Cartoons often communicate complex political ideas faster and better than prose. For this reason, DI recently purchased a license from Cagle Cartoon Syndicate in order to reprint the cartoons of some of the best cartoonists in the business. We are proud to support this work. Today’s topic is oil.
Clever packaging here. The site, sponsored by Sustainability, asks how many Earths it would take were everyone to adopt your lifestyle. I didn't do well (more than 4 Earths), despite my bicycle commuting and my reliance on public transportation. Hmmm . . .
If you think it’s difficult to read about the way America is wasting lives in Iraq, it’s just the beginning. In an article entitled "The Economic Consequences of Mr. Bush," Vanity Fair has examined the ways in which the Bush Administration has wrecked the American economy. There is lots of…
Yes, you could continue on your merry way, spending money on the wrong types of things for all the wrong reasons. We've all done this. But we don't have to keep doing things this way. To give you an assist, you can get some ideas and inspiration from New American Dream. It…
Today, the following Associated Press article was run on page-19 of my local newspaper (the St. Louis Post-Dispatch):
An epic drought in Georgia threatens the water supply for millions. Florida doesn’t have nearly enough water for its expected population boom. The Great Lakes are shrinking. Upstate New York’s reservoirs have dropped to record lows. And in the West, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is melting faster each year.
Across America, the picture is critically clear — the nation’s freshwater supplies can no longer quench its thirst.
The government projects that at least 36 states will face water shortages within five years because of a combination of rising temperature, drought, population growth, urban sprawl, waste and excess.
“Is it a crisis? If we don’t do some decent water planning, it could be,” said Jack Hoffbuhr, executive director of the American Water Works Association, based in Denver.
Water managers will need to take bold steps to keep taps flowing, including conservation, recycling, desalination and stricter controls on development.
The price tag for ensuring a reliable water supply could be staggering. Experts estimate that just upgrading pipes to handle new supplies could cost the nation $300 billion over 30 years.
“Unfortunately, there’s just not going to be any more cheap water,” said Randy Brown, utilities director for Pompano Beach, Fla.
Truly, this is a major story; our country is running out of a critically important resource. Combine that lack-of-water news, though with the equally unreported news that the world is running out of …