Grist / Bloggy Style & Water
BLOGGY STYLE
Instead of yelling at us, yell at each other!
Here at Grist HQ, we receive lots of letters from readers, more than we can possibly print in our Letters to the Editor section. We love hearing from you -- but wouldn't you like other readers to hear you as well? If only there were some forum or venue where ... hey, wait a second, we've got one of those! If you sign up for a free account on our blog, Gristmill, you can share your reactions, rants, and follow-ups with the rest of the Grist readership. Heck, maybe you can even get a conversation started with them. So if you're worked up about wind power, right-wing tsunami loonies, DDT, or Nalgene bottles, head over to Gristmill and make your voice heard.
in Gristmill: Sign up for a free account <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3993>
in Gristmill: Discuss Umbra's thoughts on wind power <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3994>
in Gristmill: Discuss global warming, natural disasters, and the political connection <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3995>
in Gristmill: Discuss the ethics of using DDT to fight malaria <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3996>
in Gristmill: Discuss Nalgene bottles <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3997>
WATER, WATER EVERYWH ... HEY, WHERE'D THE WATER GO? Agriculture needs to start conserving water, badly
A new study by David Pimentel in the journal BioScience backs its call for greater agricultural water conservation with some disturbing statistics. Worldwide, agriculture uses some 70 percent of the freshwater supply. The ginormous Ogallala aquifer, which supplies water to a fifth of all irrigated land in the U.S., has dropped by 33 percent since 1950. And despite the declining importance of agriculture to our economy -- agriculture represents 3 percent of California's economy but uses 85 percent of its freshwater -- the federal government continues to pump water subsidies into the ag industry, to the tune of $2.5 billion to $4.4 billion a year. By 2050, says Bob Stallman of the American Farm Bureau Federation, "water will be the most critical resource issue we face in the entire world." Pimentel suggests that governments subsidize wasteful water practices less and conservation strategies more.
straight to the source: The Boston Globe, Associated Press, Mark Johnson, 10 Jan 2005 <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3989>
Instead of yelling at us, yell at each other!
Here at Grist HQ, we receive lots of letters from readers, more than we can possibly print in our Letters to the Editor section. We love hearing from you -- but wouldn't you like other readers to hear you as well? If only there were some forum or venue where ... hey, wait a second, we've got one of those! If you sign up for a free account on our blog, Gristmill, you can share your reactions, rants, and follow-ups with the rest of the Grist readership. Heck, maybe you can even get a conversation started with them. So if you're worked up about wind power, right-wing tsunami loonies, DDT, or Nalgene bottles, head over to Gristmill and make your voice heard.
in Gristmill: Sign up for a free account <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3993>
in Gristmill: Discuss Umbra's thoughts on wind power <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3994>
in Gristmill: Discuss global warming, natural disasters, and the political connection <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3995>
in Gristmill: Discuss the ethics of using DDT to fight malaria <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3996>
in Gristmill: Discuss Nalgene bottles <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3997>
WATER, WATER EVERYWH ... HEY, WHERE'D THE WATER GO? Agriculture needs to start conserving water, badly
A new study by David Pimentel in the journal BioScience backs its call for greater agricultural water conservation with some disturbing statistics. Worldwide, agriculture uses some 70 percent of the freshwater supply. The ginormous Ogallala aquifer, which supplies water to a fifth of all irrigated land in the U.S., has dropped by 33 percent since 1950. And despite the declining importance of agriculture to our economy -- agriculture represents 3 percent of California's economy but uses 85 percent of its freshwater -- the federal government continues to pump water subsidies into the ag industry, to the tune of $2.5 billion to $4.4 billion a year. By 2050, says Bob Stallman of the American Farm Bureau Federation, "water will be the most critical resource issue we face in the entire world." Pimentel suggests that governments subsidize wasteful water practices less and conservation strategies more.
straight to the source: The Boston Globe, Associated Press, Mark Johnson, 10 Jan 2005 <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3989>
posted by T. Scott Brineman at 6:59 AM
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