I read a book once titled ‘Chasing Fireflies’ by Charles Martin. One line in that book always struck me peculiar, it read, “It’s so dry, the trees are bribing the dogs”.
To me, that was always the very best definition of a ‘drought,’ or more exact, ‘a prolonged period of dry weather by a deficiency of precipitation.’
Until last week when our local area received five inches of rain, we had been in drought conditions in many parts of Maryland and Washington County. The Antietam Creek was extremely low, and the Potomac River was showing some protruding rocks, never before seen by me, because of the lack of winter snow and rainfall.
As drought conditions worsen in many areas, Ben Franklin’s wisdom arrives too ~ ‘When the well is dry, we learn the value of water.’
And W. H. Auden makes that idea of drought conditions a little more poetic ~ ‘Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.’
As I have traveled down this ‘grand road’ of life, there is much to see and reflect upon. And one item, most recently considered, is life without water.
As I see those communities of Hagerstown and Frederick grow with population and industry, I sometimes wonder about the water source needed to sustain them. Will the large recent warehouses dotting the local landscape further drain our water supplies?
Do politicians and planners of the future have a good solution for the lack of water? ~ doubtful!
I read once, ‘For every drop of water wasted, you must know that somewhere on earth someone is desperately looking for a drop of water.’
If you never much think about ‘conserving’ water, and have a tendency to ‘waste’ it, perhaps you should consider the dilemma out in the Midwest and the Colorado River, and wonder about your own future.
In my review of an AI analysis of this issue, I came up with the following information that you don’t normally find on the news until something catastrophic happens.
Did you know?
The Colorado River provides water resources for ‘roughly 40 million’ people across seven U.S. states, northern Mexico and multiple Native American tribes. ‘It sustains millions of Americans, powers millions of homes and irrigates 5 million acres of farmland.
Do you think there are a few problems and arguments among the states as to who and how much this ‘reduced water supply’ affects them individually?
Ever think a similar situation may ‘actually’ impact you one day?
Have you read much about any programs affecting populations in those affected states regarding ‘conservation’ measures. Do you ever think to conserve water yourself?
What would you do if your water resource or ‘well went dry?’
Do you waste water, take long showers, water brown grass, let faucets run too long, wash vehicles too often, water flowers daily, etc.?
‘The Colorado River is at a critical breaking point, with water reserves dropping to 36% of their capacity following a ‘record low snowpack’ and a 26-year drought which is sucking the river dry.
Do you think this is just a mere ‘little drought’ that will soon past without further problems, or are some folks thinking about Ben Franklin’s question more seriously these days?
Is there really a major climate change?
The Colorado River is suffering like many other places in the country and world because of structural ‘over-allocation, severe climate change, and massive agricultural consumption.’
The river can no longer sustain the demands of water resources placed upon it, leaving major reservoirs at critically low levels.
What would you do if your well went dry?
I know a lady who prays for and gives thanks for rain, and as it falls from the sky it delights the farmer’s fields, trees, gardens and flowers of life, and seems a divine blessing to her.
And even Don Henley of the famous Eagles band wrote a song back in 2015, titled ‘Prayer for Rain.’
Henley had experienced an earlier drought and watched as it affected the drought-stricken farmers and wondered about ‘climate’ change and how it might affect the poor, humble farmer.
Henley sang this descriptive verse:
‘Something’s different, something’s changed
And I don’t know why
Even the old folks can’t recall
When it’s ever been this hot and dry
Dust devils whirlin’ on the first day of July
It’s a hundred degrees at 10 a.m.
Not a cloud in the sky
And maybe a few of those 40 million people out west are singing Henley’s chorus verse today:
‘Lord, I ain’t never asked for much
And I don’t mean to complain
But I’m prayin for rain.’
Maybe a few more folk will be singing that song soon.
