by Chas Bonner
Go to the Magazine Rack---TODAY!!!
The April issue of National Geographic Magazine, on newsstands today, is a special, single article issue which will be of utmost interest to anyone remotely associated with agriculture. The article is entitled “WATER: OUR THIRSTY WORLD.” Not only is the text of this article mind-boggling, the hundreds of photos enrich and enliven the story.
This blog cannot do the subject justice, but to whet reader’s appetites, some key points will be supplied. We must warn however, these points are seen through one set of eyes; your eyes may see something different, although doubtful:
- 97% of earth’s water is salt water or salty, unusable to humans and animals.
- Of the 3% fresh water, 69.6% is frozen in polar caps and glaciers, 30.1% in underground aquifers, and a mere 0.3% in rivers, swamps, lakes, and all plant life.
- 70-80% of all fresh water in the US is used in agriculture.
- A large insert in the magazine illustrates water use by category. For instance, at one end of the scale, a pound of beef requires 1857 gallons of water to produce whereas at the low end of the scale, a pound of strawberries requires 33 gallons.
- Many major cities are now rationing water, are sealing delivery systems, raising costs, and installing new technology.
- One-half of the world’s population has no water piped into homes. They must take long hikes to secure water, and most is badly polluted.
- Virtually all rivers in SE Asia (home of 1/3 of the world’s population) originate in the Himalaya Mountains, and glaciers are fast retreating.
- Worldwide population has been increasing by 83 million annually.
- California, a fruit and vegetable oasis for the nation, is fast losing water, not just because of short rainfall, but to EPA laws, and no new dams or irrigation projects.
There are a few positives arising:
- Over 14,000 desalinization projects worldwide are producing about 16 billion gallons annually, with improved technology starting almost daily.
- In countries with highly polluted water, there is a new process of bottling drinking water, storing in sunlight for a day, and the UV light purifies it.
- Pur Filter Co. has developed a new powder that when poured into muddy and polluted water will kill all bacteria, and filter out the sediment.
- New turf grasses can use brackish water, and golfers like it---hardly compelling.
PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND BUY THE MAGAZINE. FASCINATING.
Remember Mark Twain: “Whiskey’s for drinkin’; water’s for fightin’ over.”
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