When Katrina hit—you could see the damage occurring on live TV as the storm rolled in—and in the days and months that followed the destruction remained a constant reminder of the event…

When the wildfires struck Southern California—again—the losses were instantaneous and obvious…

But a drought is different…It is a disaster in slow motion…

The damage from the drought occurs in increments—and it’s cumulative…

As the water supply dries out—we gradually start to see the results…

The crops begin to die… We see food prices begin to rise. Farmers don’t have enough feed for livestock… They begin to suffer economically.. Farms get sold… Our agricultural self-reliance diminishes..

As the drought’s effects increase—so do restrictions.. Businesses are affected..

Small businesses first—like folks who powerwash for a living or car washing operations…..

Then bigger firms that use vast amounts of water in their manufacturing processes… Folks like the high tech firms of RTP…

The economic impact gradually increases—and we pay for it in scores of different ways…

And—long after the back of the drought is broken—the effects of it continue to plague us…Both in society and economically.

With a fast moving disaster like a wildfire or hurricane—there is little we can do to mitigate it.

But with a slow moving disaster like a drought, we–and–our leaders have a chance to mitigate its effects—IF we act early enough–and seriously enough…

And some of that serious action ought to include permanent conservation measures that will help us when the next dry period comes our way.

—Steve

This entry was posted on Monday, October 29th, 2007 at 1:15 am and is filed under water conservation, water use, no water, North Carolina Drought, Steve Sbraccia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.