Water *Is* Life

wrath
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Water–and in this post, I refer to freshwater.
Potable water.

https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/all-earths-water-a-single-sphere

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Floods. Too many to list. Plenty in the news.

Droughts. Too many, less dramatic in their immediacy, less telegenic: ought to be in the news more.

Bad water. Flint, Michigan. Hinkley, California. And in January 2023 for the third time: Jackson, Mississippi (below).

Stolen water: bought up, rights reserved, by huge financial entities.

Threatened water: the Ogalalla Aquifer.

Endangered water: Lake Baikal.

All life on earth depends on water.
No water? No life.
Not sure? Try living without water for three days.

Maybe water is not at issue where you are, right now, as you read this. You are fortunate.

Our climate future promises one thing over all else: unpredictability.
And water is at the center of that, for any living being, anywhere on this blue (and somewhat green) planet.

If you do one thing this year, in 2023, please consider doing this: don’t pour good fresh potable water down the drain. Take that old water bottle, pet’s water bowl, the ice in your to-go cup, the condensate from your dehumidifier or air-conditioner… and pour it on something alive that needs water. If you have any plants in your home, you will not even need to go outside.

And if you’re reading this in a flooded area, I completely understand. Good luck to you, and I hope your situation there gets better fast.

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I bookmarked this article from 2019…

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More on why we need it, and how much is required (tends to be debatable):

Efforts to find other sources (hope to see more like this with impact assessments):

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Thanks for the links. I’m reading this book right now (you may like it):

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Although mostly specific to water issues of the Central Valley (both Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys), he also explains water issues in various other CA Counties.

Fun facts

  • The author used to be in the same fantasy football league as my husband (they worked at the same newspaper)
  • He’s mentions several people who were friends/acquaintances of my family. (I knew that my aunt’s husband played fast and loose with with farm subsidies, but oh my.)

I thoroughly enjoy Arax’s writing. He’s written a several other great books (including The King of California and West of the West). For people born and raised in the Central Valley, he writes and describes the area as only a native-born could. I get super homesick whenever I read his books.

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There were some interesting links worth checking out in this thread from last year, too:

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