The two largest problems we face today are Global Warming and the Water Crisis
December 18, 2007

Long before I heard Timothy Egan, from The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations network of scientist say on Aug. 12, 2001 that by 2050 up to 2 billion people worldwide could face a major water shortage. This was reported in Common Dreams News Center and went on to say that the United States used 148 trillion gallons of water in 2000.

This is compared to the average of 5 gallons used daily in Africa.

One of the witnesses, Daniel Teitelbaum, a medical toxicologist with the Colorado School of mines and the University Of Colorado Health Sciences Center said he was taken back by the lack of research into the health concerns of gas and oil exploration in the area.

Steve Belinda, with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership as reported in the article, Drilling operations reshape landscape, Dec 10, 2007 by Todd Hartman-Rocky Mountain News, said "We see a federal agency acting on behalf of only one user group: the energy industry,"

Much can be learned from three articles, The Big Thirst: The Great American Water Crisis, Nov. 15, 2007, by Leonard Doyle-The Independent/UK . I will now take the liberty too post all three.

One reason environmentalists give for the state’s poor record is Southern Company, a huge electrical utility that wields huge influence all the way to the White House. More than any other company, Southern has been responsible for steering President George Bush away from action to halt global warming. It has done so by spreading largesse - $8m (£4m) on contributions to politicians in the past nine years, an amount far outweighing the political contributions of any other utility. The Big Thirst: The Great American Water Crisis, Nov. 15, 207, by Leonard Doyle-The Independent/UK

Georgia’s state assembly recently organized a climate change summit in which three of the four experts invited were global-warming skeptics.
“It’s very backward here,” says Patty Durand, head of the Georgia branch of the Sierra Club, one of the largest environmental groups in the US. “It also has to do with money as almost all the politicians here are funded by big polluting industry. There is little awareness of the environmental impact of industry. The Big Thirst: The Great American Water Crisis, Nov. 15, 207, by Leonard Doyle-The Independent/UK

And finally, The drought is now hurting Atlanta, a city boasting one of the worst environmental records in the US and whose political masters are among the least enlightened when it comes to climate change. Atlanta is teeming with Fortune 500 companies - including Coca Cola - and growing rapidly. The Big Thirst: The Great American Water Crisis, Nov. 15, 207, by Leonard Doyle-The Independent/UK

One of the main reasons the state has gotten such a poor rating from environmentalists is due to a Company known as Southern Company. It is a huge electrical utility with very strong influence in the White House. It is Southern that has steered President away from actions to halt global warming. This has been accomplished by massive donations.

The connections to George W. Bush and the Petroleum industry started long before he entered the White House when as Governor of Texas he began appointing Lobbyist and Executives to the Oil industries to the Texas EPA.

My concern more or less slapped me in the face when the Barnet Shell of natural gas deposits opened in Tarrant, Parker and Johnson counties of Texas. Not only did rigs pop up like weeds, over 1,700 at last count several months ago, but I noticed that water wells which had been pumping clean, drinkable water for nearly 80 years suddenly became poisonous, foul smelling and pumping muddy water.

A Mr. Steve Kline from Devon Exploration was kind enough to return my calls and answer my questions. He said they took every precaution to ensure the safety of wells and aquifers in the area but there were unscrupulous drillers who did not. He also claimed he had worked for Devon for so long because of their concern for the environment.

Calls to other companies went unanswered or ignored and in a call to Exxon the person on the other end did not give a name and refused to answer any questions.

So does drilling affect wells and the aquifers? From what I’ve learned with little effort the answer is yes.

In an article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram dated, Dec. 8, 2007 by Mike Lee. Mr. Lee Notes: FORT WORTH -- Outdoor watering restrictions would kick in sooner and be consistent from city to city under a drought plan being considered by the city Water Department.
Fort Worth is working with Arlington, Mansfield and the Tarrant Regional Water District to make sure that residents throughout the region have a clear set of rules to follow during a drought. Arlington has a year-round restriction, and Mansfield is considering one.
The droughts in 2005 and 2006, during which local lakes dropped to 63 percent of capacity…

In Georgia an epic drought threatens the water supply for millions. Florida doesn’t have nearly enough and the Great Lakes are shrinking fast. In the upper parts of New York State reservoirs have dropped to record lows.

as quoted in the article US water supply in Jeopardy, The Associated Press, by Brian Skoloff, Oct, 28, 2007 “Across America, the picture is critically clear — the nation's fresh-water supplies can no longer quench its thirst.
The government projects that at least 36 states will face water shortages within five years because of a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, urban sprawl, waste and excess.
"Is it a crisis?”

Australia is suffering a 30 year drought and Asia which has 60% of the population only has 30% of the water.

Desalination Plants are touted as the solution but the largest in America in Tampa Bay cost $158,000,000.00 and only supplies 10% of the areas needs. It has been estimated that it would cost trillions just to maintain the current level of crisis we now face.

In Kentucky 120 counties, more than half the states counties ran short of water. Kansas is considering a $200 million plus pipeline to pump water from the Missouri River. The only problem is the water is already claimed.
Aquifers are being depleted as fast as the surface water.

The nations largest aquifer, the 175,000 square mile Ogallala has long ago been depleted. The underground rivers of Arkansas will be dry in less than 15 years and aquifers across the nation are dropping at the rate of hundreds a feet a year. A waterfall in Orme has been dry for over two years now and well water is not drinkable.

The Chattahoochee and Tennessee rivers are now just trickle’s of muddy brown water. Consumption and drought means that the cities only source of water. Lake Lanier is not only shared by three other states but is near its lowest level since 1950.

Texas is now in litigation with Oklahoma over water rights. Most of the South Western States are fighting over rights to the Colorado River which now runs dry before reaching the Pacific Ocean.

Hillary Mayell
for National Geographic News
June 5, 2003

In many regions of the world, fresh water, both groundwater and surface water, is being used faster than it can be replaced. West Asia faces the greatest threat. Over 90 per cent of the region's population is experiencing severe water stress.
But the problem is not confined to the developing world. In the United States, 400 million cubic meters (520 million cubic yards) of groundwater is being removed from aquifers annually in Arizona; about double the amount being replaced by recharge from rainfall. In Spain, more than half of the nearly 100 aquifers are over-exploited

But how does population affect the water supply? Let’s take a reasonable estimate of 80% body weight and the average size of the human to be around 120 lbs. considering those weighting well over 200 lbs. and those hitting the scales of 100. Note these are very rough estimates.

Then consider that the World Health Organization suggests 2 to 4.5 liters (0.5 to 1 gallon) a day for drinking, and another 4 liters (1 gallon) for cooking and food preparation are the bottom-line limits for survival. This doesn't take into account water needs for growing food.

Now do some quick calculations of the 6,446,131,400 people last know to now occupy the planet, at just 80% water for an average person of 120 lbs. That’s 10.8 lbs. per person. They then require 2 gallons a day for drinking and food preparation. That brings it to an even 12.8 lbs. of water.

We are now looking at 82.56 billion gallons of water that is now needed. Or 26.24 billion gallons that were not needed in 1980.

Water we don’t have and none of this includes water needed for growing food or the other animals that share this world with us. That is just to sustain the human race and we just don’t have enough.