Water World

"I say this to our Administration - looking for infrastructure projects? Forget mass transit, and focus on water. The payoff in the future will be tremendous, and unlike the LRT, water will not become obsolete in a few years."    

Years ago there was a movie out called Water World. It was some nonsense about our planet being flooded with water with very little land remaining. Lots of fights and battles between good guys and bad guys on open water. Like I said - nonsense. But we do really live on a water world. More water than one could shake a stick at. We have 333 million cubic miles of water, comprising 71% of the Earth's surface.

So what is happening out west right now? Out there, it seems that water has become as precious as gold. Just heard on the news this morning that Yosemite National Park was closed due to the wildfires. California now has a large wildfire (one of many) which is the largest in state's history. Colorado is having its third biggest fire in state history, and because it is still burning, could grow into the second or the first.

I have said this in the past, so now I will say it again in common man's vernacular. We suck at water management. We really do. An average thunderstorm in Minnesota can easily produce an inch of rain. That equals over 17 million gallons of water every square mile. Some goes into the ground to hydrate crops, plants and trees. Some continues further into the ground to replenish ground water. And some ends up in run-off. The run-off, is where we are missing a valuable chance to reclaim and redirect fresh water.

Sure we can always build plants to desalinate ocean water. Although pricey, we have the shoreline and the technology to do it. However with runoff water, it is already fresh. Not potable, but fresh. The technology challenge we have then, is how to get excess runoff from the Midwest and east, and pump it out west. 

I have been reading up on the proposed Mars missions. Their biggest challenge? Water. Can't bring much with, as water weighs over 8 pounds a gallon. So every drop on board the space craft is like precious metal. Yes, even urine. Every drop is precious.

Why bring up Mars? Back on Earth, we are terrible at water management. We waste water - good water, for the strangest of reasons. My hope is that in the 21st century, we can fix this vexing problem. We could get the desert southwest to bloom in green from water abundant, regardless of what the weather does. With the climate hoax folks thinking the sea levels are going to rise, running out of sea water to convert to fresh water will never happen. 

I love traveling out west. I believe it is a jewel of this country. When I was in the working world, I traveled out east due to necessity. I traveled out west due to desire. I hate to see our great western lands suffer under this water shortage. Our remaining wild stallions are also at risk. 

I say this to our Administration - looking for infrastructure projects? Forget mass transit, and focus on water. The payoff in the future will be tremendous, and unlike the LRT, water will not become obsolete in a few years.