With the prospect of drought conditions as severe as the dust bowls of the 1930s this summer and with current water problems in Flint Michigan, Tampa, Florida and so many other areas in the United States, it is imperative that the plan to Biden Administration infrastructure is the first priority. they are clean freshwater transfer systems to fill aquifers that have been depleted, especially in the Midwest. This, so that in the event of severe drought conditions the effects would be considerably reduced. It is these water transfer systems, like the pipeline in Alaska, that would ensure that there is enough clean fresh water from areas that receive enough rain or snow runoff available for drought-stricken regions in the United States. If we can build oil transfer systems, surely we can do it to get clean, fresh water.
If we don’t deliver and address this nation’s freshwater problems, no amount of stimulus payments will be enough to overcome the dire consequences of not providing enough clean freshwater for all and all areas of the United States. What happened in Flint Michigan and recently in Tampa, Florida are typical examples of gross negligence, lack of responsibility, and utter incompetence. A foreboding forecast of catastrophes to come or the escalation of the current crisis really shouldn’t be necessary before these things turn into full-blown monumental disasters. However, we do it all the time before we act. And, in that moment, all we respond is always with too little and too late with our response.
Water, water everywhere no one to drink and no one to spare. Just think of all the things we take water for granted today, like turning on the faucet or even flushing the toilet. Sad to say, we are so confident that these things we do every day will always be available. Ask the millions still in the aftermath of deadly hurricanes, tornadoes, and human blunders. When we take into consideration all the modern conventions that we have today, we continue to overlook the most valuable resource this planet has. Access to clean, reliable drinking water is consistently and truly taken for granted.
For more than six months of every year, the United States faces all kinds of threats from nature. From last summers’ droughts and devastating wildfires, this spring’s tornadoes and the forecast for more hurricanes are constant reminders of how fragile and vulnerable our infrastructure really is. With today’s reality, new and more frequent threats from weather-related cycles, and now from our ingenious efforts to develop more sinister weapons of war, keep this nation at the focal point where the impact of a single disaster would put the United States in danger. That is until we address and implement much-needed measures that will prevent the destruction of the Grim Reaper.
What everyone should realize is that tap water, we all take for granted, every time we turn on the tap, clean, fresh water will flow. But, for most of our history, this was not always the case. And, today, across the country, our tap water is slowly and methodically being polluted and wasted. In most cities and towns in every state, what comes out of the taps is not what we think. In other words, nations drink water, the availability of clean and safe water faces serious threats from sources that are less obvious than the natural disasters that continue to plague the United States.
One of the most worrying is the infrastructure of our nations. Many don’t even know that more than 15% of all public water is lost through leaks. Large pipe bursts are estimated to occur at a rate of more than one per minute somewhere in the country. In Washington DC, major pipe bursts happen every day. That’s in our nation’s capital! What is so alarming is that some water pipes were built more than 150 years ago. The fly in the buttermilk is that repairing and upgrading the nation’s water supply lines to standards that will withstand major disasters and effectively remove the contaminants that are now infecting our water will cost more than $ 400 billion. If we wait until another hurricane like Katrina or Sandy hits, the cost will more than double. That’s not counting all the other costs that would arise from the other contingencies associated with contaminated water, such as cholera, dysentery, and a host of other life-threatening diseases that arise from infected contaminated water.
So far, our most benevolent “Wizards” at Capital Hill have done nothing to address the serious nature of life’s most precious resource. In reality, the United States is financially starving our water supply and has been doing so for years. With our budget, state leaders have put monetary concerns and restrictions above the safety and health of the very people they are supposed to represent. It’s really not surprising because many of us don’t even think about water until a pipe bursts and our faucets run dry. The attitudes that have prevailed and continue to prevail is that any repair is cheap and a continued refusal to pay the real costs only further exacerbates this ongoing crisis.
Today, our water supply is rapidly becoming contaminated with compounds that did not exist until recently. Millions of people ingest more pharmaceuticals every day. The way our for-profit healthcare industry is, millions more will be drawn to consume even more pharmaceuticals in the months and years to come. This may be a good time to rethink Universal Health Care for all Americans to reduce dependence on pharmaceuticals and instead turn to preventive measures.
It is known that when we consume anything, be it food or drugs, our bodies excrete waste into the sewer systems and, believe it or not, many unused drugs are flushed down the toilet. Ultimately, this residue ends up in our water supply. In a recent study, evidence of more than 56 types of drugs and more by-products has been found in treated drinking water, including metropolitan areas that serve more than 40 million people. These drugs, by design, change the chemistry of bodies and now pose substantial health risks to the entire population. A very real and present danger lies in this nation’s water supply.
It is time to address this and implement improvements to our water supply systems to meet the necessary safeguards so that in the event of another disaster, the people of the United States are assured of sufficient fresh and safe drinking water. We also need to install a cross-country water transfer system to transport water to the areas that need it. An intercontinental waterway and a safe and reliable water supply system would restore the health of this nation and preserve our future.
With the advent of new technologies, it is quite urgent, especially in the wake of the last hurricane season where millions of people were left without power or water, our electrical grid really needs an immediate upgrade. When our defense industry has developed more sinister weapons of destruction to invoke terror anywhere in the world, we now have the ability to disrupt electrical power to any given target anywhere in the world. It is quite possible that other more diabolical ones can now use this same technology against the United States. Without energy today is like living without water. Both are essential now for life as we know it.
In an age of the lightning fast internet, electrical power is essential because without it it is disastrous. What happened in the wake of all the past hurricanes has to be a wake-up call to immediately implement the energy solutions that are now beginning to fuel the third industrial revolution. Investing in infrastructure now secures our future.