We need solutions to our drought crisis in this country. There are simple but expensive solutions; for instance; Desalination, salt water rivers and conservation strategies. Now before you accusing me of hyping any of the newest technologies or try to tell me it costs too much, let me explain something about the Earth's water supply. Only 3% of the Earth's Water is fresh. This includes the water and moisture in the clouds, underground reservoirs, rivers, lakes, streams and pipelines. So if we keep increasing the population of mammals we will need to have a larger supply of fresh water. The oceans are full and the atmosphere converts this to fresh water and then it rains and we collect it. So far we end up flooding areas when we make it rain or we fail. We use up all the fresh water in the waterways, which pass through our cities and we waste the rest on things that are not important unless you love what Tiger Woods does. People say it will cost too much to take water from the ocean where 70 percent of our population lives and turn it into fresh water to serve that population's growing needs. Well I say it does not cost that much at all. Water generally and it depends where you live in the US, costs about $ 1.60-2.10 per 743 gallons, (a unit of water) do not ask me about our system of measurement I am still trying to figure out how much a fathom, knot, bushel or pint is. Apparently the scientists have not figured out the difference between a yard and a meter either judging by the crash of the last Mars Probe a few years back, even though I do not believe it actually crashed.
So let us say that water tripled in price? Is that a big deal really? No, because we already use twice the water we need average household uses 20-40 units of water and if they were more conservative with the water they would use only 10-20 units thus instead. Thus their bill would be in half and if you doubled that well there you are again; no big deal really. And now you have unlimited supply and people up river do not have to supply people who choose to live in dry arid places where water is piped or canal it in from far away. Los Angeles area for instance sits on the water yet takes water from the Bay Delta, Mono Lake and Colorado River, when PHX and Las Vegas both need the water. On the East coast same thing you have the megalopolis from Boston to D.C. that needs incredible amounts of water yet nearly every major city including NYC sits within miles of the ocean. Come on people Duh? Critics say it costs too much to build, it will never pay itself back and it will kill areas of wetland, which host at least four hundred species of rare mosquitoes. (Yah the kind that carry West Nile virus with big stingers). Desalination is the answer it always has been and we can build water canals to deliver this water to almost every Major Southern US City, problem solved. We can also use this to balance out the planet in places where gravity is uneven due to our taking oil or water out of the ground, open spaces under the surface. This will also cause the Earth to spin more evenly chill out the weather patterns, slow global warming and solve hundreds of other issues. You say I am crazy, oh yah check this out;
http://static.howstuffworks.com/pdf/express-v1n1.pdf
and this is a known fact lets see if you score a 100% on this quiz smarty pants;
http://intergate.sdmesa.sdccd.cc.ca.us/staff/sievers_j/fall%2097%20exams.htm
http://caliban.physics.utoronto.ca/neufeld/myposts.txt
and perhaps pick up a copy of Feburary edition of Scientific American.
http://static.howstuffworks.com/pdf/express-v1n1.pdf
Now we can figure out where to put these surface canals and reservoirs and straighten out the wheel like weights when you balance your tires and we get for that effort less intense weather, like Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Hurricanes, typhoons, Tornados, etc.
http://www.geo.hunter.cuny.edu/~afrei/pg130_fall01_14_climatechange.htm and
http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/pseudosc/flipaxis.htm and
http://freespace.virgin.net/benkins.uk/Chap1.htm .
What we are talking about is taking a need for water for humans and balancing out the gravity of the planet simultaneously. So lets just say we will never perfectly balance out the planet. So what if we can add salt water canals in areas, which will be closer to a balanced spinning of Earth, we have accomplished two objectives and we will gain much from this. For instance if Mono Lake were filled up with water would that extra weight be in a good spot? If yes do it; if no do not; if you do, use that as the reservoir to make your fresh water with. If you look closely at the topography of the US you will see many places were building a saltwater canal is very simple and really costs less than building a highway.
http://www.srpnet.com/community/heritage/srphistory.asp and
http://www.srpnet.com/water/newsletters/pdf/irrigreswinter01.pdf
and as you can see from this PHX project the fees are not overly costly to do this as one would predict, also check out the plant being built in Tampa Bay, FL;
http://www.water-technology.net/projects/tampa/
http://www.water-technology.net/projects/tampa/specs.html
http://www.tampaelectric.com/TENWCommNewsDesal.html
and the fees are not going to be that bad, our technology is so much better than it was before. And whereas you may turn on your TV set and see the latest floods around the world rest assured that this is a global issues now, and we will have over 60,000,000,000 people on this planet by 2045. And you know what that is really not that far away, isn't that the year the ponzi scheme called Social Security will implode? It is not really that far from now and certainly not long in the history of our species.
If we want to continue on this path, we must pay attention to the needs of human life. The children born today, yes today in August of 2005 will have a life expectancy of 120 years, they will live until 2125, much longer than 2045, for 2045 is right around the corner. And this is without all the latest drugs, artificial limbs and components grown from stem cells such as hearts, kidneys, liver, bone marrow, brain tissue and lungs. All this is in the works my friend and no fundamentalist religious endeavors are going to stop the pursuit to find the cure for cancer, Alzheimer's or heart disease either. So you may plan on being around for a while and watching your grandkids become grandparents. And see all the people you helped make that have infested the planet. Now without condemning you for creating all these people, you need to think about what you are doing here. If we all decide to follow our destiny and that of our ancestors to procreate, we must be wise enough to figure out a way to feed them all, house them and look after them, and one thing above all they will need is water.
The air should clean itself as we develop different ways of transportation through free enterprise and innovations such as fuel cell technologies and alternate energies. So let's concentrate on solving these drought issues by coming to a long term understanding of the real problems and then work towards those technologies which serve the entrepreneur and free market best short term, and simultaneously solve a greater need to serve the future of mankind, because it does appear that we are all congregating in the same locations and over taxing such fundamental needs as water supply.
We need to control the weather and the best way to do that is to balance the planet and eliminate the variables in our weather first. The wobbling can stop, we can have drink, control the weather, have jobs, and off springs, as it appears to be one of the strongest innate needs of man and live long and fulfilling lives without risk of starvation by millions, agricultural disaster in entire continents and unpredictable weather. How serious is all this. Well there is ample time, but crisis management predicts that the best time to solve a problem is clearly before it happens. Building salt water canals is really easy, really simple and we could have them all completed in less than four or five years, plenty of time to curb any major calamity.
http://www.nrdc.org/water/conservation/cabay/fcabay.asp
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/hod/SHManual/SHMan026_OtrAgc.htm
http://www.ciesin.org/docs/006-238/006-238.html
http://www.ciesin.org/docs/006-238/006-238.html
http://md.usgs.gov/publications/wsp-2375/md-dc/
Tell me when you had enough evidence of what I am saying. Stop reading only the newspapers and realize the droughts today are going to be worse in the future as we add more people, more golf courses, more lawns, more houses along the same over taxed, over worked and under supplied rivers of an Earth whose temperatures still rising even after the height of the last three years ago high of the solar maximum and yet the cool temperatures have never recovered.
The planet did not cool back down yet, and even if it did, there is not enough of the current water in many parts of the country to accept more people. So if you are waiting for the down side of a short-term cycle of a heated planet it ain't happening anytime soon. Face it as it is we do not have enough water to continue this rate of population growth. Maybe in the wettest of years it can handle a few more, but not without some serious consideration to conservation, some continued excellent planning by developers, who by the way should be congratulated on their incredible success in sustainable housing and positive sharing of resources in energy conservation and use of materials.
We must look at all levels of this situation. The time is coming when every year will be a drought year, simply due to predictable usage and reasonable assumptions in supply and demand. We need a solution, we need to work together and we better plan for tomorrow, because it was yesterday recently and we knew we would be here today. What say you?
"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs