Western Water

 

 

"This is a problem which does have to be a problem..."

One of the fastest growing areas of the country continues to be the desert southwest. In addition, the state of California has a population of almost 40 million people. That is one out of eight Americans living in that very large state. The west and southwest have many things going for them - great weather, rich heritage, and wide open spaces. What that area does not have going for it is adequate water.

The southwest and west have always had Plan "A" and Plan "B" for water. Plan "A" is adequate snow pack in the Rockies that ends up as runoff in rivers and eventually supplies thirsty people and agriculture downrange. Plan "B" is seasonal rainfall, albeit short lived.
Plan "C" is - well there is no plan "C".

I have played this tune many times before in my blog. EVERY climate alarmist predicts the dire consequences of rising sea levels. In other words, we are not going to run out of ocean water. We have the technology and know how to build massive water plants on the West Coast. That water could supply tens of millions of millions of people with daily water, both fresh and potable.

The San Joaquin Valley in California has often been referred to as "The food basket of the World". Many items are grown in the valley ranging from "soup (the ingredients) to nuts". The diversity of crops that are grown there is simply staggering. Most every day, most of us have something which is grown in the San Joaquin Valley on our dinner table.

It has been said that water is our next oil - maybe even our next gold. It is the most precious of all resources. Without it, we don't drink, we don't eat, we don't live. If there is ANYTHING that makes sense for the government to invest in, it is water farms. This would not be a "black hole" of spending. The water would be treated as a commodity and sold to the states which would use it. Our days of getting "free" water are coming to an end. Should we get free water via rain fall or snow melt, it should be treated as a gift, not as an expectation.

As we sit at the dawning of 2014, we can watch droughts happen, or we can plan to eliminate many of their negative effects. Building water farms in the west complete with appropriate infrastructure, would probably take a decade and cost a bundle. But it would be worth it. A nation's progress runs on abundant energy as well as self sustaining food supplies. We can have both if we are smart. If not, every year we will read about another part of the country or the world suffering from lack of water due to drought or prolonged dry periods.