I don't understand the conserve water thing either. But I guess there was once water on planets like Mars; where did it go?
But it seems to me that we have more water than ever now that the ice caps are melting. And surely someone's thought of a way to de-salt ocean water by now? if not, they will in 25 years. I think we'll run out of land before we run out of water.
I don't know how to answer your question about fossil fuels.
Wow. That's ... stark. But yes, basically: just because water doesn't leave the global system doesn't mean it doesn't leave the local system. Transporting it back to where it's needed is not an easy task, nor is repairing the damage done to the local system by its absence.
That was really informative, but was literally the 1,000 mile view. That's turned out to be the problem with nearly all of these discussions. You ask people to sketch out their concerns and the environmentalists draw a globe with tear drops coming off of it. "The Earth is Weeping!" they moan.
The anti-environmentalists draw a King and a Queen on a throne and say, "I am King of my Castle". Or they draw a pretty farmhouse with lights on in the windows and a family of six standing out front and say, "Home is where the heart is."
I'm trying to figure out how to bridge this 1,000 mile gap from the view from space to the view down to people-scale.
Since I live in a major metropolitan area with little parking and an extensive mass transportation system, I have little reason to drive. I already owned a car when I moved here, so I keep the car for those rare occasions when I need to haul stuff or travel to places where mass transportation is slim to none. But I usually walk, bike, or take public transportation. I prefer it, because I can relax and enjoy the ride. Quite frankly, I find driving boring as sin.
"all the water we've got is all the water we'll ever have"
I have the formula for water, so that isn't exactly true, take two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen and mix thoroughly, you get water, and No it isn't cheap, but we can make more water if we want to and we can even break it down to constituent parts. Of course, the idea isn't just conserving any water, waste all the waste water you want, it is the clean stuff or the stuff that is easily cleanable that is at issue.
As for the fossil fuel question, money is the single best answer for using something else. The next is probably the environment. These may switch position someday.
The water I personally consume directly mostly comes from Lake Eucha, so I don't worry about water too much. If I lived in Atlanta, I'd be worried about water a lot, because Atlanta is on the verge of running out - and their continued water usage is destroying northern Florida swamplands. If I got my water from the Colorado River system, I'd be very worried, because the situation there is such that everyone upstream takes as much as they can, without necessarily leaving any for those who are downstream.
Xeriscaping only makes sense if you have a yard that can only be sustained with irrigation. (I do see irrigation of acres and acres of non-food plants as pointlessly wasteful.) My lawn (such as it is) requires no water other than what falls from the sky, and converting it to something less water-retaining would be pointlessly wasteful.
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But it seems to me that we have more water than ever now that the ice caps are melting. And surely someone's thought of a way to de-salt ocean water by now? if not, they will in 25 years. I think we'll run out of land before we run out of water.
I don't know how to answer your question about fossil fuels.
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The anti-environmentalists draw a King and a Queen on a throne and say, "I am King of my Castle". Or they draw a pretty farmhouse with lights on in the windows and a family of six standing out front and say, "Home is where the heart is."
I'm trying to figure out how to bridge this 1,000 mile gap from the view from space to the view down to people-scale.
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I have the formula for water, so that isn't exactly true, take two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen and mix thoroughly, you get water, and No it isn't cheap, but we can make more water if we want to and we can even break it down to constituent parts. Of course, the idea isn't just conserving any water, waste all the waste water you want, it is the clean stuff or the stuff that is easily cleanable that is at issue.
As for the fossil fuel question, money is the single best answer for using something else. The next is probably the environment. These may switch position someday.
Reply
Xeriscaping only makes sense if you have a yard that can only be sustained with irrigation. (I do see irrigation of acres and acres of non-food plants as pointlessly wasteful.) My lawn (such as it is) requires no water other than what falls from the sky, and converting it to something less water-retaining would be pointlessly wasteful.
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