water supply, the earth, this is where you live, has continually produce water and have water, but unfortunately our water have vanished, and we are in a crisis, I've looked in the stores back in 2020.
4:24
[SPEAKER_00]: And in 2024, a case of water, 24 bottles estimated to be 342, 345, even $4 for a case of water.
4:41
[SPEAKER_00]: And this is not a name brand high in water dishes for some regular purified water 24 pack has jumped up from 347 to 547.
4:54
[SPEAKER_00]: Now our economy, we can look at it and say,
5:05
[SPEAKER_00]: But our economy, things fluctuate, things go up, go down.
5:09
[SPEAKER_00]: Unfortunately, for those who maybe think that is, that's not accurate.
5:18
[SPEAKER_00]: That is not due to our economy, we have a shortage, we have a drought with our fresh water.
5:27
[SPEAKER_00]: They are putting everything in our water because we need water so if we can perhaps taint or do things to the water allegedly,
5:40
[SPEAKER_00]: other things can happen at ups, pharmacies, etc., etc., we know how the story goes, we know how they play it, so I don't need to get into that, you know, but everything works together.
5:56
[SPEAKER_00]: So this episode we will explore what's going on in our water.
6:03
[SPEAKER_00]: We will explore what's going on with our food.
6:06
[SPEAKER_00]: And maybe some items you need to stock up on before the time hits where we have announcement on TV or in the news that we're gonna start happen to not be able to shop at stores unless your last name starts with a particular alphabet because I remember and this goes way back and if you
6:31
[SPEAKER_00]: From the old school, you remember when we had a gas drought, cars had to wait for either the last alphabet or the alphabet.
6:44
[SPEAKER_00]: when they license plate.
6:46
[SPEAKER_00]: Or, um, particular number before you was able to go get gas and the gas lines were retarded.
6:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Uh, it was crazy.
6:58
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's way way back.
7:00
[SPEAKER_00]: This is the back.
7:01
[SPEAKER_00]: That's back when I was probably.
7:06
[SPEAKER_00]: 10-11, recently in 2015, I think it was a 2014 or somewhere in the 20th century, I was working at a hospital in the Bronx and I went all the way to white planes to get gas.
7:26
[SPEAKER_00]: And me and a few people, through friends of mine, shout out to Nisha, Mike, my boys, Dave, A1 and I used to hang out with up there.
7:36
[SPEAKER_00]: I love you guys.
7:39
[SPEAKER_00]: We used to go way up there to get gas for our tanks up.
7:43
[SPEAKER_00]: I used to, I went and filled up my old mobile.
7:46
[SPEAKER_00]: Then I went and took my mom's car at the time.
7:49
[SPEAKER_00]: She was still living.
7:50
[SPEAKER_00]: And I drove her camera up there and fold the camera up.
7:55
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, these things do exist in our life where we have to understand what's going on and to pay attention to our community and what's happening around our community.
8:12
[SPEAKER_00]: And by the way, guys, um, I just want to let you know just to carry out, you know, they're still hanging people in Mississippi.
8:21
[SPEAKER_00]: I know that's come off the clear blue, but two more boys were two more men were found slaying hanging in Mississippi recently.
8:32
[SPEAKER_00]: So as this broadcast goes out, we like one was four or five days ago, one was maybe a week ago where bodies are still being hung, African-American males are still being killed
8:51
[SPEAKER_00]: executed and Mississippi and no one knows nothing FBI is not getting into nothing it's just happening so please men and women of color be very careful how you travel out here nowadays because you are talking
9:13
[SPEAKER_00]: Someone else was found in Raleigh, North Carolina, two bodies were found in Raleigh and North Carolina as well.
9:19
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's happening all over.
9:21
[SPEAKER_00]: So we need to really, you know, be careful out there, people.
9:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Please be careful.
9:29
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, let's get into it.
9:31
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm gonna get you out of information and food for thought is what you need.
9:37
[SPEAKER_00]: I think we're gonna do the food first.
9:42
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, shine out to everyone, man.
9:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Stay safe, stay strong.
9:46
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's get it.
9:49
[SPEAKER_01]: The price of instant coffee rose 15.8%, shelf-stable fish and seafood rose 6.1%.
9:57
[SPEAKER_01]: While rice prices were 6.2% higher than one year earlier.
10:02
[SPEAKER_01]: But what is more notable is what sits behind those numbers.
10:06
[SPEAKER_01]: USDA now forecasts US rice production at the lowest level in 33 years.
10:12
[SPEAKER_01]: Total wheat supplies down about 13%.
10:16
[SPEAKER_01]: while contracted processing tomato production in California is also forecast to decline significantly.
10:23
[SPEAKER_01]: This does not mean grocery stores will be empty after August 31.
10:27
[SPEAKER_01]: But it shows one thing very clearly.
10:30
[SPEAKER_01]: Some familiar staples are heading into fall with higher prices, tighter supply, or greater preparedness value than many people think.
10:38
[SPEAKER_01]: So today, we are going through 12 foods worth adding before August ends.
10:44
[SPEAKER_01]: and the final items come with some especially notable numbers.
10:48
[SPEAKER_01]: 12. iodized salt.
10:52
[SPEAKER_01]: It may be the cheapest item on the list, but it is also one of the easiest things to forget.
10:58
[SPEAKER_01]: A box of salt can sit in the kitchen all year, and you almost never think about it.
11:05
[SPEAKER_01]: Because it is so familiar, many people build an emergency pantry with rice, beans, oatmeal, and canned meat.
11:13
[SPEAKER_01]: but miss the small thing that helps both nutrition and flavor work better.
11:18
[SPEAKER_01]: The first is sodium and iodine.
11:21
[SPEAKER_01]: Sodium is a mineral the body needs for many normal functions, while iodine is needed for the body to produce thyroid hormones.
11:30
[SPEAKER_01]: In a situation after a storm or a power outage, the role of sodium becomes even easier to see.
11:37
[SPEAKER_01]: If you have to clean up, carry water, or work outside and hot weather for many hours, the body loses salt and electrolytes through sweat.
11:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Ocean notes that prolonged work in high temperatures can cause electrolyte loss and contribute to heat cramps.
11:55
[SPEAKER_01]: That is when salt is no longer just about weather food tastes good or not.
12:00
[SPEAKER_01]: The second is seasoning.
12:02
[SPEAKER_01]: A pantry full of rice, beans, oatmeal, and canned meat can still become monotonous if everything is bland.
12:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Just the right amount of salt can make simple foods easier to eat.
12:16
[SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes the distance between edible and I want to eat this again tomorrow comes down to seasoning.
12:23
[SPEAKER_01]: In 2026, BLS said the category salt and other seasonings and spices in July, rose 5.
12:31
[SPEAKER_01]: 4% compared with the same period one year earlier.
12:36
[SPEAKER_01]: This is the increase for the whole category, not table salt alone.
12:41
[SPEAKER_01]: But price is not the only reason to buy early.
12:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Salt is not insuredage across the United States.
12:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Before a major storm, cheap and easy to store items can still disappear locally from shelves when many households buy at the same time over a short period.
12:59
[SPEAKER_01]: As for shelf life, salt itself is very stable when kept dry.
13:04
[SPEAKER_01]: With iodized salt, iodine can gradually decline over time.
13:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Morton recommends iodized salt be used within about five years for best quality.
13:14
[SPEAKER_01]: NIH also notes that iodine declines faster if salt is kept in a hot and humid environment.
13:22
[SPEAKER_01]: The biggest enemy of salt in the pantry is not time, but moisture.
13:27
[SPEAKER_01]: Keep it in a cool, dry place in its packaging or in an airtight container.
13:33
[SPEAKER_01]: You do not need to turn your pantry into a salt warehouse.
13:37
[SPEAKER_01]: A few small boxes kept dry and rotated periodically, are enough for most households.
13:43
[SPEAKER_01]: The paradox of salt is right there.
13:46
[SPEAKER_01]: It is so cheap that almost no one thinks they need to prepare for it.
13:51
[SPEAKER_01]: But without it, both nutrition and the simplest pantry meals lose part of their value.
13:57
[SPEAKER_01]: 11.
13:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Pure Honey.
14:00
[SPEAKER_01]: If you only see honey as a bottle of something sweet to drizzle on toast, you are missing the most notable part of it in 2026.
14:10
[SPEAKER_00]: These things that we're going over now guys is just for you to get understanding how important it is for you to have it and these items might not go up in price, but you should always keep these items in your house.
14:28
[SPEAKER_01]: The latest numbers from USDA show that domestic production and the amount of honey held in producer stocks have just gone through a year of fairly sharp decline.
14:40
[SPEAKER_01]: In 2025, the U.S. produced about 116 million pounds of honey, down 14% from the year before.
14:49
[SPEAKER_01]: Producer held stocks on December 15th were about 34.8 million pounds, down 15%.
14:57
[SPEAKER_01]: Meanwhile, the average honey price recorded by USDA rose to $3.05 per pound.
15:05
[SPEAKER_01]: 27% higher than in 2024.
15:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Those three numbers tell a fairly clear story.
15:12
[SPEAKER_01]: Production fell, stocks fell, and the average price rose sharply.
15:18
[SPEAKER_01]: That does not mean honey is scarce at grocery stores across the United States.
15:23
[SPEAKER_01]: But it is enough to turn a very familiar pantry food into something worth watching.
15:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Instead of assuming that the price and supply conditions behind it will always be as favorable as before.
15:35
[SPEAKER_01]: And honey is not just a market story.
15:38
[SPEAKER_01]: Its stand-out use is providing quick carbohydrates while also serving as an extremely flexible sweetener.
15:46
[SPEAKER_01]: A spoonful of honey can add carbohydrates very simply to a meal made only from basic staples.
15:52
[SPEAKER_01]: You can add it to oatmeal, use it with toast, mix it into drinks, or combine it with peanut butter.
15:59
[SPEAKER_01]: In a pantry where many foods can become repetitive, just a little honey can change the flavor in a meaningful way.
16:08
[SPEAKER_01]: One reason Hane is especially useful for storage is its low moisture and very high natural sugar concentration, which create an environment that is unfavorable for many spoilage microorganisms.
16:20
[SPEAKER_01]: When sealed tightly and protected from water or contaminants, it can maintain quality for a very long time.
16:28
[SPEAKER_01]: And there is one thing many people often misunderstand.
16:36
[SPEAKER_01]: Crystalization is a natural process when glucose forms crystals.
16:41
[SPEAKER_01]: If that happens, gently warming the bottle of honey can usually help the crystals dissolve again.
16:47
[SPEAKER_01]: As for storage, the National Honeyboard recommends keeping honey in a sealed bottle or container at room temperature around 64 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
16:57
[SPEAKER_01]: A place that is too cold makes honey crystallized faster, while prolonged high temperatures
17:06
[SPEAKER_01]: You also do not need to buy an entire case.
17:10
[SPEAKER_01]: A few bottles kept sealed and rotated regularly are far more realistic.
17:15
[SPEAKER_01]: What makes honey notable in 2026 is not only its long storage ability, domestic production and producer stocks are both lower, while the average price is clearly higher.
17:27
[SPEAKER_01]: And in the pantry, a bottle of honey still does very simple things well.
17:32
[SPEAKER_01]: adds carbohydrates, adds flavor, and keeps for a long time without needing a refrigerator.
17:39
[SPEAKER_01]: 10.
17:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Peanut Butter The power has been out for eight hours.
17:44
[SPEAKER_01]: You do not want to open the refrigerator one more time, because every bit of cold air inside is worth keeping right now.
17:52
[SPEAKER_01]: The stove is not working.
17:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Boiling water is no longer as simple as it is on a normal day.
17:59
[SPEAKER_01]: than someone in the house asks, what are we eating now?
18:04
[SPEAKER_01]: This is exactly when a jar of peanut butter starts to have value.
18:08
[SPEAKER_01]: No heat needed, no water needed, no complicated preparation needed, just open the lid.
18:15
[SPEAKER_01]: In a few spoonfuls of peanut butter, you already have calories, fat and protein.
18:20
[SPEAKER_01]: So one small product can help create a fairly realistic meal when the normal appliances in the kitchen can no longer be used.
18:30
[SPEAKER_01]: You can spread it on bread, eat it with crackers, or simply take a few spoonfuls straight from the jar when choices are very limited.
18:40
[SPEAKER_01]: This is not just a survival idea on the internet either.
18:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Ready.gov directly lists peanut butter among the food suitable for an emergency food supply.
18:50
[SPEAKER_01]: What is interesting in 2026 is that its price is still relatively calm.
18:56
[SPEAKER_01]: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in July, peanut butter prices were only about 1.8% higher than the same period one year earlier.
19:07
[SPEAKER_01]: And that creates a very different kind of stockpile logic from honey in the previous spot.
19:13
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, we have to realize that these items we need to keep in our fridge, keeping our cupboards, cabinets, whatever you want to call it, it's going to help or we're all longevity, having these items help you with your family.
19:30
[SPEAKER_00]: I remember when I was a kid, I remember having peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we used to fry hours on the bread with a little butter and the skillet slamming.
19:42
[SPEAKER_00]: Some people never tried it and when you even say that, people would tell you that's disgusting.
19:47
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, a lot of things you're not used to or you haven't tried or you don't know, don't knock it till you try it, you know?
19:57
[SPEAKER_00]: It's beautiful to have items placed away for emergency.
20:01
[SPEAKER_00]: So hopefully you guys are taking notes and getting a better understanding of what might be in your emergency kit in case we do run into a shortage.
20:10
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not going to be able to go through all 10, let me all 12 grocery items you need to have in one episode.
20:16
[SPEAKER_00]: So we're going to definitely make this a two, three-part series, but I just want you to know we're going to let it roll for another probably six minutes or so, and then I'm going to get off this one.
20:26
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, and I get to that water, because the water is even more, because you just one, one, they both work together basically, so you need food, you need water, it's just basically what it is, you know?
20:39
[SPEAKER_01]: You do not necessarily have to wait until an item rises sharply in price before you start paying attention to it.
20:46
[SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes the more reasonable choice is to add a food your family already uses, while the price is still relatively stable.
20:53
[SPEAKER_01]: especially when that item solves a very specific situation in an emergency.
20:59
[SPEAKER_01]: Peanut butter is also better suited to rotation than to buying and forgetting.
21:04
[SPEAKER_01]: USDA gives a range of about six to nine months for unopened commercial peanut butter, and about two to three months after opening to maintain good quality.
21:14
[SPEAKER_01]: With natural peanut butter, read the label instructions carefully,
21:22
[SPEAKER_01]: The simplest way is to use the older jar first, then add the new jar behind it.
21:28
[SPEAKER_01]: And going back to this kitchen with no power at the beginning.
21:33
[SPEAKER_01]: You do not need to rebuild a normal dinner.
21:36
[SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes you only need to open a jar, take out bread or crackers, and put food on the table.
21:43
[SPEAKER_01]: Peanut butter solves the meal when the kitchen stops working.
21:46
[SPEAKER_01]: The next item solves a different problem.
21:49
[SPEAKER_01]: What happens when the refrigerator can no longer protect a type of food that many families still use every day?
21:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Nine, powdered milk.
21:58
[SPEAKER_01]: The gallon of fresh milk is nothing to worry about when the refrigerator is still running normally.
22:03
[SPEAKER_01]: But when the power is out long enough, the clock starts ticking.
22:08
[SPEAKER_01]: From that moment on, fresh milk becomes one of the foods you have to keep an eye on.
22:14
[SPEAKER_01]: powdered milk is different.
22:16
[SPEAKER_01]: Powdered milk does not have that clock before it is mixed.
22:20
[SPEAKER_01]: That is the most important reason it belongs in an emergency pantry.
22:24
[SPEAKER_01]: Refrigeration independence.
22:27
[SPEAKER_01]: You still have a form of dairy sitting on the shelf without needing to take up space in the refrigerator until you actually want to use it.
22:35
[SPEAKER_01]: And this year, that advantage is a little more worth noticing.
22:40
[SPEAKER_01]: In July, 2026, the Bureau of Labor's statistics showed that Milke was 5.1% higher than one year earlier, while fresh whole Milke was 6.0% higher.
22:53
[SPEAKER_01]: This is not proof of a dairy shortage.
22:56
[SPEAKER_01]: It simply makes a shelf-stable option more worth considering, but powdered Milke does not only replace a gallon of Milke.
23:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Non-fat dry milk provides protein, calcium, and vitamins A and D, while milk and dairy foods in general are also a source of vitamin B12.
23:21
[SPEAKER_01]: So it does not do the same job as peanut butter.
23:25
[SPEAKER_01]: Peanut butter leans toward calories, fat, and a quick meal.
23:29
[SPEAKER_01]: Powdered milk helps keep part of dairy nutrition in the pantry, and you do not need to turn it into a glass of milk every time you use it.
23:37
[SPEAKER_01]: Added to oatmeal, it adds more protein and calcium.
23:42
[SPEAKER_01]: Added to mashed potatoes, it creates more body.
23:46
[SPEAKER_01]: In baking, it helps dry ingredients in the pantry become a more complete item, without needing to keep fresh milk in the refrigerator.
23:54
[SPEAKER_01]: There is one detail worth knowing when choosing what to buy.
23:58
[SPEAKER_01]: If the main goal is pantry storage, non-fat dry milk usually has an advantage over whole milk powder.
24:05
[SPEAKER_01]: because the lower fat content helps it stay stable longer during storage.
24:10
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is also where you should be careful with the claim.
24:14
[SPEAKER_01]: Powdered milk lasts 20 years.
24:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Real shelf life depends a lot on packaging and temperature.
24:21
[SPEAKER_01]: In hot conditions, quality can decline after only a few months.
24:25
[SPEAKER_01]: In a cooler environment with suitable packaging, non-fat dry milk can maintain quality for about three to five years.
24:34
[SPEAKER_01]: So read the date and instructions on the actual product you buy, instead of treating every kind of powdered milk as the same.
24:42
[SPEAKER_00]: But so we're going to stop there because that was good.
24:46
[SPEAKER_00]: I like that.
24:47
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think we also need to understand that in a crisis situation, where you know food, there's no water.
25:02
[SPEAKER_00]: on stock and you don't wait to the crisis hit for you to have it because when you go look for it, you won't find it.
25:11
[SPEAKER_00]: So it was very important for us to keep an eye and start buying things slowly but surely to start loading up on that day in case things go left.
25:23
[SPEAKER_00]: All right.
25:25
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to go now and get you guys the clip for water because we got to go over that.
25:35
[SPEAKER_00]: All right.
25:35
[SPEAKER_00]: Here we go.
25:36
[SPEAKER_00]: Check it out.
25:40
[SPEAKER_02]: 2.1 trillion gallons.
25:43
[SPEAKER_02]: That is the amount of water vanishing from the American West every single year, consumed by a single crop that almost nobody eats.
25:52
[SPEAKER_02]: It's the water that grows the feed for the cows that become your milk and your burger.
25:57
[SPEAKER_02]: It's more water than all 40 million people across seven states use inside their homes combined.
26:03
[SPEAKER_02]: And this is the silent catastrophe happening right now, far from the
26:10
[SPEAKER_02]: We have spent two decades staring at a single bathtub ring etched into a canyon wall, thinking it was the whole story.
26:18
[SPEAKER_02]: It was never the whole story.
26:19
[SPEAKER_02]: The real crisis is invisible.
26:21
[SPEAKER_02]: It's underground, where ancient water reserves are being pumped dry at a rate that can never be refilled.
26:27
[SPEAKER_02]: This isn't a drought.
26:29
[SPEAKER_02]: It is an empty, a permanent and irreversible hollowing out of the ground beneath our feet.
26:35
[SPEAKER_02]: So the question is no longer about when
26:38
[SPEAKER_02]: Have you heard about poppin windows?
26:40
[SPEAKER_02]: We need 50.
26:42
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sorry about that guys.
26:43
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know why that came up.
26:46
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to get rid of it and we go right back to it.
26:50
[SPEAKER_00]: We'd like to get right into this water because it's very important, man.
26:54
[SPEAKER_00]: And water shortage pay attention.
26:56
[SPEAKER_02]: Pay attention.
26:58
[SPEAKER_02]: The question is, what happens when we discover the water we were counting on was never really there at all?
27:04
[SPEAKER_02]: For a generation, Lake Mead has been the public face of the water crisis.
27:09
[SPEAKER_02]: Its decline is a slow, methodical drama.
27:13
[SPEAKER_02]: The dropping water levels, the ghost towns and sunken boats reemerging from the deaths.
27:18
[SPEAKER_02]: The stark white band of mineral deposits a geological scar marking how much has been lost since 1983.
27:28
[SPEAKER_02]: As of today, July 11th, 2026, the lake surface sits at an elevation of 1,042.9 feet.
27:36
[SPEAKER_02]: That number is a death sentence and slow motion, and it's a number that puts the entire south west just a handful of feet away from a disaster, far more immediate than a dry lake bed.
27:47
[SPEAKER_02]: Everyone talks about Deadpool, the 895 foot elevation mark, where water can no longer flow past Hoover Dam, but that's a distant apocalypse.
27:56
[SPEAKER_02]: the one that keeps engineers awake at night arrives much sooner.
28:00
[SPEAKER_02]: It's called the Power Cliff, and it sits at an elevation of roughly 1,035 feet, just underneath the below where the lake is today.
28:08
[SPEAKER_02]: At 1,035 feet, the pressure on Hoover Dam's turbines drops so significantly that it's ability to generate usable hydro power collapses.
28:18
[SPEAKER_02]: The lights don't just go out, the grid that serves millions across Arizona, Nevada and Southern California plunges into instability.
28:28
[SPEAKER_02]: Rolling blackouts, unpredictable surgers, a system engineered for a full reservoir suddenly forced to operate on fumes.
28:35
[SPEAKER_02]: We have been here before, in July of 2022, the late hit its all-time record low of 1,040 feet.
28:42
[SPEAKER_02]: We are teetering right on the edge of that same record today.
28:45
[SPEAKER_02]: The buffer is gone.
28:47
[SPEAKER_02]: That single wet winner of 2023 was not a rescue.
28:51
[SPEAKER_02]: It was a momentary pause and a century long decline.
28:55
[SPEAKER_02]: And now the crisis is accelerating again.
28:58
[SPEAKER_02]: But here's what they don't tell you.
29:00
[SPEAKER_02]: Here's the secret that reshapes the entire equation.
29:03
[SPEAKER_02]: If Lake Mead hits dead pool, if the water drops to 895 feet, California loses its water.
29:12
[SPEAKER_02]: Arizona's aqueducts run dry.
29:14
[SPEAKER_02]: Mexico gets nothing, but Las Vegas will be fine.
29:18
[SPEAKER_02]: Las Vegas will not go dry.
29:21
[SPEAKER_02]: Because while the world was watching the water level drop, the city that should not exist was making a desperate, ruthless, and brilliant, billion dollar gamble.
29:30
[SPEAKER_02]: a bet that it could out engineer the apocalypse, a bet that it has already won.
29:35
[SPEAKER_02]: It's called the low lake level pumping station, or more famously, the third straw.
29:42
[SPEAKER_02]: Between 2008 and 2015, the Southern Nevada Water Authority spent $1.5 billion on a project that many called Insane.
29:52
[SPEAKER_02]: They drilled a three mile tunnel under the floor of Lake Mead itself, a feet of engineering through solid volcanic basalt to build a new water intake.
30:01
[SPEAKER_02]: This one sits at an elevation of 875 feet, 20 feet below dead hole.
30:08
[SPEAKER_02]: It is a drain at the very bottom of the bathtub.
30:11
[SPEAKER_02]: Think about what that means.
30:13
[SPEAKER_02]: It's an insurance policy written not against a drought, but against their neighbors.
30:17
[SPEAKER_02]: The third straw guarantees that as the late drains pass the point of no return for everyone else, the pumps for Las Vegas will still be running.
30:25
[SPEAKER_02]: The casinos will still glow, the fountains will still run.
30:29
[SPEAKER_02]: The city played the smartest hand in the desert.
30:32
[SPEAKER_02]: They bought their survival by ensuring they would be the last one's left drinking.
30:37
[SPEAKER_02]: It was not a growth strategy, it was a survival strategy, and it was a declaration of
30:46
[SPEAKER_02]: The city's planners looked at the map of the Colorado River, the flawed 1922 compact that promised more water than nature ever provided, and they understood a fundamental truth.
30:57
[SPEAKER_02]: A day was coming when there would not be enough for everyone.
31:00
[SPEAKER_02]: And on that day, engineering would matter more than law.
31:05
[SPEAKER_02]: The $1.5 billion price tag paid for by the residents of southern Nevada through years of rising water rates wasn't a cost.
31:13
[SPEAKER_02]: It was a ransom, the price for living in an impossible place.
31:18
[SPEAKER_02]: And while that tunnel provides a terrifying security for one city, it completely distracts from the real catastrophe unfolding beneath the entire American West.
31:28
[SPEAKER_02]: The problem wasn't just the lake.
31:30
[SPEAKER_02]: The lake was only a symptom.
31:32
[SPEAKER_02]: The bathtub ring on lake need is a misdirection.
31:35
[SPEAKER_02]: It is captured our attention for decades, a visible, measurable symbol of loss.
31:41
[SPEAKER_02]: But the real story of the West Water Crisis isn't written on those canyon walls.
31:46
[SPEAKER_02]: It's written in the dark, in the dirt, in the ancient geology beneath our feet.
31:52
[SPEAKER_02]: miles away from the Colorado River under the sprawling farms of California's central valley and the vast plains of Texas and Kansas lies the real emergency.
32:02
[SPEAKER_02]: The groundwater.
32:03
[SPEAKER_02]: We have been treating these immense underground aquifers like a checking account, but they are a fixed trust fund deposited over thousands of years and we are draining it in a single lifetime.
32:13
[SPEAKER_02]: Take the Ogilala aquifer.
32:15
[SPEAKER_02]: It is not.
32:16
[SPEAKER_02]: I bet 99%
32:23
[SPEAKER_00]: We get right back to it.
32:28
[SPEAKER_02]: Lossel underground reservoir of ancient water, a shallow water table, stretching beneath eight states from South Dakota to Texas.
32:35
[SPEAKER_02]: It provides nearly a third of all groundwater used for irrigation in the entire United States.
32:42
[SPEAKER_02]: It is the lifeblood of the high plains, the reason the American breadbasket can exist, and we are mining it to extinction.
32:49
[SPEAKER_02]: because the Ogilala recharge is so slowly on a geological time scale measured in millennia.
32:55
[SPEAKER_02]: Every gallon pumped out is essentially a gallon that has gone forever on a human time scale.
33:01
[SPEAKER_02]: Since industrial pumping began in the mid-20th century, parts of the aquifer have dropped more than 200 feet.
33:08
[SPEAKER_02]: It is not a drought.
33:09
[SPEAKER_02]: It's a permanent depletion.
33:11
[SPEAKER_02]: This is the silent crisis.
33:13
[SPEAKER_02]: There are no bathtub rings on an aquifer.
33:16
[SPEAKER_02]: There are only wells that have to be drilled deeper and deeper until one day they hit dust.
33:21
[SPEAKER_02]: and that day is arriving.
33:24
[SPEAKER_02]: According to Scott Jasheshko, a professor of water resources at Uxana Barbra.
33:29
[SPEAKER_02]: This isn't a uniquely American problem.
33:31
[SPEAKER_02]: Aquifers are being depleted globally, but the American West is a hotspot for this invisible catastrophe.
33:38
[SPEAKER_02]: In California, the story is just as grim.
33:42
[SPEAKER_02]: During droughts, groundwater can provide up to 60% of the state's entire water supply.
33:48
[SPEAKER_02]: It is the emergency reserve, the backup plan.
33:51
[SPEAKER_02]: That backup plan is failing.
33:54
[SPEAKER_02]: In the San Joaquin Valley, part of California's agricultural heartland, the ground is literally sinking.
34:00
[SPEAKER_02]: Decades of overpumping groundwater have caused the land to subside, compacting the empty space where water used to be.
34:12
[SPEAKER_02]: That's enough water to supply a million households disappearing from beneath the ground every year.
34:17
[SPEAKER_02]: This subsidence damages canals, bridges, roads, and building foundations.
34:22
[SPEAKER_02]: It is the Earth itself giving way, a physical manifestation of a resource that has been pushed past its breaking point.
34:31
[SPEAKER_02]: The state of California saw this coming.
34:33
[SPEAKER_02]: A decade ago, they passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act or Shima.
34:38
[SPEAKER_02]: The law mandates that critically overdrafted regions, like the San Joaquin Valley, must achieve sustainability by the year 2040.
34:46
[SPEAKER_02]: They must balance what they pump with what naturally recharges.
34:50
[SPEAKER_02]: It was a landmark piece of legislation, a promise to fix the problem.
34:55
[SPEAKER_02]: but a study published in April, 2026 and the journal Water Resources Research delivered a devastating verdict.
35:02
[SPEAKER_00]: This is... Now guys, I'm gonna tell you, this ain't for everybody.
35:06
[SPEAKER_00]: Some of you guys won't listen to this.
35:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Some of you guys won't even pay attention to it.
35:11
[SPEAKER_00]: And the literature is great.
35:12
[SPEAKER_00]: It's great information for you guys to retain.
35:15
[SPEAKER_00]: But some of you guys don't care.
35:17
[SPEAKER_00]: And you just won't water to be in the pipes when you turn it on.
35:20
[SPEAKER_00]: but this breaks down the physics on what going on with your water and what they're doing how they're just pulling on the water out and they're pulling out of these water wells and they're draining them and they're doing things with this water because they're drilling and taking it, where they're using it, where's it going?
35:39
[SPEAKER_00]: this is a long video.
35:40
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not going to watch it all today.
35:42
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to go back to it.
35:44
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to give you another two three minutes of it and then we're going to stop it.
35:47
[SPEAKER_00]: But we're going to continue on the next episode with this because this is really good.
35:52
[SPEAKER_00]: You need to hear it.
35:53
[SPEAKER_00]: You need to have it.
35:55
[SPEAKER_02]: Study concluded that reaching SGM of 2040 targets may be nearly impossible in many of these bases.
36:02
[SPEAKER_02]: The pressures of climate change, reduce surface water supplies, and rising of apparition, are simply too great.
36:09
[SPEAKER_02]: The official policy says everything will be fine.
36:12
[SPEAKER_02]: The scientific data says the plan is failing.
36:15
[SPEAKER_02]: The gap between political promises and physical reality is widening into a casin.
36:20
[SPEAKER_02]: We are following out the very foundation of the West, chasing a finite resource deeper and deeper into the Earth with no real plan for what happens when we reach the bottom.
36:31
[SPEAKER_02]: And where is all this water going?
36:33
[SPEAKER_02]: Both from the rivers and from the ground?
36:36
[SPEAKER_02]: Now we come back to that impossible number, 2.1 trillion gallons.
36:41
[SPEAKER_02]: In 2025 alone, that's the estimated water consumption of one single crop across the seven Colorado River Basin states.
36:50
[SPEAKER_02]: Albelfa, it's a leafy thirsty plant that most Americans have never seen and will never eat.
36:55
[SPEAKER_02]: It is grown, harvested, and used almost exclusively as feed for dairy and beef cows.
37:02
[SPEAKER_02]: Let that sink in.
37:03
[SPEAKER_02]: Roughly one quarter of the entire Colorado River, a lifeline for 40 million people, is diverted to growth food for livestock.
37:12
[SPEAKER_02]: The sheer scale of this is hard to comprehend.
37:15
[SPEAKER_02]: We have created a system where urban residents and cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas are police for the length of their showers and paid to tear out their lawns.
37:24
[SPEAKER_02]: while an amount of water that could solve their shortages many times over is used to feed cattle.
37:29
[SPEAKER_02]: The indoor water use of the entire 40 million person population of the basin is less than the water use to grow this one animal feed crop.
37:39
[SPEAKER_02]: It is a crisis of priorities, a system of allocation, so profoundly illogical at borders on madness.
37:45
[SPEAKER_02]: This is the legacy of the 1922 Colorado River Compact.
37:50
[SPEAKER_02]: that century old document, the original sin of western water law, was signed based on measurements from an abnormally wet period.
37:58
[SPEAKER_02]: It allocated rights to the world.
38:01
[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm going to stop there, guys.
38:03
[SPEAKER_00]: I want you guys to understand that our shortage of water
38:22
[SPEAKER_00]: to feed the cattle in the cows for beef and for our livestock, for our livelihood.
38:36
[SPEAKER_00]: So if we didn't grow the grass, that feeds the cows in the cattle, then what will we feed them?
38:50
[SPEAKER_00]: So the feed does need it for the cows in the cattle.
38:58
[SPEAKER_00]: That's where all I want to grow the feed.
39:05
[SPEAKER_00]: I hope deficit of water has come from the evolve
39:20
[SPEAKER_00]: cows milk dairy because the crops take so much water it's hard to believe but that's what's going on.
39:44
[SPEAKER_00]: Part two will come out guys on Thursday
39:51
[SPEAKER_00]: uh... this is a good one hopefully you guys enjoyed it and the stop right there was a great place where stop uh... i don't know man they have to grow to feed so the cows can get to feed so the milk is returned
40:18
[SPEAKER_00]: So you can go to Texas Roadhouse and get a steak off the beef after the cow was slaughtered.
40:33
[SPEAKER_00]: Is there a better way to do things?
40:39
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.
40:41
[SPEAKER_00]: couldn't we just have caught the water when it rains, but it don't rain, where the feed is being grown, it don't rain over there.
40:53
[SPEAKER_00]: Crazy.
40:55
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm your host, your name, a