Posted on 05/09/2013 8:26:17 PM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
There's a popular saying in America that "whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting over." The United States supreme court has been called upon to settle a battle that is raging over access to the Red River which serves Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.
Water-starved Texas feels that it is entitled under the Red River compact, which was signed by all four states, to billions of gallons of water from the Oklahoma side of the river basin. Oklahoma insists that Texas is not doing enough to conserve. Texas is also fighting a battle with New Mexico over access to water from the Rio Grande. This dispute may also end up being settled by the supreme court but whatever the outcome of both these battles, the ultimate victory of having an ample water supply that would allow agriculture and businesses to flourish may be an elusive one.
It's not for nothing that Texas is waging water wars on all fronts. A population boom and a climate that keeps getting warmer and drier has led to severe shortages in much of the state. Despite claims to the contrary, Texas is taking this shortage very seriously indeed. The state legislature recently approved a bill, HB4, which provides for $53bn to be spent over the next 40 years on new infrastructure and water conservation efforts.
Total water use in San Antonio is around the same or slightly less than it was in the 1980's even though the water utility has added 300,000 new customers.
As Andrew Liveris, the CEO of Dow Chemical put it, "Water is the oil of the 21st century." Texas has already had to deal with the economic and environmental consequences of oil well depletion. Coping with dry water wells may prove to be a far greater challenge.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
“In January 2012, a researcher discovered larvae in the test tube of a dead honey bee believed to have been affected by colony collapse disorder (CCD).[10] The larvae had not been there the night before. The larvae were Apocephalus borealis, a parasitic fly known to prey on bumblebees and wasps. The phorid fly lays eggs on the bee’s abdomen, which hatch and feed on the bee. Infected bees will act oddly, foraging at night and gathering around lights like moths. Eventually, the bee leaves the colony to die. The phorid fly larvae will then emerge from the neck of the bee.”
PASS.
Agreed. The world may have to live without Texmati rice.
Whiskey is for drinkin’, and water is for fightin’. Age old, never changes.
The sad thing is that about half of the residential water is used to water the suburbanite 30’ X 60’ yard for five months. Half of it running off into the street.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.