Running Out of Water

David Ficke said over my shoulder the other night at Divided Sky that the next major war won't be over oil but we'll soon all be fighting over water. I quickly turned around and overtook the conversation because I had just read an article about that very fact. The very fact that we are truly running out of water. The Great Lakes are drying up for God's sake!

Waste. Waste. Waste.

My dad made fun of me when I was home because I turned the water off while he was wiping down the counter. We are a culture taught that if we can have it then use it, use it, use it, and forget about wondering where it's coming from.

My downstairs neighbor has been clocked by Mark and I at taking an almost 2 hour shower. It will rain all day and then someone will turn the sprinklers on to keep some hideous patch of grass green.

I'm just at the point where this thought has entered my head: If you have children then why would you not do everything in your power to conserve? Most parents work their asses off day and night to give their kids the best life they can. But life doesn't stop at adulthood.

People think it's cheesy or silly to say 'Think about the world you're leaving your children.' But isn't it true? Don't your kids deserve a world where they won't be bombed because of oil (because it is my strong opinion that this war won't always stay on the other side of the world if things just keep getting worse), or shot because of water. Don't they deserve a life of resources? Don't they deserve a chance to have kids of their own and not bring them into a world that was destroyed way before they had a fair chance?

Lake Okeechobee in Florida. Usually at 5' deep. This is what it looks like nowadays.


Here is some news for you noggin:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-01-26-water-usat_x.htm