Conflict over Finite Resources

One big weakness in the public's ability to properly manage resources is knowledge. A couple of centuries ago, most people lived in rural environments rather than urban, and relied on availability of resources like water, wood for construction and heat, the ability to grow crops for food, to maintain their existence. They were focused on the ability to obtain their own resources, rather than have those resources provided for them through central planning by government. With that part of the process taken out of the hands of the consumer, there is little motivation to understand how the avilibity of resources can effect the end user, or the greater society.

As demand for water hits the limits of finite supply, potential conflicts are brewing between nations that share transboundary freshwater reserves. More than 50 countries on five continents might soon be caught up in water disputes unless they move quickly to establish agreements on how to share reservoirs, rivers, and underground water acquifers. The articles and analysis below examine international water disputes, civil disturbances caused by water shortages, and potential regulatory solutions to diffuse water conflict.

Water in Conflict - global policy

Strength comes from individuals and groups learning how to manage their own resources independent of governments. Consider the zenith resource; water. The one we can not live without. As governments and private corporations move to secure water rights and charge consumers increasingly greater amounts, we see conflict rising in many countries around the world. We also see conflict rising over privitization of food supplies around the world, with increases in costs to consumers leading to eruptions.

NYC, the Hudson, and Fracking

When I first began learning about the dangers of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, I wondered how such a method could be allowed to occur. I then learned that many EPA regulators were actually former energy industry employees and lobbyists, which didn't make me feel any better. 

When Congress considered whether to regulate more closely the handling of wastes from oil and gas drilling in the 1980s, it turned to the Environmental Protection Agency to research the matter. E.P.A. researchers concluded that some of the drillers’ waste was hazardous and should be tightly controlled.

“It was like the science didn’t matter,” Carla Greathouse, the author of the study, said in a recent interview. “The industry was going to get what it wanted, and we were not supposed to stand in the way.” 

For example, the agency had planned to call last year for a moratorium on the gas-drilling technique known as hydrofracking in the New York City watershed, according to internal documents, but the advice was removed from the publicly released letter sent to New York. 

E.P.A. Struggles to Regulate Natural Gas Industry - NYTimes.com

From there, I began to learn about the regions around the country that fracking is taking off. One of them is the upper Hudson river valley, which is where the New York City metro gets most of it's water. Environmental groups have been successful thus far in holding back fracking efforts in this region, but I think that is only a matter of time before they break through. My worry was that if the region from which the NYC metro gets it's water supply from were to be contaminated to a significant extent by the energy industry, there would be no way to provide enough clean water for a population the size of what currently exists. 

Here is a bit of further reading:

Like Pennsylvania, New York sits atop the Marcellus Shale deposit. But unlike Pennsylvania – which has served as a poster child for gas development gone wrong – New York has taken a more cautious route than its next-door neighbor. After widespread public pressure from people worried that fracking could contaminate drinking water sources for millions of residents both upstate and in New York City, horizontal drilling for shale gas has effectively been halted until the State finishes a comprehensive environmental impact review. But the state still has not promised to update regulations that currently do not provide meaningful protections against the risks of fracking.

New York and Fracking | Earthjustice

Since July 2008 Riverkeeper has tracked the prospect of industrial gas drilling in New York State. While gas drilling in New York is not new, what is new is the magnitude, scope, and location of the proposed drilling method of high-volume hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”. Indeed, industrial gas drilling throughout the Marcellus Shale and other shale reserves in New York has the potential to impact the environment and communities dramatically.

This is one reason why Governor Paterson ordered New York State to update an outdated environmental review of gas drilling impacts.

The entire West-of-Hudson portion of the New York City Watershed (supplying 90% of drinking water to over half the state’s population) sits on top of part of the Marcellus Shale, a large mineral reserve deposit deep beneath the earth’s surface. Oil and gas companies have known about this shale reserve for decades, but the technology to extract natural gas from it has become available only recently. The Marcellus Shale spans across at least five states. To extract natural gas from the mineral reserve, oil companies plan to use a process called “hydraulic fracturing.”

Gas Fracking in New York State | Riverkeeper

Water: Blue Gold

Water is a resource that is so unknown to most people that they simply are ignorant to the reality of the scarcity of clean water. Water covers 70% of the surface of the planet, but only 2.5% of that is freshwater, with 70% of that in the frozen ice caps and most of the remainder in aquifers. That leaves 0.007% of the Earth's freshwater that is available to drink. Clean water is a finite resource. As such, it is subject to the same economic efforts to control and profit from it as oil, coal, natural gas, and other resources are. There is a great documentary called Blue Gold : World Water Wars, which gives insight to the scarcity of clean water and the results of that lack of availability.

Award-winning featured documentary narrated by Malcolm McDowell. Global Warming is an issue of 'how' we live, the water crisis is an issue of 'if' we live. DVD at www.bluegold-worldwaterwars.com

It may sound like paranoia, but that is why I set up a rainwater collection system. It was mostly to reduce municipal usage to water gardens and lawn, but in an emergency like a natural disaster where water supplies are cut off or contaminated (like Hurricane Katrina), 2,000 gallons of clean water can provide survival for a family of four for up to 800 days.

Human Appropriation of the World's Fresh Water Supply

How to Clean the Sediment from Hot Water Heater

We had a minor failure on our water heater recently, leading to a small repair. Looks like it could have been avoided with some minor annual cleaning. Live and learn.

Turn the gas/electric off to the water heater. Leave the cold water supply valve on to the heater. Hook a hose up to the boiler drain on the water heater and turn the valve on. Turn the handle back and forth; there will be grit in the valve assembly and you need to establish good flow before shutting the cold water inlet valve off to the heater.
Once established, shut the cold water inlet valve off. THEN, go around and open all hot side ONLY valves in your home so you can break vaccum and allow the hot water to drain from the tank. That boiler drain off the tank is the lowest point of your potable water system so you need to allow it to drain completely out.
10-25 minutes is the norm for proper draining; you should be able to "shake" the tank to determine it is completely empty. Just because it stops draining does not mean it is empty most times.....usually dirt/debri blocked the pathway to the hose.
Once you are completely sure that the tank is drained, go ahead and turn the cold water inlet valve back on and let the tank drain a bit, then shut it off. "Stomping" on that hose while there is established flow coming out of the hose will purge the tank by a rush of water hitting the bottom and scurrying up the debri to go out of the tank.
Once you've shut the boiler drain to the tank off, LEAVE THE HOT SIDE VALVES OPEN THROUGH THIS ENTIRE PROCESS. So many people think you turn those hot side valves off before filling the tank and that is completely wrong. Air is compressible, water is not. You compress air in your lines you'll end up blowing out faucet aerators next time you go to use the fixtures.
Leave all hot side faucets run until there is a steady flow from all of the faucets without distortion. Once the water is steadily flowing without air, shut the faucets off, turn the electric or gas water heater back on.
It's an hour procedure, maybe an hour and a half, expect around $100-$135 for the procedure.

How to Clean the Sediment from Hot Water Heater? - Plumbing Forum - GardenWeb

Cleaning hot water heater is an easy do it yourself project. All you'll need

is a garden hose, a brush, a pair of plyers or a wrench and some teflon tape.

The bottom of your tank is a catch all for sediment, calcium deposits bacteria and rust. Its a good idea to clean your tank once a year and do a water heater flush every 2 to 3 months.

Your water heater will last years longer. If you have a gas water heater cleaning will help with the noise you hear when the burner is on.

First you'll need to drain the tank. Click here drain water heater if you need help.

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Cleaning Hot Water Heater -How To Clean A Water Heater


Natural & Propane Gas, Oil and Electric, Tank & Tank-less Units. Installations, Repairs, Maintenance, Services and Technical Advice, Water Heaters at the Do It Yourself Forums

Home Rainwater Collection System

We have been wanting to do rainwater collection since moving in to our home. After adding on another 900 sq ft to the house, we increased our collection potential significantly. After doing the math, we found that the volume collected will have the potential to exceed half of what we draw from the municipal supply for watering the lawn and gardens. The double-bonus is that the entire system including gutters will pay for itself in water savings in about two years.

We started with two 200 gallon Poly-Mart tanks at gutter downspouts, one on either side. They were made locally and sold by another local business, TanksForLess, which is a bonus in our permaculture efforts. Greg at Big Rain Seamless Gutters did a great job with the gutters and the downspouts into the tanks.

Here is the new design for the 200 gallon tank, with a fitting halfway up the side, good for adding a faucet for filling a bucket, etc. I believe the upper overflow is a 3.5" size, but haven't set that end up yet, since we don't have an overflow tank for storage at that end yet.

Each tank will also have a ball valve with a garden hose fitting for easy access, though getting down from 1.5" or 2" takes some creativity.

At the far end of the NW corner of the yard is a 1,500 gallon tank, with room next to it for another to match.

The composter will have to move when we get a second tank in this corner.

There is a good 2-3' drop from the house to the low end of the yard where we set the first of our 1,500 overflow tanks that will serve as the primary storage. We plan on adding another 1,500 next to it, with a pair at the other end of the yard near the gardens and future greenhouse.

Digging the trenches was fun. We had to rent a trencher for that part, since we have lots of limestone just under the surface. It still took the better part of a day to dig two trenches of about 200' total, so the trencher bucked like a wild mustang and wore me out as much as it would have dug by hand, but in less time.

Future plans might include a 2,500 gallon Poly-Mart tank at the other end where we have more open space near the gardens. We may even add gutters to the front of the house to collect for the front gardens, but the homeowner's association doesn't make sustainability project easy.