Warnings about potential future water shortages have been sounded repeatedly for many years now, but we are only just beginning to see their reality starting rear its ugly head. The Weather Channel just this week posted a story outlining the regional water war flare ups that are already occurring within the United States:
Americans have enjoyed centuries of abundant natural resources, but when it comes to fresh water that may no longer be the case. Recent droughts in the southern and western United States have exposed a mismanagement of nature's most valuable resource. Now the fight for clean water is heating up.The article then goes on to describe each in detail. Here are the ones they identified:
States have always fought over rivers and lakes, but lawsuits don't yield more water. Early laws and agreements were based on the assumption there would always be enough water to go around, but Americans are quickly learning that's not the case.
Many reservoirs were built to control flooding, and help farmers irrigate their crops. But those reservoirs became popular places to live and recreate, increasing the demand for water to stay locally to sustain the booming economies.
There may never be a definitive resolution to this conflict, but one thing is clear. Americans will soon be forced to decide how to allocate our most valuable resource, and adapt to the ensuing culture shift.
Chattahoochee RiverMore details are available at the link for the story.
Source: Blue Ridge Mountains, Northeast Georgia
Flows To: Apalachicola Bay (Gulf of Mexico)
Length: 430 miles
Passes Through: 3 States
Klamath River
Source: Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon
Flows To: Pacific Ocean
Length: 263 miles
Passes Through: Oregon and California
Colorado River
Source: Rocky Mountains, Colorado
Flows To: Gulf of California
Length: 1450 miles
Passes Through: 5 States and Mexico
Colorado River Watershed
Source: Texas Panhandle
Flows To: Matagorda Bay (Gulf of Mexico)
Length: 862 miles
Passes Through: Texas
Bonus: Visions of a drought...with SWEET guitar work
But Bill, there's abundant resources, the rethuglicans all tell me so, it's just the godless commie tree-hugger liberals that don't let us have them, because something something conspiracy about prosperity and the UN and Agenda 21 and creeping sharia law. We just gotta sell all public lands because something about communists, and develop them because of prosperity and civilization, or some such.
ReplyDeleteScary to look into the minds of the more mundane types of evil huh?
Your insights are typically spot-on, but in this case I must wonder why you didn't choose "Water of Love" from the same album. Odd.
ReplyDeleteDamn...you're right. I can only blame the Alzheimer's. :)
Delete