Los Angeles is the second largest city in the United States with close to four million people. Way back in the early part of the twentieth century it was little more than a small town with a water problem, but enterprising real estate salesmen and creative engineers found ways to divert water from other parts of California to LA. Thus began one of the most unlikely stories of development in all of the United States. What should have been viewed more as a kind of desert town became a mecca for people dreaming of a better life in a sunny environment. Sadly the continued growth and the droughts in other parts of the state and the country now threaten to one day leave the boom town without enough water to quench the thirst of its many people.
Such are similar stories all over the world where years of drought have left large swaths of population in danger of dry wells, fires and little of the wet stuff that all people need to survive. Phoenix, Arizona and its surrounding areas are another such place. During the westward movement of the population of the United States people mostly drove their wagons past the seemingly dry land of Arizona searching instead for greener pastures. More recently Arizona has seen rapid growth in population with residential and business areas cropping up like weeds at the same time that water has become more and more scarce. Already there are abandoned neighborhoods sitting on parched land looking like scenes from a dystopian science fiction movie. In truth, we are stressing our rivers and wells and aquifers expecting to have more water for our needs than nature is able to produce. It is an increasingly anxious battle to keep faucets running even as we seem to ignore the signs that we have to be more conscious of conserving our resources of water.
Water has had a metaphorical and mystical effect throughout the history of humankind. The development of civilizations depended on water. Cities were built around rivers and lakes. People saw water as a source of life itself, a cleansing, cooling, nourishing necessity. We baptize people with water. We have holy water to remind us of God. The Bible tells us of Jesus walking on water and the apostles being fishers of men. When a disaster or pandemic threatens us we rush out to purchase water lest our faucets won’t operate. The importance of water is inestimable and yet we generally take it for granted until it is tainted or no longer available. We don’t spend nearly enough time talking about how our own actions create many of the problems that we face with the scarcity of water. We grumble and complain if someone suggests ways to use less water instead of volunteering to do our parts.
Who wants the lawn to grow in “No Mow May” knowing that our neighbors may complain or the HOA may fine us for letting the grass become overgrown and unsightly? Most of us see a rock filled lawn as being stark and ugly even as we watch the water from our sprinklers intended for our lawns running down the driveway into the gutter. We fill our pools and take long showers. We fill our sinks with water that we barely use. We believe that rain will surely come, especially in places like the one where I live that are more likely to see floods than drought. Why should we worry about later when everything is working well now? We argue that even if all of the discussion of Climate Change and Global Warming is true, isn’t it supposed to happen in 2050? Why should we stress over it now?
I’m one of those souls who is a planner. It’s in my nature. I want to have not just a Plan A but others that stretch all the way to Plan Z. I hope that I will never have to use all of the ways to get past the scenarios that I imagine, but I don’t want to get caught without a strategy for surviving even the most horrific situation. So I have bug out bags and stores of food supplies. My tendency to overthink the possibilities stood me in good stead when people were scrambling for necessities in the early days of Covid. I was ready with masks and medical supplies and non perishable foods. The one area that I have still not considered enough is how to deal with the changing nature of climate. I struggle with being fully prepared for a natural disaster, a catastrophe of epic proportions.
We can all do things before the worst happens but the clock is ticking and time is running out. Already this summer over a thousand people died in the extreme heat at Mecca during the annual pilgrimage of Muslims from all over the world. We now need to take into account heat when planning outside events but we can also take measures to insure that the earth slows its heating. That means moving away from fossil fuels, switching to electric cars, creating electricity with alternate sources like solar panels or nuclear power. We should be awarding innovative scientists and engineers who create systems that allow us to enjoy life without destroying our planet. We need to treasure our earth and all learn what it needs to heal and grow strong again.
If we ignore our responsibility in literally changing the ecosystems of the earth then the future will surely be incredibly difficult for future generations. It should always be our goal to leave a better place for them than the one that we found. We must never be so cavalier that we do not care about every person on the planet both now and in the future. We must treasure our water and treat it like the precious commodity it is by using it as sparingly as possible. We can do this but only if we all cooperate in a spirit of unity and concern for one another. We must always remember that water is life!
All It Takes Is A Little Love 