The Pigeon on Fresh Water Access
Reuters: Removing salt from sea water to overcome a worldwide shortage of drinking water could end up worsening the crisis, environmental group WWF warned on Tuesday. Desalination, the filtering and evaporation of sea water, is very energy-intensive and involves significant emissions of greenhouse gases that scientists say are a factor in the shrinking supplies of freshwater, the Swiss-based group said. Spain, Saudi Arabia, Australia and other arid countries should rely more on water conservation and recycling and avoid huge desalination projects that have been linked to pollution and ecosystem damage. "The quite possibly mistaken lure of widespread water availability from desalination ... has the potential to drive a major misdirection of public attention, policy and funds away from the pressing need to use all water wisely," it said. CONTINUED
Remember: I'm not exactly the epitome of tree-hugging conservation, but it doesn't take tie dyed glasses to see how much water we waste in Colorado Springs.
Plus, I hate mowing the lawn anyways.
People who move the west don't seem to realize it's friggin' dry out here. And for the new arrivals from areas bursting at the seam with water it's a hard adjustment.
So they don't adjust!
What used to be an arid environment is now thirsty sod as far as the eye can see. People gripe and b***h about how expensive water is; but by God, they're gonna have their lush, green lawns!
Better yet, developers keep throwing up houses (housing slump aside) with massive expanses of lawn. We even have an entire development out here that was built BEFORE the contractors got a water permit! Now the houses sit empty as the company wrangles with the city for water rights.
We also have farmers getting priced out by water usage fees and rations, and I read an interview with a 4th generation Colorado farmer who had to sell his parched land while shaking his fist at the green developments next door that sucked away water with impunity. I mean, perhaps we shouldn't plant water-intensive crops here in Colorado, but when weighed in the balance what do we need more? Food, or green lawns?
On the bright side, the xeriscape movement's picking up speed here, and we did what we could with our meager budget: we have our lawn is mulch or rock, and the remaining sod is drought-tolerant and water conservative grass (can't remember the name off the top of my head, but at least it t'aint Kentucky bluegrass). We also put in some drought resistant native trees, and a water budgeting sprinkler system.
I wish I could've done more outside, but xeriscape is pricey up front: but at least I did something. If some covenant queen comes out of the woodwork and tells me I violated the local lawn ordinance, I'm going to ask 'em to watch the weather channel, take rain gauge measurements for a year, and sic my pigeons on 'em!
As for inside, we have water saver shower heads, low gallon toilet bowls (although that's one place I sometimes wish for extra throughput), and always run the dishwasher and washing machine on the shortest settings.
Why do I care, you ask? Well, I kind of like having a planet to live on, and clean running water's a nice touch. I'd like to keep it that way.
On the professional side, I've written papers on the geopolitics of water. You think oil is a war starter? Fights over access to fresh water have been raging for far longer, and I assess a major water crisis will happen sooner than an major oil brouhaha.
Perhaps we'd think more about where our water comes from if we charged $3.25 a gallon for it, just like gas?
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Stumble It!
The U.S. gov't is coming after Canada's water. Read the book Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World's Water by Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke.
Posted by: canuckistani | 20 June 2007 at 09:26
Water will be the number one concern of the United States within 20 years. We are facing a potential disaster due to development of arid lands and urban sprawl which forces agriculture into areas (such as the Great Plains) where water availability is becoming a problem. The impact will be felt in the cost of food. We are already seeing an impact from corn-based ethanol production which places high demands on our water resources both through the ethanol plant itself and through the needs for growing corn.
Posted by: Panhandle Poet | 20 June 2007 at 09:54