Letters to the Editor
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Go West...Er, I mean, Mid West...or North
"Bill Richardson, governor of arid New Mexico, ... told the Las Vegas Sun that Northern states need to start sharing their water: "I want a national water policy."
This has been a disaster in the making ever since the words "go west" were uttered. When you look at a place like Las Vegas with it's fountains, pools and man made lakes--it boggles the mind. You can't help but ask, "what the hell were they thinking?" I think the answer is that they weren't. Places like Pheonix, Tucson, Salt Lake, L.A. and San Deigo -just to name a few- are running on empty. The Colorado river is as partitioned as it can get and the ground table is sinking even further. Ya just can't get blood out of a turnup and somethings gotta give!
Thank goodness we have a neighbor to the north with a 3000 mile unprotected border that is the only country in the world without a water problem.
Here Canada, Canada, Canada!
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Bill Richardson, Water Warmonger
Is this a progressive website? I thought it was but all i've been reading here is povincial spew of "I got mine, screw you" or "Hey, we got got ours, up yours"!
I can't help but wonder what Richardson's plan would be to ship water all around the country without starting regional wars!
All your "progressive" folks seem to lose your tolerance when it comes to water rights...tell you what--Why not move up here to Alaska where Big Oil will give every member of your family $1600 a yr. just for being a resident and there's plenty of water and a dearth of progressive Democrats or Indy's...Just sold out Republican assholes running the show...You could take over the state if you could stand the winters.
But somehow I don't think ya'll are true progressives...Just bickering humans without a clue....Peace, and Happiness, Water Brothers and Sister Lovers!
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How About
Fewer People? Just, you know, not so many millions of Homo Sapiens alive all at once. Seems like the simple answer to an awful lot of problems, the water one especially.
What's that, God TOLD you to have 7 kids? Maybe you could double check that, and make absolutely sure that's God talking while you're at it. I'm pretty sure God LIKES some of his other critters, and doesn't need us running them out of house & home to make room for more of our own bawling brats.
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Water Welfare
It's ironic that the red states want national water management to pump water from the blue states. The conservatives are supposed to be the ones who champion self-reliance and personal responsibility. But in this case, it's the blue states around the great lakes that say "You chose to live in a desert. You live with the consequences." What Georgia wants is nothing more than water welfare. If we supply them with water, we're enabling them to continue wasting water and manage the land irresponsibly.
I grew up in Michigan, and I loved it. I now live in Massachusetts. People have asked me why I don't move someplace more sunny. I always answer "I like living where I don't have to worry about the fresh water supply." I have nothing but contempt for people who move to a hot, dry state to escape the cold, snow, rain, and fog, and then complain that there's not enough water to keep their lawn dark green year-round. Of course there's not enough water! They live in a desert!
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Nah
The problem with living in Michigan and Ohio is living in Michigan and Ohio. *shivers* I think I'd rather go thirsty. The only people who talk up the "mid-western values" are the mid-westerners. I've lived in Ohio and have family in Michigan. It's like living a Stepford Wives existence, if you don't live exactly as everyone else you're talked about. Wait, scrap that, they talk about each other behind their backs whether you follow the pack or not.
If you must though, choose Michigan over Ohio. Oh and don't expect to see any sun from November until April.
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Head in the sand!
From what I've read, the Great Lakes are shrinking at an alarming rate and the indiginous aquatic life is being destroyed by pollution, warming and invasive species. Why oh why, Mr. McClelland, would you encourage population growth? You should be conserving what you have for the current residents because unless you don't understand the future consequences of climate change (and think the earth is flat), you should know you will be lucky to supply the people who already live in your region.
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They still use well water to hydrate golf courses in Arizona.
And they still raise thousands upon thousands on cattle in the desert states where the cowboys roam and the cattle drain the acquifers and tear up the soil. The cowboys, meanwhile, shoot and poison the competing "critters" before they send their cattle off to slaughter so that the fat boys on those golf courses can enjoy a nice steak for lunch.
Change the culture or watch it dry up and blow away.
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Really?
Timbuktom said:
"And, please look at a map. Michigan is the only American state identifiable from space. God did that on purpose."
Hawaii?
Alaska?
Florida?
I'd even throw Maryland in there because of the Chesapeake.
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Wet dreams of water warriors
I've lived in the Rust Belt all my life, and in Chicago since 1993, and time and again I'm grateful for the water we do have. Well worth a winter, but the "water wars" will be coming to America in a bad way, pitting the religion of endless growth against sustainable development -- it's kind of a 20th century specter haunting the 21st century, like two competing attitudes at loggerheads, and only sustainable development paired with conservation and environmentalism can really point the way forward -- the old "dam it all" approach, the giant sucking sound of water going to arid regions has to go in place of attention to environment, ecology, and sensible planning.
And it's not all fun and games in the Great Lakes. Since I've lived in Chicago, I've noticed Lake Michigan losing water -- it looks to be about two feet lower than it used to be, usually because it's been too warm over the winter (thanks, greenhouse effect) for the lake to properly (e.g., fully) freeze across the top. We still have plenty of water, but the last thing I hope anybody does is try to snag Great Lakes water for golf courses, fountains, and agribusiness irrigation in the South, Southwest, and California. We put up with the bad weather; the benefit is we enjoy the water.
Communities in the arid and drought-affected regions need to get their houses in order, rather than embracing desperate and short-sighted false fixes for their problem. Two quote the late Sam Kinison: "You live in a fucking desert!!!"
The Great Lakes aren't a magic fountain for the region, sorry; the fix is changing how Americans live in arid regions, dealign with where they chose to live. I remember a boy with his dad walking on the Lake Michigan lake shore, and the boy said "Dad, is this the Great Lake?" and the dad said "Oh, it's not THAT great."