I just finished watching the informative documentary TV program called, "The History of Water." This documentary did an excellent job in describing the fresh water shortage throughout the world with a major segment focused on the desert southwest. While southwest state governments, under pressure from the US federal government, bicker on how this limited resource should be divided, it seems no one is really working on a long-term solution to the problem. Big cities with lots of taxpayer money think that using their wealth to buyout agricultural users is the answer, but we know that is not a solution, but a temporary patch. In the long run, this approach will result in increased food costs and potential food shortages.
While states bicker about who should get limited water resources, a July 19, 2016 article in Scientific American magazine shows that some people are solving this difficult problem using the latest advanced technology. The article is entitled, "Israel Proves the Desalination Era Is Here--One of the driest countries on Earth now makes more freshwater than it needs." The article continues, "Israel now gets 55 percent of its domestic water from desalination, and that has helped to turn one of the world's driest countries into the unlikeliest of water giants." So with the abundance of available desalination technology and virtually unlimited potential solar power, why aren't we working on similar solutions? Like most situations, it seems our government will wait until a crisis situation exists before taking action on a problem that affects tens of millions of Americans.
—Robert Kumza
