OCR Text |
Show Iliers, Marq De 2000. Water: The Fate of our Most Precious Resource. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston & New York. Key Words: Water Crisis, Politics of Water, Regional Problems & Solutions " Some things never change: how humans have always discovered, diverted, accumulated, regulated, hoarded, and misused water" ( 46). The author asks if the water crisis " is looming ... or already loomed" ( 3). Political Many countries and states are in a very precarious situation when it comes to water. As water supplies typically originate in countries or states foreign to most consumers, the quality and availability of water is outside the immediate control of most the world's population. Water pacts and agreements are based on understandings that if breeched, war would often be inevitable. " Water wars can be grand clashings in the international arena. They can also be fought on a small but ferocious scale, with blizzards of paper as ammunition and cadres of bureaucrats as foot soldiers" ( 64). The Western United States ( including Utah) has its own interesting history of water politics which deals mostly with issues regarding use of the Colorado River. Early western expansion saw a series of diversion projects which dammed up the river. These dams allowed civilization in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. It also caused a decline in the quantity and quality of water fed to Mexico. After years of debate and " highhandedness," the US government decided to pay over a billion dollars to ' scrub' or desalinate the river's water just before it entered Mexico. Today Los Angeles consumes a great share of the Colorado River, sucking dry appropriations from other river states including Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. Much debate has ensued between states and the federal government regarding quality and quantity of Colorado River water. " The upstream states generally prefer equitable use, since they can thereby lever some advantage for themselves. Downstream states generally favor an intolerance of harm, since it allows them, generally, to go on doing what they have been doing anyway" ( 62). Environmental Desertification results from human activity of lowering water tables, the saiination of topsoil and water supplies, and extinction of vegetation. This is an example of human- induced microclimate change which alters hydrologic cycles and often compounds the problem of water scarcity. Even more detrimental is the pollution of our diminishing supply. For centuries waterways have served as conduits of human, agricultural, and industrial waste. We are living with the residual affects of ' dilution' as a ' solution'. A Canadian business woman and environmentalist Maurice Strong claims " we're all at fault. It's the nature of our civilization. Environmental degradation is not a problem to be fixed; it is a sign of a fundamental imbalance in the way our industrial civilization is run" ( 95). Dams and Irrigation Although dams have altered water flows, have radically affected " the saline mix and nutrients in downstream deltas," provide problems with accumulating silt, and have forever changed ecosystems, they are necessary for humans to live where they want. They provide water storage and allow irrigation of otherwise dead soil. " Though only 15 percent of the world's cultivated land is irrigated, . . . irrigated land accounts for 40 percent of the global harvest" ( 139). Without irrigation, food production in the breadbaskets would decline by almost half! ( 139). Irrigation does, however, have its own detrimental affects. Saiination of soil caused by poor drainage is killing the land's ability to produce food at a rate of " more than 1 million hectares a year" ( 140). The author claims that " without great care and skillful management, irrigation almost inevitably causes waterlogging, depletion and pollution of the water supply, and rising salinity in the soil. Left unchecked, these problems can eventually kill the soil altogether" ( 141). Concentration and accumulation are the problems with rising salinity of irrigated soils. Though proper drainage and careful management of irrigation can reduce or eliminate these problems, the cost is often proven prohibitive. The Salt Lake valley is a prime example of endless struggles with salinity. Here salts are in high concentrations from the start due to the mineral- rich mountain streams. Water softening ( very common to the valley) then adds higher salt concentration. Irrigation then adds another layer of salts to the system, which may effectively poison the water. These challenges of water salinity are a main reason for why local government disallows gray water systems for water reuse. Mitigation Regarding the water crisis, some believe the " problem is overblown, and even if it isn't, it will surely be solved through human ingenuity and technological advances in the future" ( 13). One such skeptic is Eugene Stakhiv of the Army Corps of Engineers. He claims humans seem to respond to looming crises sufficiently to preclude their arrival ( 82). " There is," says Stakhiv, " some degree of optimism that well- managed resource systems can withstand [ most] climate change scenarios," and that vulnerability can be " stabilized at current levels, or reduced in most cases" ( 82). Stakhiv also asserts that " technological changes and inventions" are never extrapolated into the future along with the threats which may affect future water supply. " Technological advances can mitigate problems," he said ( 83). Even more importantly, Stakhiv feels the " key is . . . institutional reform," making managers better able to respond ( 83). Despite technology and better management, however, even Stakhiv recognizes a need for future increases in water supplies. The reality is, states Marq, " If you're short of water, the choices are stark: conservation, technological invention, or the politics of violence" ( 275). There are many areas for research and conservation which would benefit our region. Dew or fog collectors have shown signs of success for arid climates. Drip and low- pressure spray irrigation systems have a great potential in our valley. Wind- trap funnels for moisture control and cloud seeding are being researched. Jacob Blaustein Laboratory's successful " hothouse cultivation technique, [ a] closed- cycle hydroculture" of recycled evaporation is intriguing ( 297). Most key to our area, however, seems to point to reusing waste water... a practice that is very common in Arizona and Los Angeles, but foreign to Salt Lake City. A change in public policy required to allow waste water reuse systems ( gray water systems) requires a change to perceived and/ or actual water quality and salinity issues. Response This book has helped me understand more about the world- wide nature of the potentially looming water crisis. It helped me gain a base understanding of regional issues regarding water and their context. Most importantly, I have come to see the importance of a multi- faceted approach to solving water shortages. I don't believe conservation alone, nor technology alone, nor increased supplies alone can sustain us. I assume a combination of efforts in all these areas will be required to become responsible and sustainable in our water use. 27 |