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Stop abusive ground water pumping and the desertification of the planet.

If one had to choose one main cause of our water crisis, over pumping of groundwater could arguably win the top spot. Pumping more water from the ground than soaks back into it when it rains is turning the earth into a desert.

In "Blue Gold", Robert Glennon, author of "Water Follies" and the new "Unquenchable", explains "Human ingenuity has found out ways to get water from beneath the surface of the earth for thousands of years, what's changed, though, is the technology. We now pump approximately 30 billion gallons of groundwater every day."

Unregulated industry and agriculture are the major culprits of abusive groundwater pumping. As we dry up one region, other problems include giant sinkholes or the subsidence of the entire landscape (below right), and most pressingly the need to transfer water from other regions to sustain the population, drying up yet another water shed before expanding further and further.

Vandana Shiva discusses how Coca Cola plants drained India farms, illustrating the dangers of pump technology advancing more quickly that legislation to control it.


Deleted Scene from "BLUE GOLD: WORLD WATER WARS"

 

Laws to stop major groundwater pumping, implement water-saving technology, and taking care of your home groundwater.

Photo from "Blue Gold". Ground water pumping land subsidence of San Joaquin Valley southwest of Mendota, California from 1925-1977

 

Industry regulation.

 

 

Take Action:

  1. Read the Food & Water Watch Groundwater Data Sheet to understand the problem.
  2. Is an industrial plant draining your area's water? If so, fight it as MCWC is and FLOW For Water are doing. Contact such organizations for advise or to join.
  3. Write your Government and Sign Petitions. Let the politicians know you will not vote for them if they do not protect your water. Once law makers realize people are aware, they will be forced to act.

New Farming laws.

Outdated farming laws such as the "Use-It-Or-Lose-It" law force farmers to use all of the water allocated to them each year or lose the rights to it. Such laws create the daunting statistic of 70% of our fresh water being used by agriculture.

 

Take Action:

  1. Read the Food & Water Watch Groundwater Report
  2. Write your Government and Sign Petitions to change the laws in your area.

Water-saving agriculture technology.

"Blue Gold" interviews Dr. Merle Jensen, hydroponics pioneer who engineered "The Land Pavilion" at the Disney Epcot Center, about drip-irrigation technology which is 20-30 times more water efficient that current farming methods such as flood irrigation.

 

Take Action:

  1. Learn more about Dr. Jensen's work at Controlled Environment Agriculture Center.
  2. Write your Government and Sign Petitions to change the laws in your area.
  3. Modify your home garden to hydroponics.

Limit development.

"Blue Gold" explores the trend of cities developing new homes and other construction with little concern over whether the area's water supply can sustain the new population. Peter Warshall discusses the incredible case of Bolinas, California, who in 1971 managed to put a legal moratorium on further development, and has not authorized a new water meter since.

 

Take Action:

  1. Write your local Government and Sign Petitions to change the development laws in your area.
  2. The next time you move to a new home, move where the water is. Take the local watershed supply as seriously as the local school system when choosing a new home.
  3. If you work in city development or construction or know somebody who does, share the film with them so more people in the industry become aware of their responsibility to consider water resources in their career path.

 

At home, see the Blue Alternative section of this site for ways to recharge the groundwater in your backyard.

 

 
blue gold