Audubon Discusses "When the Rivers Run Dry"

If you follow What Grows On in Rhode Island, you know that the Audubon Society of Rhode Island holds two monthly book clubs ~ one in Smithfield, and the other in Bristol. Here is July Lewis's (ASRI Policy Assistant) report on this month's discussion:

[The November discussion] of When the Rivers Run Dry was especially interesting, as several participants had direct experience with local water policy and supply. We touched on the global issues and delved into local, and compared the capacity of different parts of the world to deal with a water supply crisis. A professor of mine told me that total water use in the U.S. had decreased, but I wasn’t sure of the details. It turns out total water use is down somewhat from its peak in 1980 and appears to be holding relatively steady, while per-capita use has declined more significantly:

• Overview: http://www.pacinst.org/press_center/usgs/
• Charts ‘n graphs: http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/2004/circ1268/htdocs/text-trends.html

 

The Coalition for Water Security (Audubon is a member) has been very active in promoting sound water policy in RI. Check out the website: http://www.coalitionforwatersecurity.org/ . Scroll down to “Coalition Resources” and select “May 2007—the Coalition’s Platform”. If water issues are important to you, contact your legislators and let them know—they listen! (To look them up, go to http://www.sec.state.ri.us/vic/ and type in your address and zip code under “view general voter information”.)