Conserve today, to create a better tomorrow. Conservation is needed to protect, improve, and use our natural resources wisely, so we can have the greatest economic value for the present and future. As citizens of Southwest, Kansas, it is our duty to conserve water for the current and future use of agriculture, municipalities, oil, and gas fields. My family and I have lived on the Cimarron River for the past 20 years. My parents drilled their own house well in 1992. Today, the water level in our house well is marginal, and will only last ten more years before we have to drill deeper. As our water is non-renewable, we may not find anything when we do drill deeper. It would be devastating to think my family would have to move from Southwest, Kansas. In the near future, we may find that water is priced as high as gasoline or even gold. Without water we will not have people around to plant and harvest crops much less water those plants. It is a vicious cycle and drastic changes need to be made now. In order to fix this problem, we must conserve water. The consequences of not having use of the Ogallala aquifer for the agricultural, municipal, oil, and gas industries. Agriculture. Lack of water results in a lack of corn, which would drive up the cost of beef, pork, and milk. Commercial livestock facilities use tens of thousands of gallons a day. A feedlot or dairy having 1,000 head of cattle consumes 10,000 gallons of water per day; that amounts to 70,000 gallons
With 1,400 miles of water and 9 states using it- water is running out fast. Farmers that use the water are saying that they have more legal rights to use the water since they are growing food to give to everyone. Although, cities are needing water to keep their people alive as well.
Another issue that has arose would include the pipeline rupturing leaving us with an oil spill on our hands. Tar sands is the most difficult type of oil to clean up in the event it were to spill. Mainly because it is so heavy it would sink straight to the bottom of the water. A perfect example of a tar sands spill happened in Michigan’s Kalamazoo River in 2010 when approximately thirty-five miles of the Kalamazoo River was closed for clean-up until June 2012, when they had portions of the river re-opened. We can still see the effects it has had on Michigan because they have not fully cleaned all of the oil out of the river. The US lost about 1,100,000 gallons due to this spill, resulting 30 to 50 households to excavate the area and were told not to drink any of their water supplies due to all the highly toxins released from the pipeline rupture. To clean up all the damage from the spill at first it was around $585 million and was expected to rise by 20 percent more. The
In the 1990s contamination became a large problem with groundwater in the Ogallala aquifer. There are many people who look past the case of the Keystone XL pipeline because some believe that if there was a failure in building the pipeline or a leakage that the oil would contaminate the soil, groundwater, crops, and destroy our economy. “The Canadian company that owns the Keystone, has repeatedly said the XL will be “the safest pipeline ever built on U.S. soil”. What people may not already realize is that there is a large amount of thousands of miles of pipelines that carry crude oil and many refined liquids, that crosses the U.S. and even the Ogallala
To explain, local water sources will be majorly affected due to the Dakota Access Pipeline. “The Standing Rock Sioux and supporters say the $3.8 billion oil pipeline disrupts sacred burial grounds and threatens the tribes main source of drinking water.” (Source 2) The DAPL will harm multiple Native American water sources, which is why it should be built on another route to protect the Native Americans. Putting $3.8 billion into a project that may later on, need more money to support the funding of the Native Americans water supply is ridiculous. The most reasonable option is to reroute the pipeline and save the water source of the native tribes. “The tribes say the pipeline would threaten their cultural sites and water supply.” (Source 3) Many
The earth is like a living organism; it thrives full of life with a fragile balance. This balance has been thrown off by many different things. Water seems to be one of the biggest problems with this offset balance. Water is a magic liquid keeping all of life thriving. Humans drink and use water, plants use water, water is used in everyday life, and it’s slowly being taken away. In the future, there will be no water left to sustain life on earth.
These farmers provide us crops like corn, lettuce, wheat, and lots of other great things, so if they don’t get the water they need for there crops we won't have any of their crops. The people that like in these 7 states need their water because they depend on this water everyday.
One more efficient way people could conserve would be by having their house inspected for leaks as they account for 16% of our water supply If farmers cut back by just 5% it would be equal to the 25% that the cities in California are required to conserve. The main goal of the city-wide water restrictions
The environmental consequences, of drilling and other related to the activities of this new pipeline not to mention the nature that is being destroyed. Not to mention the protected forests and other sorts of landmarks that this pipeline will damage.
We all love water, but don’t know much about it. What I mean is that a lot of us don’t even know where our water comes from. That answer varies; for example, the city of Camarillo California gets its’ water in Camrosa Water District. It’s official website, “Camrosa Water District building Water Self- Reliance” provides information like what their purpose is, and as well as water conservation, building self-reliance, and other public information. This website states that Camrosa is currently in a state two water supply shortage. This means that there are restrictions on water use and a call for a voluntary fifteen percent reduction on the amount of water consumption. Also, according to Camrosa “Agricultural Water Management Plan”, water is being
How would you feel if you had a water shortage? That would mean shorter shower, less crops, and a big problem.In Colorado, the Colorado River is drying up. It is getting so populated in that area that they are running out of water. I feel bad for the farmers. What about their crops?
While proponents for not building the pipeline cite past unfortunate events as evidence for their argument, there are many facts that lead to the dismissal of these claims as unrelated or simply irrelevant. A widely used example is the Deepwater Horizon spill, or the BP oil spill, in April of 2010. This spill was highly covered by American media, engraving in the public mind that waters surrounding oil refineries and lines often become damaged or contaminated. This is shown by the opposition’s contention that the original route crossed the Sandhills in Nebraska. The Sandhills are considered wetlands by state and federal governments and are home to a large portion of the Ogallala Aquifer, “the single most important source of water in the High Plains region, providing nearly all the water for residential, industrial, and agricultural use” (Ogallala Aquifer). Comparing the consequences of the Deepwater Horizon incident to pessimistic thoughts of the Keystone XL, advocates of the project’s cancellation claim that if the pipeline were to break or leak at point along the route near the aquifer, it would pollute the area’s usable water, therefore causing significant environmental and economic damage. Rebuttals for this argument are very resolute; pipeline supporters and other experts assert that this should not be as big of an issue as it is advertised to be. James Goeke, professor emeritus at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a hydrologist by trade in
If the North Dakota pipeline continues to be built, will it have a negative ecological impact? A part of the pipeline is routed to be underneath a part of the Missouri river known as Lake Oahe, the Standing Rock Indian Reservation’s main water supply. If the pipeline were to leak it would contaminated the river and surrounding areas. Pipes will eventually leak; the Dakota Access pipeline should not be built so close to bodies of water of any kind.
There are reasons that we should limit the water because we are in a drought.“I’ve been here in the same house for 37 years and this has never happened before,” says Jose Lopez, 67(source 2). But this is not a reason to limit the water because the food that the farmers produce is the food for about ⅓ of the world and if you stop them from using the water the food supply will diminish and thomas malthus theory that the world will run out of food will come true.
“The Glen Canyon dam supplies water to several states in the upper and lower basin… including California, Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico receive 8.23 million acre feet of water each year from the Glen Canyon Dam.” (Glen Canyon Dam: Economic Benefits). When states are in a drought they have the ability to take water from the lake in order to provide water to their living area without this access, these states would be in crisis. In order for this to work, there are certain water agreements and rules are set to maintain fairness and efficiency. “Under the Colorado river was apportioned between the seven user states in both the upper and lower basin. This agreement is responsible for water development along the Colorado and its tributaries and also acts to control water flows” (Glen Canyon Dam: Economic Benefits). There are seven states that use the water from the lake. Mexico, California, Arizona, Nevada and many others, are the primary users of this lake when they are in a drought. People of opposing views believe that because of the amount of evaporation that occurs in the lake now it would be the best route to let it drain and having moving water up and downstream which will have a bigger effect on the environment. This may cause different issues within the states. Issues that occur in these states are the environmental hazards such as fires, droughts, and many other hazards that can be affected from not having enough water. “The loss of Lake Powell would simply allow for more water in the system” (Glen Canyon Institute). With the drought issue arising this reservoir is helping by allowing those states take the water necessary in order to suffice their needs of hydration. Some people who are on the opposing side might state that the research found is not applicable due to the power they want to have over you,
We need to save water because we need to save plants. Earth’s oxygen and most of the food comes from plants. Not just us but plants also need water for survival too."Midwest Plan Service guidelines suggest that farms using 2,000 gallons per day" (Consumptive Water Use Restrictions in the Delaware River Basin. 2002. Agricultural and Biological Engineering Fact Sheet F-199, Penn State Extension). This shows that farmers around the world need lots of water to harvest healthy crops which demand a huge amount of water. Farmers may uses a lot of water for plants and animals but they also know techniques to save water. "Good grazing management increases the fields’ water absorption and decreases water runoff, making pastures more drought-resistant." (CUESA intern Janelle Shiozaki ). Rotational grazing is a process in which livestock are moved between fields to help promote pasture regrowth. Other ways farmers can save water is to decomposed organic matter to improve soil structure to help the environment breath better and animals habitat.