Earth Blues

[H2O Man]

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/06/colorado-river-drought-california-arizona-00044121


I've been watching various news reports on the environment recently. Reports on the water levels at Lake Mead and Lake and Lake Powell are extremely low levels. Mead is the largest reservoir in the country, and measured to be at only 27% of capacity this month. One guy noted that if people viewed the lake as a bank, people make an increasing number of withdrawals, but there aren't many deposits.

It's the lowest it has been, since 1937, before it was originally filled. If this continues, it will reach "dead pool" level, and no longer pass through the Hoover Dam, supplying important parts of Arizona, California, and Mexico. Thus, it will not matter if one recognizes the reality of climate change: people in those regions will need to adjust their behaviors in their daily lives. It might actually reach the point where government beseech corporate entities to consider changing some of their practices.

I also have been watching reports on the rapidly expanding Oak Fire in California. I've also seen recent reports on fires in England. Many of us remember 2020 reports on the Amazon rainforest burning. Last year, under president Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian deforestation rates soared to a 15-year high. That continues at a brisk pace this year -- so far, 1,500 square miles have been deforested. There are curious ways of deforesting:

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/the-territory-new-documentary-follows-uru-eu-wau-wau-community-fighting-to-protect-their-indigenous-land-in-the-amazon/

If a person pays attention to these things, one might suspect that there are connections between all of these things. Or one can turn away and refuse to think about this. It should be upsetting to think about. I understand that individuals might think, " I'm just one person. The most severe damage is being done by corporations. There is nothing I can do." You have been lied to, to discourage you from realizing you are one among millions. Or, as Gandhi said, a drop in the ocean that takes part in the greatness of its parent.

Corporations do indeed do much more harm than individuals. Individuals working for corporations may, on a personal level, recognize that they are part of a system destroying the natural world. But, if they rely on a paycheck from that industry, they know if they speak up they will be replaced. A number of corporate executives told that to my friend Oren Lyons when he was giving a speech on environmental issues a few years back.

Oren noted that many of them are grandparents, and recognize they are handing down an earth that is severely damaged to the younger generations. People who are adraid of change find many excuses to remain part of a system that devastates the environment. Oren said that the group would likely ask him back in a year or two, so that they could again say, "Nothing has changed since the last time you were. But I care."

In my opinion, it is not just people who get a paycheck from those corporations. It includes those who take -- and depend upon -- corporate donations to run their election and re-election campaigns. In a very real sense, they work for those corporations. If they speak up, they fear being replaced. They, too, say that they care.

That's why I favor those politicians that do not accept corporate money. By coincidence -- perhaps -- they seem to be the environmentally-conscious representatives of human beings, rather than corporations. Thus, the Democratic candidate I am volunteering for in NYS's 19th Congressional district. He doesn't accepte corporate money, while his primary opponent does.

Below please find a message from Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper, Turtle Clan, Onondaga Nation:

[lapfog_1]

1. I've been thinking about a major project

putting a large nuclear plant near Yuma, pump water in from deep in the gulf of california, desalinate using an Israeli sized desalinization plant, and pump the water up to Hoover Dam.

Something like this...





Of course, the alternative is to move everyone out of Phoenix and Las Vegas... and maybe parts of Los Angeles and San Diego.

[H2O Man]

2. I've seen things

that sounded similar to that. Certainly a project that would require a significant national investment.

I think that there will be significant migrations within the United States in coming years.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

4. Bah! If they can't afford water, let them drink wine!

[H2O Man]

3. Jimi

[Ron Green]

5. Stop the Consumer Economy and be prepared for economic de-growth.

It’s the only sane way forward. The mega desalination plants and other big technological fixes are loved by white people, but they’re a fool’s errand, I believe.

[H2O Man]

6. I agree.

It is essential to stop the behaviors that are causing the crisis, rather than seeking a way to expand those behaviors.