Ike Wai Project

(Babbitt, 2007), (Dedekorkut 2003) Both the federal and state agencies, along the American people are dedicated to clean-up the water flows in the Everglades. With this, the Everglades Restoration, as Babbitt points-out, is an example of a national commitment to large scale restoration of degraded ecosystems (Babbitt 2007). However , currently, both the public and the political culture rely heavily on natural resource science for answers the many phenomena that exist in water resource policy.

The Earth is a huge planet this is covered by 70 percent water. Astonishingly from this 70 percent the human population can only use 1 percent of the world’s water the rest of it is salt water, frozen, or in some way unattainable (Santa Clara Valley Water District, 2016). Humans have found many different ways to obtain this 1 percent of fresh water they need, but the techniques vary depending on location. In San Jose, California we obtain our water from 3 major sources: groundwater, imported surface water, and local mountain surface water. These 3 sources contribute different amounts of water to the San Jose community. Imported surface water composes about 50 percent of our water supply, while ground water composes roughly 40 percent, and local mountain surface water composes approximately 10 percent (Santa Jose Water Company, 2016). However, these percentages can change due to factors such as weather and global warming.

Hawaii is facing a crisis. This is not one of wars, disease or famine; the issue is water. Located thousands of miles away from the other continents, many resources in Hawaii are scarce. As a result, Hawaii’s water supply is suffering because of the an ever changing climate, which results in stress on our valuable water.

Yet, humans have limited control on natural events, so this only reinforces the importance of managing water wisely. Recently California’s government has begun to focus more on sustaining and restoring the water supply. Dale Kasler (2016) articulates in his article some of the steps they have decided to make to solve this serious issue. The government has made the following investments: “$415 million for watershed restoration and other environmental aid for Lake Tahoe; up to $335 million for two proposed reservoirs in California, including the Sites reservoir north of Sacramento; $880 million for flood-control projects on the American and Sacramento rivers in Sacramento; and $780 million for flood-control projects in West Sacramento” (para. 10). This could be the first step to restoring the water to California. But these

Arizona has an incredibly large dependence on the Colorado River and groundwater. In fact, 39% of all water usage in Arizona is comprised of Colorado River water. Any dependence of that scale on any resource that originates in another area is always a major risk, as any major disaster or drastic change to the source of the river can cripple the state’s water supply. Furthermore, while Arizona does house the majority of the Lower Basin of the Colorado, the Colorado’s Upper Basin is shared between 4 other states, all with their own water needs and all with a susceptibility to drought. On the other hand, another 40% of all water Arizona uses is from groundwater sources. However, the Colorado River and these groundwater sources in the Colorado River basins have lost over 65 cubic kilometers of water over the last 9 years, with nearly 2/3 of it from groundwater loss due to over-pumping. This is because

Noble, Wade. "A Case Study in Efficiency – Agriculture and Water Use in the Yuma, Arizona Area." Yuma County

Texas, with its abundances of natural resources, is facing a new demon, one that doesn’t even seem possible, a shortage of water. Water, without it nothing can survive. Texas is the second largest state for landmass in the nation and ninth for water square miles. Within the borders of Texas are more than 100 lakes, 14 major rivers, and 23 aquifers, so why has water become such an important issue for the state? Politicians and conservationists all agree that without a new working water plan, the state could be facing one of the most damaging environmental disasters they have ever seen. The issues that shape the states positions are population growth, current drought conditions, and who actually owns the water.

In Hawaii, economic and environmental choices often go hand-in-hand. Our state’s location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean has created a natural paradise which draws people from all over the world who, in turn, bring economic prosperity to the state through our tourism industry. However, it is also undeniable that sustainability and clean energy are essential to Hawaii due to our bearings in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Tourism and development demand tremendous amounts of energy, land, and resources. Some argue that we must continue to exploit our land and resources for tourism and development, which supports us financially. Not only does Hawaii’s economy depend on others, but Hawaii as a whole is pathetically dependent on others in every aspect. The dependence on imports that we are currently imprisoned to threatens our resources and our way of life. Currently, 95% of Hawaii’s energy comes at great cost from imported fossil fuels. Every year, 47.2 million barrels of oil, or roughly 34 barrels per person in Hawaii, are

Protecting Hawaii’s rain forest from the invasion of Corporate America is Bill McKibben’s intention as an environmentalist. His 28-paragraph article, “Power Play Endangers Hawaii’s Rain Forest,” appeared in Rolling Stone, a popular culture magazine, on May 31, 1990. He argues that producing power through geothermal drilling harms the Wao Kele o Puna rain forest, the environment, and the people that live nearby. He also presents alternative methods for power, hoping that people will consider these, such as solar-water heating systems and energy efficient gadgets. Unfortunately, his elevated, subjective stance and attempt to convince his audience through

On March 27, 2014, Wade Graham of the San Francisco Chronicle reported “The Water Revolution California needs.” California is having a severe drought. Wade Graham tells his readers that California is in a serious water crisis. The state of California needs to make strict changes to how water is being distributed amongst farmers and residents. Before all of California’s ecological system is destroyed. Wade Graham believes that water should be priced higher; that way people aren’t wasting water. Water is a limited resource that should never be wasted, and is probably California’s most valuable resource. Unfortunately, many people waste water; instead of conserve water especially when we live in the state of California where we are subject to

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is part of the largest statuary on the West Coast of the United States. The Delta covers over 738,000 acres and is home to over 50 species of fish and almost 300 different kinds of mammal, reptile, and bird species (Lund, et al.) Moreover, the Delta is the largest source of water supply for the entire state, channeling water from Northern California to millions of acres of farmland in the Central Valley and to over 20 million residents in California (Holyoke). In its vicinity, the Delta supports agricultural, fishing, and recreational activities. In other words, the Delta is the jugular of California’s water system and the states’ entire economy and wellbeing is attached to it. With so much riding on the Delta, humans have re-engineer its natural fluvial shape to rip off benefits without thinking of future consequences.

Economists are often asked to prepare reports with objective analyses balancing the cost and potential damage to the water sources against economic benefits to the local and national communities. These requests for analysis can provide interesting ethical questions for those

Simply stated, knowledge can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you use it. Arguably, the inherent purpose and power of knowledge lies in the ability to use that knowledge to make good changes to things around you. The “Individuals and Societies” module explored the implications of knowledge and how we should use knowledge to make changes with respect to our water crisis. In Josh Viers lecture entitled “California Water Wars,” he presented the fact that California, more specifically, is facing a water crisis. Viers states that one reason for this water crisis is the phenomenon of the Sierra Nevada facing monumental shifts in climate change. He posits that the Nevada is shifting from a snow-dominated to rain dominated flow regime, that there is now an earlier timing of snowmelt, and that there are now longer dry seasons (Viers). The purpose of this lecture was two-fold, to inform us about our current and past actions and to warn us that changes need to be made to prevent the exacerbation of our water crisis. Viers urged us to look at the data and see that our actions

The film shown in class shines light towards the culture of Rwandans and the use of a traditional instrument called the inanga, and the music that is associated with it the inanga is the main instrument featured in the film. It is an instrument used by the Tutsi ethnic group. The film centers on the inanga and a few musicians who are prominent inanga players. This representation differs from how the course is typically presented as the class is given equal representation when there are multiple parties in play. The main ethnic groups in Rwanda, Tutsi and Hutu, have an extremely unpleasant past. The Hutus killed many hundreds of thousands of Tutsi and moderate Hutus. The film is a documentary focusing specifically on the Tutsi way of life, and Tutsi heritage. Although the film centers on, the Inanga it differs from the way information is presented during class; while in the film it only represents one ethnic group in class, multiple viewpoints presented.

When referring to Arizona’s water Kris Mayes, chairwoman of the state’s utility regulatory panel once said, “How do you say just how valuable water is in an arid state like Arizona?” she said. “It’s like the credit-card commercial-it’s priceless” (McKinnon). She was right, because in a dry state like Arizona, water is pretty important. To say water is ‘pretty important’ for the world is an understatement. We use water to function. And when we think of water we think of saving it. Keep the faucets from dripping or turn off the water while brushing your teeth. There are numerous tips for water conservation, but people don’t often think of the damage that is already done. Damages like ‘dead zones’. Dead zones in the ocean have been around for