Comments on: The Farm Bill: Water – Drink It, Or Export It? Oooh – I Know – Let’s Subsidize Water Exports!

By: kirk murphy

kirk murphy — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 00:38:34 +0000

thanks to all for your interest, comments, and information.

Bon Appetit!

By: Everythingseemssoneat

Everythingseemssoneat — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 00:04:15 +0000

“Which just makes Democrats inherently better at the kind of sophisticated thought necessary to engage in good governance.”

That’s cute Jane.

By: Timothy Richley

Timothy Richley — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 17:28:26 +0000

I grew up in a small town on Michigans west coast, Frankfort, about 139 miles south of the Mackinaw Bridge . Until the early 1960’s Lake Michigan froze all the way across ecery winter, and we got over 200 inches of snow per year. In the late 70’s we started getting our first snowfall later and later every year, used to be we had snow on opening day of deer hunting season, no more. Until the late 90’s the ski resorts opened on Thanksgiving weekend, no more, because it is to warm, so no snow. Snowmobilers are a very large source of income during the winter, but due to a lack of snow over the past few years, they are going to the UP(michigans upper peninsula) and Canada. In the early 1980’s I lived about 40 miles from where I worked, and one winter, 6 weeks running, I got caught at work due to blizzards. There haven’t really been any big blizzards since then. I also remember early in the 1980’s when the Lake Michigan water level was so high that houses built over 100 years before, that were on the Lake Michigan beach had to be moved back due to high water(the last time I was in that area, there was a beach almost 300 feet wide. Frankfort is right on a bay, and during that same year, water levels were so high that there was about 2 feet of standing water on a state highway-that had been in existance since the late 1800’s, and had never been flooded before. The last time I was in Frankfort, the bay was so shallow that you can see piles of cherry pits sticking 4-5 feet above the water, thrown there by the fruit packing plant from the 1930’s to the early 1950’s. So, do I believe in global warming? You better damn bettcha. I have seen it. Over the past 10-15 years, lake levels all over the northern lower peninsula of Michigan have gotten much lower. Boat ramps don’t reach the water any more, and cottages that had been built on lakeshores, are now quite a way from the water. The upper midwest is not going to get any better, the climate is changing, and not in a good way.

By: MS

MS — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 16:13:09 +0000

Please check this story on UNICEF’s TAP campaign — an ingenious campaign to get diners to pay for pure water for children in other countries. (The official Tap Campaign site is tapproject.org)

An ad campaign started last year in New York (and will spread to other cities next year) by branding nothing (ie, tap water in New York City) — 600 restaurants agreed to charge $1 for tap water, with the funds going to UNICEF to provide access to safe water. Movie stars promoted the campaign, which got press coverage all over the world, and raised millions for safe water.

By: sombrerofallout

sombrerofallout — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 15:45:34 +0000

There will be no water exports from the Great Lakes. Even if they were at a high-water mark.

Anyone know if the golf courses in Georgia are still watering their greens? My guess is no.

Xeriscaping, native lawns, and efficient water use and/or protection of the water regime have not been hallmarks of Georgia land use or water supply policy.

Getting their house in order, such that they’re living off available resources, off the interest earned on Georgia’s natural capital, rather than consuming their nest egg or killing the golden goose, as it were, is at least a prerequisite for Georgia’s claim on compromising the ecosystems that are the foundation of other states and regions.

But, no, it’s easier for a politician to go after the Endangered Species Act or the Army Corps of Engineers, you know, than actually do his job.

By: Organic George

Organic George — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 08:27:23 +0000

Kirk,

I will have to disagree that there is nothing to support in the current farm bill.

The Organic community has been working for years to get a piece of the corporate pie for small organic farmers. 25 million for organic farming research to find more non chemical was to farm, 8 million to adequately fund the National Organic Program so that the Feds can properly enforce the Organic Regulations for both domestic foods and international imports, elimination of the premium that organic farmers pay for crop insurance, and funding to assist farmers to transition from chemical to organics.

The mark up is scheduled for the 22nd & 23rd so any calls to your Senators asking to fully fund Organics in the farm bill would be a great help.

By: Organic George

Organic George — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 08:18:47 +0000

prostratedragon @ 132

Kirk James Murphy, M.D. @ 112

Peter Gleick at the Pacific Institute is one of the best sources I know to understand water scarcity and the conflict it has brought - as well as the greater conflicts to come.

Thanks, I’ll check him out sometime.

During the fuel shortage of the 70’s a reporter asked Buckminster Fuller if he was concerned about the energy for the future. He responded No, my concern is about fresh water in the 21st century.

You may have read that T.Boon Pickens the oil man, has started buying water rights in TX. I guess anything underground in worth $

By: Organic George

Organic George — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 08:09:50 +0000

demi @ 99

Maggie @ 89

I hear that Yosemite falls has dried up.

I could be wrong, but I think it usually drys up in the fall and then gushes after the winter snows.

TThis is the first time the falls have dried up, in Yosemite, in recent history. It was front page news in the local newspapers a few weeks ago.

By: prostratedragon

prostratedragon — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 07:40:48 +0000

Amazingly enough, the selling of mostly Ogallala water from west Texas into other regions seems to be one of those ideas whose time refuses to pass. I found some links at the blog Sleepless in Midland:
Selling West Texas Water (1)
Selling West Texas Water—NYT Weighs In

The “Water” tag at the blog links to a couple more articles in the series.

By: prostratedragon

prostratedragon — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 06:17:00 +0000

There’s supposedly a website on the Ogallala aquifer at ogallala.tamu.edu (Texas A&M Univ.), but I can’t seem to access it live. The google cache does have a snap from a couple of days ago. 8}