Water conservation at its best

Today I was walking home in the rain, hating every wet second of it because it was not a light rain. I was drenched within minutes. I came across this older gentlemen washing his car in his drive way. He had an umbrella in one hand and a car scrubby in the other. There he was washing downh is car in the poring rain. I was thinking; “What is this guy doing? Why would anyone want to be out in this rain unless they had to be?” Then the light bulb went off. This guy was no idiot but a very smart man.

He was using the power of the heavy rain to clean off his car and using the scrubbing brush to get off the hard parts, like stuck bugs. He was saving water the smart way, making use of what was naturally there. He let the hard rain do 95% of the work and was saving money because he has to pay for his water usage but rain is free. As for getting wet, you get wet washing a car, what is the difference if it comes from the sky or a hose?

It made me think of the other ways people take advantage of rainfall. Farmers often have cisterns or other ways to store rainwater to be used to water the crops, given to the animals or used to clean things. I remember always having rain barrels where we could collect rainwater and then would use it to water the garden on hot dry days. It made sense then and now. Water conservation needs to take place now more then ever and yet most people don’t think about it that much. Water from a tap makes it convenient and it is hard to think that it might not be so easily available someday.

US Government wants to control water, but is it theirs to begin with?

I keep saying that soon clean drinkable water will soon be one of the most sought after commodities competing with oil in value. There are companies all over the world already selling water, both in bottles and for water piped into your home. Now the US Government is working on the Water Restoration Act of 2007. This would give the US Federal Government control over all water in the US. The idea is that this would give the US Government control over water so that it can be protected. It seems water may be a potential terrorist target and they also want to be able to have control over the pollution and said clean up of polluted water to insure the US has safe water to drink.

The problem is that it also opens the door to privatization of the water supply. If there is money to make someone will and controlling water is a sure way to make some. I don’t think that it would be a good idea to give control over our water to someone looking to sell it back to us. It is one thing to pay for water usage in our homes to cover the cost of piping, pumps, maintains and cleaning the water. It is another thing completely to have to pay for the actual water. Right now I can buy a bottle of water if I want to, which is fine because I am not forced to buy the water I can choose to. I already know that it is going to be the poor that suffers if suddenly you have to buy water.

Once you have control over the water you have control over the people. We cannot live with out it. I do agree that pollution must be reduced or stopped and cleaned up. There is less and less clean water everyday. It is a valuable commodity that is used in just about everything from drinking water, production and manufacturing. Do I want the same type of people in charge of water, as we have in charge of oil and gas, no way! I do not want to have price hikes on every Friday or to be denied water because I am poor. Once someone has control over the water they can decide who gets it and trust me it will be the people, county, city or state that can pay the most for it.

I can also see this causing an international issue. The great lakes are not 100% US though at times they seem to believe that they are. The water is not just for them. I live in Canada, on the edge of one of the lakes. We use it for our water, and trust me it needs to be cleaned up. However if a company in the US is given the right to sell the water from the Great Lakes we are going to have a problem.

First all the water there is not theirs to buy or sell. Second with the potential for abuse, already seen in the fishing industry, how much water would they remove from the lakes to supply people? Canada and the US would soon have very strong words over the control of the water. And let me tell you Canada and Canadians are not going to sit idly by as some company sells off our water. This is not just a US issue, with US rights and laws. Just because the US decides this is the way it is going to be does not make it so. Canada has some say over what happens with the water and who gets what.

To find out more about this Water Restoration Act of 2007 please check out this article Water Restoration Act May Lead to Privatization of Water Supply.

Jellyfish Outbreaks a Sign of Nature Out of Sync

I knew that we were in trouble when fish prices started going up years ago, and we had to start making fish farms to try and repopulate Salmon and other fish. Now almost 20 years latter the jellyfish are letting us know that there is a real problem not just in Canada but world wide. Over fishing has changed the population of the seas and now jellyfish are taking over. This is not a good thing. I don't know what we are going to be able to do, it is not like we can even replace the number of fish we are already taking out and we are still fishing.


The dramatic proliferation of jellyfish in oceans around the world, driven by overfishing and climate change, is a sure sign of ecosystems out of kilter, warn experts. There is a very good article on this called Jellyfish Outbreaks a Sign of Nature Out of Sync.

For years over fishing has been causing problems in the ecosystem but now that the jellyfish are moving in and causing problems for tourism suddenly we notice.

Rare albino crows spotted in East Vancouver

It is a baby white albino crow. Very odd. Strange things are going on when crows are pure white. There are two baby crows that appear to have a rare genetic mutation that makes them albino. I found the story on the two crows on CBC web site. I guess it is not just wales showing up as albinos these days. I wonder if this is normal or if we have messed up the ecosystem up so badly things are just going haywire?

read more digg story

Mysterious Rings Found In Canadian Forests

Only seen from the sky, hug rings or circles in the trees. Thousands of large, perfectly round circles. Space ships landed here or are these the same as crop circles only in trees?

No it is believed that the strange circles are being caused by "giant, natural electrochemical cells — big centres of negative charges called reduced chimneys — that are frequently situated over metal or mineral deposits, or methane." It seems finding the circles gives clues that there something worth digging for, possible metal, minerals or more important alternative fuel in the form of methane. With the cost of oil going up alternative fuels are going to be even more valuable resources so I guess it is a good thing someone figured out that the rings may mean dig here. I found the article on the Mysterious Rings Found In Canadian Forests on the CBC web site. It is interesting but I pulled some of the pictures and info for a quick overview. The article is still worth reading though.

An Ontario Geological Survey map of documented forest rings in Northern Ontario. Note that the size of the rings on the map is to show the distribution of different-sized rings, they are not proportional to the map scale. (Courtesy Ontario Geological Survey)



Rings in farmer's fields in Southern Ontario's Essex County, a few kilometres from the Michigan border, formed by oil deposits. (Courtesy Ontario MNR)

The Cheecka Ring is a ring measuring about 1 kilometre in diameter, located 20 km east of Hearst, Ont. Scientists believe it was formed by a natural gas deposit. (Courtesy S. Hamilton, OGS)

The R2 Ring is a 300-metre wide ring located about 40 kilometres south of Hearst, Ont. The geological source of the ring is unknown, but its shape can be clearly seen in this aerial photograph of the forest. (Courtesy S. Hamilton, OGS)

Why are we only looking at alternative energy sources now?

Those of us in industrialized countries have become too complacent with our dependence on oil and other energy sources. We expect it to be there for use in our lifetime and our children’s. As a result we have not treated it as a precious resource to be conserved. We have not utilized all our resources as people in third world countries do. We are used to plenty and even though we say the words conserve, recycle, reuse we don’t do it to the same degree as impoverished countries.

Many years ago I watch a show on a village in Africa that was having a fuel shortage. The solution was to make methane gathering equipment and storage. This was a pit where animal waste was placed, a plastic cover, like a large bag was placed over it. The methane gas built up and would rise up through tubes into a plastic bag or bladder. Another tube came from the bladder to the cooking area. The tube was closed using something like a close pin. When fire was needed the close pin was removed and the methane was lit. This was very resourceful and cheep. Though I felt that more safety precautions were needed to prevent a bad fire explosion.

It is all in a person’s perception. We see animal poop as something to get rid of or use as fertilizer. Though even then we have gone to chemical fertilizers in some places. We complain that all the cow poop out there is causing an increase in the worlds temperature. Though we actually know it is our cars and factory’s. Why are we not harvesting the naturally occurring methane? I am sure we can come up with much more efficient and safe ways to harvest and use methane from animal waste. It is a renewable energy source, and we can still use it as fertilizer after. I think it would also be a cleaner source of energy the burning coal to make electricity.

Other countries, not just third world countries, are using every resource they have to have cheep, clean fuel and energy resources. Why are we not doing the same? Solar, wind and water have been used through out history as a source of energy, why do we use it in such limited capacity. Why are we only now creating wind and solar energy farms? Why have we not been using these resources all along? I know, oil was cheep and easy to use. So what if there were consequences such as high pollution, it would not be our or our kid’s problem. Well now it is. We have to make some quick changes on how we do things.

The only way things are going to change is if we start making changes as individuals and demanding changes in and how we get our energy. There are farms in Sweden that generate enough energy, using wind, that they actually sell the excess to a power company. That is one farm. What could we do if we all found ways to generate energy for our own homes using wind, solar, water or even on a farm animal waste?

Our huge garbage dumps are already creating a lot of heat. It is actually a problem in the waste management field. Why are we not finding a way to use this? It is not like we are going to stop making garbage. As it is there are not enough places to put it so we end up burning it or trying to bury it. Why are we not utilizing this? Are we so far removed from nature and need that we are going just keep wasting things? So what if we are not at the point that it is a necessity to keep our family warm and fed. Do we have to get to the point where it is a necessity before we take advantage of what we already have?

Once we were as needy and resourceful as the poor people in third world countries struggling to live. What is it going to take for use to wake up and start being that resourceful again? Gas and energy prices are just going to keep going up and we are already behind in using alternative fuel sauces. We need to catch up as a country and make use of what is there, not what is easy right now.

Earths ecosystem is desperately trying to find a balance.

All the storms and unusual weather patterns seem to indicate that there are some changes going on. Science proves it. We are having changes in the temperature of our Oceans and even in our climate. There have been great changes in the salt content in water and an increase in the quantity of water in our ecosystem. We have created a great imbalance and now the world is trying to fix itself.

Over the years we have impacted the world and its balance. We have increased pollution instead of decreasing it and that impacts the air we breathe and the amount of radiation from the sun that reaches us. Now we are changing the world’s water supply. We have taken water that was frozen for who knows how long and have consumed it. This has changed the quantity of water in our ecosystem. As we increase the water we dilute the salt concentration in our seawater. This is having an impact on fish and other see creatures. It is also changing the temperature of the water and our weather.

In Canada and some parts of the US a lot of salt is used to get rid of ice. It ends up in our fresh water supply as for some reason the water from the drains goes straight to the lakes and streams instead of a water processing plant. It has changed the water, and we are loosing fresh water species of plants, animals and fish at an unheard of rate. As freshwater is one of the most important natural resources destroying it is not a smart move on our part. We have these wonderful beaches but signs all over about how unsafe it is to get into the water, pollution has caused dangerous bacteria to grow in some of the water, and for others the pollution itself is just so high it is not safe.

Years ago someone came up with the weird idea of selling bottled water, who knew how big that business would become. It is a sad day when you have to go to the store to buy clean water, when you live surrounded by fresh water lakes that are no longer safe to drink from. Someone else came up with oxygen bars. A place where people could stop off and get a dose of pure oxygen, like a cup of coffee. They were popular in some of the larger cities with smog problems. People thought the idea was way out there until they tried it. People said even a small dose of clean air made them feel better. I know that they have not taken off like bottled water, but I can see that changing as the air becomes more and more polluted.

What can we expect over the next few years? Who knows! We may end up with even more extreme weather, or hopefully nature will right itself. However as long as we keep changing the balance nature is just going to have to keep trying to right itself. We cannot expect Governments to fix this, they have different agendas no matter what Country they work for. We have to think of what we can do as individuals. Maybe if a lot of us make small changes that might help. Until changes are made or a balance is found we just have to live with the consequences of our Grandparents decisions and ours.