Hey everybody! This week I figured I would explore on a prime current event. We'll be discussing the California drought again. Except this discussion will involve a reflection from a recent article that was posted. The article discusses the possibility of shipping, or pipping great lakes water to California. I hope you guys enjoy this brief discussion. As always post any comments or question you have below, enjoy!
The article opened its beginning discussion asking if the southwest United States will ever get its hand on great lakes water. This was an idea brought up to mitigate the consequences of the California drought. The short answer is no they won't. The reason why is, because there is a lot of federal, and state protections in the midwest to protect the great lakes. California's governor Jerry Brown said in a statement, "California isn't asking for Great Lakes water. No Southwest state is. But if the drought worsens, and population growth continues to soar here, desperate times could someday call for desperate measures."
When Jerry says desperate measures he is referring to wanting the great lakes water in the future if the drought worsens. So, the thought is on his mind long-term. Short-term this doesn't seem like a viable option to pursue California's drought issue. Another issue that the article brought up is exactly who owns this water? Because, that's an interesting question. It answers this in a long process which I don't feel like going into the specs, but the main idea is nobody exactly owns the water. Everyone needs air and water to live. How can one person claim they own a large body of water. But, the great lakes have been extensively protected by the great lakes compact especially. There are also several other laws, policy, and protection set in place. Another quote from the article states that, "Shipping water from Lake Superior would be entirely impractical; it could never happen. But it made people think they should start preparing for these kinds of eventualities, even if it doesn't make economic sense now." It doesn't say exactly who stated this quote, but it's an interesting quote again explaining how California seems to have this idea on a long-term agenda.
Personally my opinion of drawing water from the great lakes seems highly unlikely. I'm from the midwest and I personally believe the great lakes have a lot of protection. I also believe there is high opposition towards shipping this water to California. It doesn't matter how much they're willing to pay, or work to change policy I think this is too far-fetched. As I stated several weeks ago I believe the southwest should create more efficient agriculture techniques. In other words, reduce the amount of water being evaporated into the atmosphere. I also think there needs to be further research in de-salination again as I stated several weeks ago. To conclude, California uses ~80% of water to agriculture. They do not place restrictions on agriculture. But, I believe they need to tackle the source of the problem, and that includes agriculture. I'm not saying they need to stop irrigating crops, I'm saying they need to be more efficient.
Have a good week guys! I struggled trying to find good pictures for this article, so try to go with it. I hope you enjoyed the summary/analysis of this trending issue. As always let me know if you have a question, comment, or suggestion, thanks!
Info: http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/2015/04/19/michigan-great-lakes-water/25965121/
The article opened its beginning discussion asking if the southwest United States will ever get its hand on great lakes water. This was an idea brought up to mitigate the consequences of the California drought. The short answer is no they won't. The reason why is, because there is a lot of federal, and state protections in the midwest to protect the great lakes. California's governor Jerry Brown said in a statement, "California isn't asking for Great Lakes water. No Southwest state is. But if the drought worsens, and population growth continues to soar here, desperate times could someday call for desperate measures."
When Jerry says desperate measures he is referring to wanting the great lakes water in the future if the drought worsens. So, the thought is on his mind long-term. Short-term this doesn't seem like a viable option to pursue California's drought issue. Another issue that the article brought up is exactly who owns this water? Because, that's an interesting question. It answers this in a long process which I don't feel like going into the specs, but the main idea is nobody exactly owns the water. Everyone needs air and water to live. How can one person claim they own a large body of water. But, the great lakes have been extensively protected by the great lakes compact especially. There are also several other laws, policy, and protection set in place. Another quote from the article states that, "Shipping water from Lake Superior would be entirely impractical; it could never happen. But it made people think they should start preparing for these kinds of eventualities, even if it doesn't make economic sense now." It doesn't say exactly who stated this quote, but it's an interesting quote again explaining how California seems to have this idea on a long-term agenda.
Personally my opinion of drawing water from the great lakes seems highly unlikely. I'm from the midwest and I personally believe the great lakes have a lot of protection. I also believe there is high opposition towards shipping this water to California. It doesn't matter how much they're willing to pay, or work to change policy I think this is too far-fetched. As I stated several weeks ago I believe the southwest should create more efficient agriculture techniques. In other words, reduce the amount of water being evaporated into the atmosphere. I also think there needs to be further research in de-salination again as I stated several weeks ago. To conclude, California uses ~80% of water to agriculture. They do not place restrictions on agriculture. But, I believe they need to tackle the source of the problem, and that includes agriculture. I'm not saying they need to stop irrigating crops, I'm saying they need to be more efficient.
Have a good week guys! I struggled trying to find good pictures for this article, so try to go with it. I hope you enjoyed the summary/analysis of this trending issue. As always let me know if you have a question, comment, or suggestion, thanks!
Info: http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/2015/04/19/michigan-great-lakes-water/25965121/
Photo: http://www.nwf.org/~/media/Content/Maps%20Graphs%20and%20Charts/NWF-Regions/Map---GrLakes-region.ashx
Photo: http://www.coastwatch.msu.edu/images/GreatLakes1.jpg