Why is there no vision, ingenuity, creativity, and leadership when it comes to water resources for CA (Sacramento: hotels, landscaping)

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by incognitoe

??? Nestle does more than sell water. Plus they're doing everyone a favor by reducing plastic and BPA poison being consumed.

Don't forget the Starbucks water bottling plant too... although it has decided to move California production to the East Coast... in full disclosure I have never even tasted a Starbucks Coffee...

I don't buy bottled water and hate disposable everything that has come to represent the Western World... I work in a Hospital and at one time much was reprocessed/sterilized... today, it is almost all single use and it fills dumpsters with disposable plastic and paper goods.

Just like we got along for nearly a century with returnable bottles... and then the shift was to disposables...

That said... I feel very uncomfortable to dictate my preferences on others... just because I still own the same $800 car I bought in High School doesn't mean others should...

Just because I have never lived in a home with cable or own a cell phone... doesn't mean others must live this way...

I could easily go a month with a single 20 gallon trash container... yet, I am told I must pay for weekly service... so several weeks each month my container is not placed on the street for collection.

Several of my neighbors have 96 gallon a week jumbo collection containers and sometimes it's not enough.

As a child, I would spend time on my Grandparents small Dairy Farm... my Grandparents never owned a car or truck.. they did own a tractor and bought in bulk... flour, sugar, fabric... made most of what they consumed...

Still remember one year when my Grandmother's peaches had the blight and I brought a case of Del Monte Cling Peaches... they did not own a can opener and decades later... my Grandfather had saved each empty tin can to use in his shop... oh... Grandmother did say those canned peaches were tasty and scolded me for being extravagant.

They really did not have any trash... table scraps went to the animals... metal repurposed and wood and paper made kindling for the old Wedgewood combination Electric and Wood Stove... preserves were put up in the same mason jars each year... it really is possible to reduce trash with lifestyle choices.

If a person has a problem with Nestle... vote with dollars and refuse to do business with them... just as I do with cable companies...

[DriveNotCommute]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

We flirt with an intelligent discussion here. A surprising venue for such

Anyway, the theme of millennials preferring a dense urban lifestyle is proven to be a myth.

But there's really even more to the myth. The millennial urban trend, even at the lower level than the meme, isn't driven by desire anyway. It's driven by forced circumstances. Millennials are having a harder time buying real estate they want. There's a lot of sharing properties with relatives and others. Given ability, millennials will seek space and individual freedom and individual transportation just like previous generations.

Humans are essentially evolved to live in small social units of fewer than 150 individuals. A close friend turned me on to a discovery in anthropological science that proves this. It's called Dunbar's Number. Look it up. Fascinating. Explains nearly everything as to why we act the way we do socially.

I don't deny the evidence presented but will argue that it might provide an incomplete picture. The census data might include many downtown regions outside of California that are still in economic decline. Also, I think we should note that people will pass through phases in life so some people may be more inclined to live that lower-resource lifestyle in the city for a while before going out to the suburbs. Even if it's for just one or two decades, the overall gains from people having that period of efficiency is still worth enabling, in my opinion.

About Dunbar's Number, that made sense right off the bat even before I went to Wikipedia to follow up. Even so, I think it is possible to make it work out. Take for example how the massive crew of our aircraft carriers can function very well. The folks who are willing to live in crowded quarters will learn how to deal with the situation in the time that they are there and are free to leave when they tire of it. A slightly increased urban area absolutely doesn't mean that everyone should be forced live that lifestyle. We would just be adding supply to unmet demand and at the same time we know overall efficiencies are gained from it. Win-win all around!

The key is balance: I think it is possible to add just enough supply to capitalize on the efficiencies of urban living (over what we are using today in the 'burbs), but not so much new supply that too many new people arrive and consume that resource savings. Although that shouldn't be a problem if people are leaving California in droves because it sucks here, as some posters have insisted.

Just to be that sure my intentions are clear, urbanizing is most definitely not intended to be the ultimate answer to the water/resource problems! But if it is combined with other actions it will help reduce the strain on resources and perhaps buy time for better solutions to either be implemented or invented.

[incognitoe]

One thing for sure is we don't need a damn high speed railway at the moment or ever. All available resource should be used to build saltwater desalination plants.

I mean, do we really want to wait until it's to late? Or are the powers that be want to create a crises as an excuse to raise prices and create social unrest.

[TheDragonslayer]

Originally Posted by incognitoe

One thing for sure is we don't need a damn high speed railway at the moment or ever. All available resource should be used to build saltwater desalination plants.

I mean, do we really want to wait until it's to late? Or are the powers that be want to create a crises as an excuse to raise prices and create social unrest.

We should at least be doing as much research as possible into better and less expensive means of desalinating sea water, such as the use of solar to operate these plants and any excess power from the solar would be a plus. Why do we have to wait till we run out of water to resolve the problem? I am not turning on the sprinklers on any of my 32 yards I maintain or fertilizing my yards and will encourage my clients to remove their lawns. Some want to replace their lawns with raised beds for vegetables, at least the water they use will give them something in return. If an average lawn uses 44,000 gallons of water a year, one can produce a lot of produce with that water.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by TheDragonslayer

We should at least be doing as much research as possible into better and less expensive means of desalinating sea water, such as the use of solar to operate these plants and any excess power from the solar would be a plus. Why do we have to wait till we run out of water to resolve the problem? I am not turning on the sprinklers on any of my 32 yards I maintain or fertilizing my yards and will encourage my clients to remove their lawns. Some want to replace their lawns with raised beds for vegetables, at least the water they use will give them something in return. If an average lawn uses 44,000 gallons of water a year, one can produce a lot of produce with that water.

This has been a favorite point of mine since way before the drought. Like for decades I been sayin: tear out the damn grass and plant vegetables, fruits, and even flowering plants to delight the pollen feeders. Grass is stooopid.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

This has been a favorite point of mine since way before the drought. Like for decades I been sayin: tear out the damn grass and plant vegetables, fruits, and even flowering plants to delight the pollen feeders. Grass is stooopid.

Lets start with Golf Courses

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by expatCA

Lets start with Golf Courses

We find common ground occasionally. This would be an example. Fore!

Although, to be honest about it, most golf courses use reclaimed water.

[sourdough]

elephant in the room.....‘Tahoe to tap’ could ease California

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by sourdough

elephant in the room.....‘Tahoe to tap’ could ease California

An April 1 elephant.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

You are making generalizations without foundational facts. Except the part about Al Gore being Al Gore

Drivne through any middle class neighborhood in OC.