The Naked Truth/Jamala Rogers
We Will Know the Worth of Water When the Well Is Dry
I read about the testing of Milwaukee’s water for PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). They are a group of over 9,000 chemicals created and used in everyday products for over 70 years. Products like shampoo, packaging, make-up and a host of other products that consumers can’t do without. The chemicals are showing up in Wisconsin’s water supply. Understanding that “forever chemicals” are in our water supply compelled me to think about the vanishing commodity of water.
The title of this column is taken from a Chinese proverb. The well is not dry — yet. But we don’t seem to know the worth of water either. It is frightening to see the disrespect for the planet and all living things for the sake of consumer convenience and corporate profit.
In the U.S., cities are struggling to maintain clean and safe water supplies for its residents. We know of the plight of Flint, Michigan because it made its way into mainstream media. There are many other cities who are losing the battle to maintain safe and sufficient water supplies from Baltimore to Orlando to Los Angeles.
Some cities are dealing with water shortages like Las Vegas. Sin City draws 95 percent of its water from the Lake Mead reservoir, which channels the raging Colorado River. The alarm has been sounded many times that the lake is down to less than 40 percent of its capacity. This means eventually there will be no water for the city to run the hydroelectric generators of the Hoover Dam. These reliable generators provide power to other western cities. Environmentalists predict there’ll be a trickle of water to run the generators in the next decade.
Cities like Las Vegas, Tucson and Phoenix are situated in dry places with sparse rainfall. Yet people continue to water their lawns, take care of their golf courses, and go to water parks with little recognition of the impact of their water waste. There have been no lifestyle changes to give Mother Nature some relief.
There are over 17,000 golf courses around the country. It is estimated that it takes upwards of 200 million gallons of water to keep the greens aesthetically pleasing and up to the gold standard for golfers. Don’t let the length of grass get over three inches on the fairway or the golf course will have big reputation problems. Millions of dollars are spent annually on the best grooming money can buy.
Forever chemicals are just one of the many ways that the deadly human footprint shows up in the face of slow responses to the destruction of our planet. These chemicals not only do not break down in the human body or in the environment, but they also accumulate. That’s downright scary.
Like climate change and global warming, the problems of water loss are largely human made. There are too many people living in environments that cannot sustain them. There are too many toxic chemicals created by manufacturers and overused by every sector of society, especially in agriculture. The health of humans and the ecosystem are in crisis right now and can only worsen in the future.
Access to water is a human right. The growing number of cities with water shortages and with polluted water supplies is growing. The situation requires drastic, coordinated measures on all levels to address this systemic problem. Do we really have to experience dry wells before we appreciate the worth of water? Time will tell.