Into the Waste Land

 

Americas Waste Land

The words waste land will generally cause a person to envision our beautiful Southwest deserts. So wrong...the waste land is just a few miles from my home. I cycled a different route today with Betzi in tow and encountered the waste land. It was a disturbing vision of human waste made attainable by a certain degree of wealth. Whether it is actual or faux wealth it was indeed a sad commentary of our indifference to the resources that sustain us. In this case...water!

So much waste of our diminishing water resources to keep a lawn green.

So many chemical fertilizers that run off into streams creating algae blooms that rob the water of oxygen and create dead zones in our waterways and oceans.

Our reservoirs are at record lows and the population is growing.

In the Southwest the water withdrawn from the Colorado River exceeds the amount of water flowing in. We're depleting our reservoirs to make up the difference.

In the Midwest the Ogallala Aquifer is drying up. It is the heart of soul of agriculture on the Great Plains. It is an ancient underground storage of water that as accumulated over thousands of years.

In Florida salt water is seeping into aquifers, that most people in Florida depend on, as they are being over pumped.

It's no wonder why powerful individuals and corporations are quietly buying up water rights around the world.

What's the answer?

For many Americans it's...lets go golf!!

The final insult on our vanishing resources.

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This is how I landscape my home using drought tolerant and native plants. I supplement with extra water during the 4 hottest months of the year with water from...

...cisterns filled with rain runoff.

It ain't rocket science to figure out what needs to be done.