gnarlylove
Senior Member
A Year of Threats Looms for Western Rivers | Earthjustice
We need to keep in mind humans are not the only species that needs water. However, actions of some assume what water that is not collected is "wasted" water. This ignorance of biology and ecology needs to be rectified before we engage in short-term solutions to our problems that create greater long term problems. Americans have increasingly lost awareness of our relationship to nature and thus policy-makers are making decisions without proper foresight. Nothing new of course but stuff is going to start blowing up in our face.
Arizona, California, and much of the West are running into water problems and we need to be aware of what's at stake. Our needs are not the only needs that must be met. Indeed, watering our lawns accounts for a significant portion of household water consumption. A pretty lawn is not worth its short-term gain. The sad thing is people think money should buy everything. As long as you throw money at it, you can fix it. This is not generally the best strategy.
Conservation in all sectors looks like an inevitability. But with Americans never having enough, we may face these problems a lot sooner. If only Americans could assess the priorities we could make decisions that helps create a foundation for solutions. In the meantime division is rife. Perhaps critical thought should be essential in the schools to combat strife for the sake of strife. However, informal education through ceaseless advertisement tells us we need more and we listen by buying. Advertising has dastardly effects otherwise well-meaning citizens--it converts them into consumers first and foremost rather than people.
Earthjustice said:Under the byzantine mechanism that is the Colorado River water supply system, water providers have grown accustomed to taking what they want, when they want. And even though the agreement that underlies the system, the Colorado River Compact, is based on a fundamental mistake—it allocated far more water than is actually available, even before considering what climate change will do to the river’s flows—making these minor changes has required historic and traumatic efforts.
... It is imperative that we remember that the river is more than a sponge that can be wrung dry to meet our municipal, industrial and agricultural needs. The Colorado River is home to endangered species and the linchpin of a complex regional ecosystem supporting irreplaceable wildlife and natural communities. Arising in the mountains of Wyoming and Colorado and cutting across an arid region to the Gulf of California, this river is the lifeblood of its region like no other. The Colorado is also host to numerous recreational and economic opportunities, a vital element of our region, but only as long as it flows.
Yet despite the supply “crisis” that already exists, and the incomparable river at stake, water providers continue work to take more water from the Colorado River.
We need to keep in mind humans are not the only species that needs water. However, actions of some assume what water that is not collected is "wasted" water. This ignorance of biology and ecology needs to be rectified before we engage in short-term solutions to our problems that create greater long term problems. Americans have increasingly lost awareness of our relationship to nature and thus policy-makers are making decisions without proper foresight. Nothing new of course but stuff is going to start blowing up in our face.
Arizona, California, and much of the West are running into water problems and we need to be aware of what's at stake. Our needs are not the only needs that must be met. Indeed, watering our lawns accounts for a significant portion of household water consumption. A pretty lawn is not worth its short-term gain. The sad thing is people think money should buy everything. As long as you throw money at it, you can fix it. This is not generally the best strategy.
Conservation in all sectors looks like an inevitability. But with Americans never having enough, we may face these problems a lot sooner. If only Americans could assess the priorities we could make decisions that helps create a foundation for solutions. In the meantime division is rife. Perhaps critical thought should be essential in the schools to combat strife for the sake of strife. However, informal education through ceaseless advertisement tells us we need more and we listen by buying. Advertising has dastardly effects otherwise well-meaning citizens--it converts them into consumers first and foremost rather than people.
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