California
Related: About this forumObama: Figure out how to satisfy US water needs
Posted in LBN by Omaha Stevehttp://www.democraticunderground.com/1014728840
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)Return the notion of public commons. Water, like air, is a communal resource used by everyone, required by everyone and - yes - recycled in use after use. Treat water as a resource VITAL to the national welfare. It's more vital to all of us - including your defense department, sir - than all the petroleum in the world. The US' first interest is securing its own resources - and I don't mean pointing guns at Canada over the lakes, i mean pointing hefty fines at polluters, and making wasting water carry an exponential cost.
Here' allow me to show you what i mean, Mr. President.
This is how palm Springs, CA looks as you speak there.
http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/4494/4494,1272212625,5/stock-photo-a-beautiful-park-pond-with-a-fountain-located-in-palm-desert-california-51720913.jpg
It's very pretty! The downside is, this is what mother nature intended for Palm Springs to look like;
If you still don't grasp the issue, Mr President, here's an aerial view of Palm Springs, California.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Canyon_Country_Club,_Palm_Springs,_CA.jpg
All that green, all the pools and fountains and water traps and scenic ponds... all of that is piped in. Palm Springs, California, is IN THE MIDDLE OF A DESERT. While I certainly understand that people like pretty hings, the trouble is that every single drop of that water us waste. it evaporates, floating off to who knows where - probably NOT back to the source you're piping from, though.
You see it all over the nation, Mr. President. In front of your own residence in Washington is a broad, beatifully-maintained lawn. Do you know how much water lawns consume in the US? How much good, clean, precious water, goes into keeping a completely inedible invasive species looking lush for photos?
Basically we need to stop taking water for granted, ad recognize it for the irreplacable, finite, and imcomprehensibly precious resource that it is.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)That gives them an economic incentive to conserve, not to mention raising a tidy pile of revenue for our state.