The water war that will decide the fate of 1 in 8 Americans

[lordsummerisle]

Lake Mead is the country’s biggest reservoir of water. Think of it as the savings account for the entire Southwest. Right now, that savings account is nearly overdrawn.

For generations, we’ve been using too much of the Colorado River, the 300-foot-wide ribbon of water that carved the Grand Canyon, supplies Lake Mead, and serves as the main water source for much of the American West.

The river sustains one in eight Americans — about 40 million people — and millions of acres of farmland. In the next 40 years, the region is expected to add at least 10 million more people, as the region’s rainfall becomes more erratic.

https://www.salon.com/2018/05/05/the-water-war-that-will-decide-the-fate-of-1-in-8-americans_partner/

[Civic Justice]

1. Fresh Water will become a deciding factor for America and Other Nations future!!!

We are not only depleting it rapidly, we are contaminating the water table in many regions across this nation.

All the chemicals pumped in the ground to get gas and oil... over time does not just vanish, it will rise up and further contaminate the water table. "Man's Greed and Vanity is Too Saturated within his concept of self to even see such truth".

[Duppers]

5. +100

[roamer65]

2. Stay away from the Great Lakes.

We will fight water diversion to the bitter end if necessary.

The problem isn’t a shortage of water, it’s too many people.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

4. Meanwhile, we'll pollute and waste the Great Lakes ourselves.

This article about the Foxconn deal in Wisconsin also goes into some detail about the Great Lakes Compact involving the surrounding states plus Canada:
https://www.ien.com/regulation/news/21002708/wi-approves-foxconn-for-7m-gallon-daily-water-draw

[Civic Justice]

6. Maybe.... its not that it's too many people...

Last edited Sun May 6, 2018, 05:48 PM - Edit history (1)

Its the wastefulness... engaged by how people wastefully take water for granted and waste it!!!

From simple stuff such as how many people let the faucet run full blast while brushing their teeth, to people watering laws and the water makes a stream going down the street and gutter, to companies using inefficient systems that waste water.
some people overly wash their car, when various products exist that can achieve the general result with wiping it of before it gets too dirty.
(I had a classic 84 Porsche 911 Carrera, for nearly 10 yrs and only washed it once. I have a 2007 Harley Ultra Classic that has never been washed, but it still looks like new)

We can do many things to conserve water, if we think about what we are doing, before we do it.

America has this concept of "land of plenty" and we are a very wasteful society, not only of water but anything we use, we find a way to be wasteful. It's one of the negatives of claiming to be such a prosperous country.

I look at corporations how they abandon good facilities and then go build another one is some other place, or people abandon churches and the excessive boom in church building projects.... or the many towns with the many empty building, we allow to sit and "rot', because someone can't extract the highest dollar to rent or lease it, or they just let it rot, while they claim a tax break stating a loss.

We built outdated highways, with not enough lanes, and know we continue to grow as a society, as a result we waste many billions of gallons of fuel sitting in traffic that could otherwise not exist, if we had not built obsolescence with insufficient traffic lanes.

We have farming that tosses much away, to keep the price up for what they do sell. We have buffet eateries that cook mass volumes of food, and must throw much of it away.

Our school facilities and businesses of every type, burn up much electricity with night lighting, instead of installing solar system lighting for nighttime exterior lighting.

When it comes to water... we don't give it a second thought when wasting it. California spoke of drought, but the wealthy cared more for "lush green lawns" that they never walk on, that span acres, just so they can look at it and boast about how beautiful their landscape is.

We could develop high pressure toilets that seal and spray itself clean that use a matter of cups of water, instead we use the type that use gallons of water in a volume rinse method for every flush. (Yet, airlines can make their's flush with a lesser volume of water.)

Our Education system does not teach the right things!!!!! as a resulting scenario we don't develop the most efficient things.

[Spider Jerusalem]

3. People probably need to stop moving to places with less than 10 inches of rainfall a year

Of course, the Southwest will end up depopulated, eventually, but it'll be catastrophic before that happens.

[BlueWI]

7. Here's an issue that deserves immediate and sustained attention.

Everyone has a stake in finding the best solution possible. Who will lead the process?