An editorial in yesterday's Georgia's Athen's Banner-Herald questioned how Georgia, now the fifth-fastest growing state, will be able to deal with the growing water and transportation needs of the state. According to the Census Bureau, Georgia's population grew by 202,670 people during the year ending June 30, 2007, a 2.2 percent increase. The editorial said that the growth rate raises:
....very real questions as to whether the state can, or even should, sustain the kind of population growth in which more than two Sanford Stadium-sized crowds come into the state during the course of 12 months.
The first question, brought home by the continuing drought, is whether this state can count on having enough water - a resource that is fundamental to residential development and much of industrial and commercial development - available in years to come. The drought has suggested, in metropolitan Atlanta as well as in this part of Northeast Georgia, that public water suppliers may be approaching the practical limits of their ability to provide a reliable supply of that basic resource.
When they convene next week in Atlanta, state lawmakers will consider a statewide water management plan. But even with such a plan in place, local governments will, in the future, still have to confront the question of whether their local water supplies can support the kind of business and industrial development that is needed to sustain a growing population.
Water management was not the only concern raised by the editorial:
Another question with a direct bearing on whether the state can sustain the kind of population growth it has experienced during the past several years is how its officials propose to deal with transportation issues. Specifically, the question is whether the state will continue to believe that it can pave its way out of congestion, or whether it might be time to make meaningful investments in public transit alternatives such as buses and trains.
The editors concluded that:
....as the perfect storm of population growth, traffic gridlock and water-supply issues has gathered across much of Georgia, it has become apparent that this state simply must get smarter about handling its development, or it will risk not having any development to handle.
Georgia, of course, is not the only fast growing state facing such challenges. There is a news report ("More Blistering Heat Likely in 2008") this week from Arizona, which is now the second fastest growing state, indicates that drought and record temperatures are likely to persist in 2008.
This past year was the second-hottest ever in the Valley’s recorded weather history, which dates back to the 1890s. According to the National Weather Service, 2007’s average temperature was 76.4 degrees — 2.2 degrees above normal and just a shade less than the 77 posted in 1989....Phoenix’s top 10 warmest years, six have come in this decade, and weather experts believe nobody should be surprised if 2008 continues that trend....The Valley’s rainfall in 2007 fell short of the norm yet again. The official gauge at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport took in 5.05 inches, just 60 percent of normal. This is the ninth straight year, and 11th in 12, when the precipitation fell short of average.
The report also quoted Climatologist Randy Cerveny, as saying that population growth, not just climate, is also contributing to the rising temperatures in the greater Phoenix area:
What’s causing the rising temperatures isn’t just that we live in a desert, but that we live in a booming desert megalopolis measuring almost 60 miles from Johnson Ranch to Sun City West. Cerveny said all that asphalt, concrete and stucco absorbs heat during the day, creating an effect known as the urban heat island.
“Consequently, the city is a lot hotter, on the order of about 5 to 8 degrees warmer than the outlying deserts,” Cerveny said. “So, we end up with much warmer temperatures than we did a hundred years ago, say, when this was all desert.”
