You may want to sit down for this, but...Georgia is in a severe drought. Many may think this is impossible, since most think of Georgia as on the East Coast (except Miss. South Carolina) in an area that gets plenty of rainfall. Actually, most years Georgia does get plenty of rainfall, but like every region in the world (and with a climate that IS changing, regardless whether you think God or Man is causing such changes), Georgia is susceptible to droughts.
Right now, the Georgia Congressional team is demanding that President Bush declare certain counties in North and Central Georgia in states of emergency. While these regions may be in a state of emergency, since their water sources are drying up by the day (I personally saw Lake Lanier last weekend, and to those thinking it just has a lot of beach front land...that beach should be under water)...people must understand that the blame rests on state officials, not Bush (this time) or other states. The easy target right now is the Army Corps of Engineers. The claim: They are needlessly dumping and wasting billions of gallons of water into rivers for some mussels and fish. Who should come first, humans or fish?
I have to give it to Gov. Sonny Purdue and the other lackeys that run the State of Georgia. It's a compelling argument, and I of course would vote for the fish, because who cares about a bunch of Georgians...right? Regardless of what I think, almost everyone would surely side with the people in this drought, even if you have a soft spot for the environment, and not the endangered fish and mussels (except me and the Sierra Club), so its a great PR move by Sonny. But, before I jump onto this "bandwagon of hate" towards the Engineers, Alabama, Florida, the fish and mussels...maybe we should ask, why are we in this situation?
Well, A) there has been a real lack of rain. This one is hard to correct, because the Earth has normal and abnormal cycles that can cause this phenomenon, which are largely out of our immediate control; B) there is no true water conservation plan for Georgia and Atlanta, which could help in a long-term drought; and C) the Army Corps of Engineers keeps dumping water from the lake reservoirs into rivers down to Alabama, Florida and the Gulf.
So, while Gov. Purdue and team like to blame C on this, it's actually B...their own fault. Last legislative term, the Georgia legislature wouldn't pass into law, a statute that would require all old homes when sold to go to low flow shower heads. Now, one argument is that this infringes on property rights, privacy rights, etc. I am a huge fan of property rights, but I also need water from the same source that LeRoy next door is using. So, if LeRoy decides to leave his shower on for 30 minutes not using a low flow shower head...he is taking a lot of the water I and every other person may need. If LeRoy's actions didn't affect me, I would be in support of his property rights and privacy rights (although water consumption is hardly protected by privacy rights). But, it does affect me, and it affects every other Georgian in the Atlanta area. So, why couldn't the legislature pass such an easy law, which would not cost the homeowner very much, yet in the long-run save millions upon millions of gallons of water?
I could go on and on about what Georgia politicians have not done towards conserving the State's water. Their neighbor to the south, Florida, actually has extensive water management plans, and has had them for years. While Georgia also likes to blame Florida for stealing their water, Florida at least has had a plan in place to conserve water, although it may not be perfect. So, instead of blaming everyone short of God for causing this drought, the Georgia politicians need to get their lazy butts up, look in the mirror, realize they are at fault and actually make water conservation plans for Georgia and Atlanta...because a city of 5 million people is not going to disappear.
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