San Diego is still avoiding rational water policies, such as injection of treated wastewater into wetlands and riverbeds.

Here are 2 stories about the upcoming crisis in world water supplies:

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20030308/real/real1.html
'Political inertia worsens water resource crisis' UN report says demand outstripping supply levels published: Saturday | March 8, 2003

"FACED WITH 'inertia at the leadership level', the global water crisis will reach unprecedented levels in the years ahead with 'growing per capita scarcity of water in many parts of the developing world', according to a United Nations report made public this week.

"Water resources will steadily decline because of population growth, pollution and expected climate change, said a press release on the document coming out of Paris..."

NOTE, R. Robles points out that OC infrastructure was designed in 1960, when pop was about 260,000; now there are 13 times the number of people! This has big affects on open space, crumbling pipes, urban runoff, and other ills. Cutting down trees is seen as one big cause of urban runoff, as is dependence on our oil economy
-- suicidal, since an alternative is available.
http://Orange-County.net save trabuco oaks
http://DrivingTheFuture.com live OIL FREE, electric cars and solar rooftop power

"Presented on the eve of the Third World Water Forum scheduled for Kyoto, Japan, March 16-23, the 'World Water Development Report Water for People, Water for Life' is the most comprehensive, up-to-date overview of the state of the resource..."

"'Water supplies are falling while the demand is dramatically growing at an unsustainable rate.' ... political commitment to reverse these trends has been lacking ..."
"...By the middle of this century, at worst seven billion people in 60 countries will be faced with water scarcity..."

------------------------------------
This story shows the heart of the problem of dirty water:

"OIL INDUSTRY GRANTED CLEAN-WATER WAIVER
"L.A. Times, Mar 8, P. A23
"By Elizabeth Shogren
"Washington -- The Bush administration has decided to give the oil and gas industry two years to comply with a storm-water regulation that goes into effect across the country Monday, and will consider granting a permanent exemption..."

Of course, we all know how much the Oilies are hurting, being FORCED to charge $2.23 for gaso, poor babies, not knowing what to do with all their cash...heck, maybe buy up California's electric generator industry? Oops, did that already...

"...environmentalists in Congress argued that the administration is granting special rights to a favored industry..."
"The administration said it needed additional time to determine the effect the rule would have on the industry and whether it should be applied to companies producing and exploring for oil and gas..."

Do they really need an exception, allowing them to pollute our streams, rivers, lakes and Ocean, in order that they can scoop out the last dregs of our own recoverable oil and gas? That is no way to make us independent of foreign oil...

"The regulation is ... intended to reduce by 80% sediment and other polluted runoff from cities, towns and construction projects...[EPA] said they were delaying ...compliance because they had mistakenly believed that most oil and gas construction projects would not impact more than one acre [and thus be exempt from it]..."

Apparently, these bureaucrats are unwilling to even inconvenience the polluters, even to keep our national resource, clean water, available for growing usage.

Similar weakening is now taking place in protections once thought granted by the Clean Air, Endangered Species, NEPA, and other laws.

The real problem is our putrid administration, which seems determined to cave in to every two-bit polluter, ignoring damage to laws and habitat that will take decades to correct even when possible.

/Doug
562-430-2495

Back to T.O.C. 3