Grand Avenue by Mike Thompson for May 25, 2016

Ya pretty much couldn’t have most life forms without rain. If rain stopped entirely on a local level, then the water would eventually all evaporate, wash downstream, and/or percolate below ground. Since life as we know it depends on water, pretty much everything would die as the water disappeared. (I use the limiting term “pretty much” since some lifeforms, such as bacteria, are highly adaptable and have minimal needs for survival, and because some lifeforms, such as politicians, seem to be indestructible). On a global level, I don’t know how the rain could stop unless evaporation also stopped (otherwise, where would the water go?). So if evaporation did stop, the distribution system would stop as well, so water would drain to its lower level – deep aquifers, lakes with impervious bases, and/or the oceans. Surface sources would ultimately become unusable as their salinity increased and as pollutants became more concentrated. While we could draw from aquifers to irrigate crops and supply our cities, the natural environment would be decimated. So, too, would many “man-made” environments, as many places would not have sufficient water resources in the short term, and few would have them in the long term (since it can take a lot of time for water to percolate down to a water table). An even worse case would occur if the rain stopped but evaporation did not, as most fresh water would disappear before too long, all fresh water would disappear over the course of centuries, and even the oceans would eventually disappear. To sum up: Rain good.