Lack of rain could lead to 35% loss of harvest and blackouts in Arequipa

This article can be found here. Apparently many areas, especially the south, in Peru are seeing are large reduction in rainfall this year. This could be caused by a cooler ocean as most of this rain comes directly from the Pacific and the Humboldt current.

They are predicting that this lack of rainfall could lead to the loss of 35% of this summer's harvest (the primary harvest of the year).

They have also stated that they are only able to produce 30% of the normal hydroelectric energy at this time. If this continues there may have to be blackouts in Arequipa. As seen on this blog in the past, I have constantly criticized the electric company in Arequipa. It is a government run agency that has a complete monopoly and provides horrible service, worse than what was seen in the US 50 years ago. There have also been reports that they have hundreds of people on their active payroll that are either dead or retired. It is just a mess and needs to be denationalized.

They need to start looking at more sources of power like solar. It is sunny almost every day in Arequipa, there is no reason that solar power should only be used for heating your bath water.

The government needs to encourage companies to sell batteries and solar power systems that can be used to power an entire house. They also need to look into constructing solar power plants in these mountains.

Hydro power disrupts the local ecosystems that depend on the rivers. This leads to extinctions of species. It also is not reliable enough as the water supply is a constantly changing thing. This is especially true in Peru where past cultures like the Nazca people disappeared due to a change in their water supply. Another example where people need to learn from their own history.