Some of you may have heard of the worst drought in 100 years happening in the S.E. United States. A lot people these days know all about peak oil production, but I remember hearing a few cries in the wilderness claiming we would reach peak water production long before peak oil. Does this drought signify more than we think?
The area is facing an extreme drought, and residents have been forced to give up lawn watering, but the drought isn’t bad enough to cause the curbing of housing permits. “There’s no talk about (halting development) at this point,” said Nick Stegall, Rock Hill’s public services administrator. Rock Hill provides water to most of York County.[1]
The situation is so desperate that Sonny Perdue, Georgia’s governor, is holding a multi-denominational service in Atlanta to pray for rain. “The only solution is rain, and the only place we get that is from a higher power,” said the governor’s spokesman. [2]
The governor also sent a letter requesting President Bush temporarily exempt the state from the Endangered Species Act to reduce the release of water from Georgia reservoirs. Under threat of yet-to-be-determined fines, public water systems in 61 counties will have to make the reduction based on what they used from December 2006 through March 2007 — winter months when demand already was low. The forced reduction will continue indefinitely. Farms are excluded.[3] [emphasis added]
Many southeastern citizens will have to live without water by January. The worst drought in over 100 years they say. Humans can only drink 3% of all the water on earth. With exponential population growth, agricultural diversion, pollution and contamination it shouldn’t surprise anyone we have run low.
A gallon of crude oil costs $1.45. A gallon of Evian costs
$11.91. This simple observation led one successful investor
to assert that oil is undervalued.We see things a little differently…Oil may be
undervalued, but NOT relative to drinking water. In fact,
the truth is exactly the opposite.For most of the world, clean drinking water is a far more
precious commodity than oil.[4]
And it seems we have nearly run out. Or more accurately, we have reached the point where we take more fresh water than the earth readily provides. Or even more accurately, Civilization steals more water from every other living creature in order to water their farms so that they can have a surplus of food which causes them to grow exponentially.
Agriculture uses a lot of water. Withdrawals for agricultural purposes currently account for 50% or more of total abstraction in at least nine OECD countries (Greece, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain and Turkey), and for over a third in five others (Australia, Denmark, Hungary, the Netherlands and the United States). But because of losses through evaporation and plant transpiration, the share of agriculture in total water consumption is usually much higher. In North America and OECD Europe, for instance, it accounts for between 37 and 45% of total withdrawals, but around two-thirds of consumption. In drier parts of the OECD area, such as California, and the Murray-Darling basin in Australia, agriculture accounts for well over 90% of consumptive use.[5]
As civilization collapses, we need to ask ourselves; “What do we need more? Food or water?” As cities dry up and water runs scarce and more people run the risk of dehydration (Nobody ever died from thirst!) I can’t help but wonder how insane for a governor to not put bans on farms, and to tell everyone the only thing left to do involves praying for rain. Of course, I don’t expect anything more from these idiots.
Oh yeah. Just remember one more thing. If you pray for rain, than you better learn to swim mother fucker.
Tool – Aenima Lyrics
Some say the end is near.
Some say we’ll see armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will.
I sure could use a vacation from thisBullshit three ring circus sideshow of
FreaksHere in this hopeless fucking hole we call LA
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any fucking time. Any fucking day.
Learn to swim, I’ll see you down in Arizona bay.Fret for your figure and
Fret for your latte and
Fret for your lawsuit and
Fret for your hairpiece and
Fret for your prozac and
Fret for your pilot and
Fret for your contract and
Fret for your car.It’s a
Bullshit three ring circus sideshow of
FreaksHere in this hopeless fucking hole we call LA
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any fucking time. Any fucking day.
Learn to swim, I’ll see you down in Arizona bay.Some say a comet will fall from the sky.
Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves.
Followed by faultlines that cannot sit still.
Followed by millions of dumbfounded dipshits.Some say the end is near.
Some say we’ll see armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will cuz
I sure could use a vacation from thisStupid shit, silly shit, stupid shit…
One great big festering neon distraction,
I’ve a suggestion to keep you all occupied.Learn to swim.
Learn to swim.
Learn to swim.Mom is going to fix it all soon,
Mom is coming round to put it back
the way it oughtta be…Learn to swim.
Fuck L Ron Hubbard and
Fuck all his clones.
Fuck all these gun-toting
Hip gangster wannabes.Learn to swim.
Fuck retro anything.
Fuck your tattoos.
Fuck all you junkies and
Fuck your short memory.Learn to swim.
Fuck smiley glad-hands
With hidden agendas.
Fuck these dysfunctional,
Insecure actresses.Learn to swim.
Cuz I’m praying for rain
And I’m praying for tidal waves
I wanna see the ground give way.
I wanna watch it all go down.
Mom please flush it all away.
I wanna see it go right in and down.
I wanna watch it go right in.
Watch you flush it all away.Time to bring it down again.
Don’t just call me pessimist.
Try and read between the lines.I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t
Welcome any change, my friend.I wanna see it all come down.
suck it down.
flush it down.
—
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5 responses to “The Lost City of Hotlanta?”
Rock!
i just visited Atlanta last week (my old stomping grounds) and its true, its dry as hell up there, hardly any fall color, just brown crispy leaves. and the lake i used to swim in? its a mud puddle. what’s weird is it’s business as usual, everyone laughs it off how there may be no water in less than 80 days, they just keep going to work, taking long american-style showers, watering their lawn in the dead of night, etc. one word georgia doesn’t know: sustainable growth.
When I moved back to Ohio in October, I was very surprised and dissapointed that the weather was 90-100 degrees! Ohio was also experiencing one of the worst droughts in history. The trees were losing leaves (but not turning colors), yes, but not because it was fall and they were turning colors as normal, no, because of the drought, and they were dying! My father has several fruit trees and none of them prodced this year because of the drought, and my parents’ garden dried up (they don’t believe in having to water the garden)… also, my parents don’t have city water, they have a cistern and a well, so those were dry too, and they had to order a lot more water than normal (which is more expensive than being hooked up to city water)… ugh…
-emily
i’d really like to see a call for the ban of all industry before we ban agriculture. not that i don’t want to see an end to ag, of course, but in this instance, banning industry would be the first step. i wonder how many incredibly water-consumptive industries are in georgia/atlanta….. i notice it states there’s no ban on development. it’s a bit like crabbing season beginning in the oil-logged waters of sanfran. can’t interupt industry for any reason. gr.
(ps – hi scout!)
[…] I suppose that’s not too far fetched considering the governor of Georgia has recently ordered his constituents to pray for rain. Pinchbeck concludes his interview with: […]