Water. H20. Agua. This life giving fluid comprises 70% of the human body; is considered the fountain of life; the liquid that dermatologists cajole their patients suffering from dry skin, and other skin ailments to drink more of; the mixture that taste different in various municipalities throughout the United States (and may contain lime, rust deposits, chlorine and prescription drugs), and the elixir mothers bribe their children to swallow in copious amounts instead of sugary soft drinks. Water has seen resurgence in the past ten years: it comes in different colored bottles; comes in tropical flavors like orange and lemon twist; and is frequently found in the non-cell phone carrying hand of young college students, middle-aged corporate types walking for exercise during lunch time, or the die-hard, sweaty Bickram yoga enthusiast. Bottled water in its various brands is cool and chic these days. But most Americans, short of the occasional summer warning from frantic municipal officials to scale back consumption, rarely take the time to ponder the fact that the world’s potable water supply is running out quickly. The popular media image of woeful, drought stricken Ethiopians and other Third World peoples in underdeveloped countries hauling buckets of water from the village tap or stream is deeply embedded in the American psyche—not an activity engaged in by 28-year old, hip, urban, Blackberry using sophisticates. It would probably be catastrophic for the economic well-being and ultra-tourist perception of the Big Apple, if residents had to lug there water ladened buckets onto the Subway. The popular media image of woeful, drought stricken Ethiopians and other Third World peoples in underdeveloped countries hauling buckets of water from the village tap or stream is deeply embedded in the American psyche—not an activity engaged in by 28-year old, hip, urban, Blackberry using sophisticates. It would probably be catastrophic for the economic well-being and ultra-tourist perception of the Big Apple, if residents had to lug there water ladened buckets onto the Subway.
But according to reliable sources in
Europe the defining crisis http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4796909.stm for Western world in the 21st century is water. The escalating effects of climate change, coupled with urban sprawl, promises to greatly impact
U.S. potable water supplies in the very near future. Problems relative to water are not just a matter of quenching human thirst; there are widespread ecological factors that come into play when water supplies are tampered with by ill-informed, anti-planet, human beings. Author Karen Piper vividly describes in her book Left in the Dust: How Race and Politics Created a Human and Environmental Tragedy in L.A. http://www.amazon.com/Left-Dust-Politics-Environmental-L/dp/1403969310 how in 1920, Los Angeles (The City of Angels) came up with the idea to spur municipal growth by redirecting the flow pattern of Owens Lake, which subsequently dumped millions of tons of toxic, naturally occurring, metals such as arsenic and cadmium in the dried lake bead. Later, in the 1940s, torrential winds blew through the Owens Valley region and sprayed this desiccated, hazardous dust over Paiute Indian reservations as well as the WWII internment camps illegally holding Japanese American citizens. This noxious dust caused debilitating cases of asthma, lung cancer, lupus, pulmonary fibrosus and other death dealing illnesses.
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County (NC) has enjoyed a relatively stable water history in large part due to the bountiful Yadkin River. So much so, that, Forsyth County routinely provides supplemental water to its adjoining neighbor Greensboro city/Guilford county. The other source of much of the Triad (Winston-Salem, High Point and Greensboro) region’s water supply comes from groundwater http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/earthguide/diagrams/groundwater/. However, this source is greatly imperiled due to the massive amount of urban sprawl http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/PavingOurWay.pdf, development and concrete—considered one of the highest in the nation—that is claiming acres of green farmland. Rain water can not penetrate concrete. I have yet to hear a collective group of activists, preachers, politicians and regular citizens sound the clarion call on this issue. Even the school known for its engineering program, North Carolina A&T State University, has not harnessed its brain power and resources to devise a system to provide Greensboro residents with water. Then again, there is no college or university in North Carolina that has a curriculum or degree granting program specifically dedicated to solving our water dilemma and greater ecological problems. Davidson College, however, does offer a program in environmental studies http://www.bio.davidson.edu/programs/enst/envprogram.htm.
Pundits have declared that in the near future water or the lack there of, will be the source of numerous wars http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/natres/waterindex.htm amongst communities and nations across the globe. Some have even postulated that water will be what gold was to the California gold miners. One thing is for sure, like capitalist gold merchants, various western corporate entities are rushing to control supply and access. Water is the new oil. The book that every U.S. municipality should purchase for its water using citizens and public schools for its students is Fred Pearce’s When the Rivers Run Dry: Water—The Defining Crisis of the 21st Century http://www.amazon.com/When-Rivers-Run-Dry-Water/dp/0807085731/sr=1-1/qid=1172620112/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-9608893-3004417?ie=UTF8&s=books . The author broadens the water deficit discussion beyond the U.S. and looks at far flung locales such as Libya, India, China, Chad (Africa) and Pakistan. Pearce also jabs the U.S. for its abuse or irrigation practices that drain irreplaceable underground water stores. Food found in all U.S. grocery stores and restaurants are by-products of farming and are a direct result of water. Greater still is the mind boggling fact that it takes 3,000 gallons of water to grow enough feed to produce beef for one ¼ pound beef burger. Personally, I’m all for Burger King (Home of the Whopper—where they whop you to death), McDonalds, Wendy’s and Hardees switching over to selling only veggie burgers.
