So much to chew on here, indeed Sara! Thank you for sharing all this knowledge. I grew up in rural Virginia (foothills-ish of the Blue Ridge Mountains). The land is still mostly in use for cattle farming and my dad and uncle are taking steps to exclude the streams/waterways and pursue a conservation easement. It's been an interesting process to hear about, but to be honest, one I've done little research into myself. Your deep dive into where water comes from helped me understand a little more.
I also love the Wendell Berry quote: “Stop somewhere. And begin the thousand-year-long process of knowing that place.” Thanks for sharing!
So glad to hear this, Mary Chris! Thanks for taking the time to dive into it. I also grew up near the Blue Ridge Mountains in NC, so I love that as a connection point for you!
I did not as yet read the footnotes but this is a spectaculary great post. When I find a post like this I paste the content into a separate document because I think it is something I will reference in the future. I have a couple of posts ahead that touch of some of these issues peripherally but wow, there is a lot to learn here.
I don't think that lots of people grasp how precious and fleeting of a resource our groundwater is and we gamble with it all the time in a modern society. Your post focuses on the unequal access which only furthers the necessity to pay attention. Thank you. This became a 20 page document in Google Docs.
I will make time for that. Because of Substack GO I am thinking about jumping into Podcasting also. Writing is fun for me and I plan to experiment with some longer format things which I think is more suited to the format. I write about tech and the pressures the modern world puts on the planet. I think that there is a lot to be said about how life in the VERY NEAR FUTURE (the next 20 years or so) might pivot almost solely on water despite the current concerns about climate and fossil fuels. I have a son who works in a business related to resources and water. What has always been true but now more than ever is that humans are VERY POOR at assessing risk. It just has more consequence with 8B on the rock. A comment is no place to get philosophical so I will stop. Your post will fill my head with meanders about water so I thank you.
25+ years in Minnesota has turned me into a local. A great friend of mine has the expression (we walk in all kinds of weather), there is no bad weather, there is only bad outerwear
So much to chew on here, indeed Sara! Thank you for sharing all this knowledge. I grew up in rural Virginia (foothills-ish of the Blue Ridge Mountains). The land is still mostly in use for cattle farming and my dad and uncle are taking steps to exclude the streams/waterways and pursue a conservation easement. It's been an interesting process to hear about, but to be honest, one I've done little research into myself. Your deep dive into where water comes from helped me understand a little more.
I also love the Wendell Berry quote: “Stop somewhere. And begin the thousand-year-long process of knowing that place.” Thanks for sharing!
So glad to hear this, Mary Chris! Thanks for taking the time to dive into it. I also grew up near the Blue Ridge Mountains in NC, so I love that as a connection point for you!
Sara,
I did not as yet read the footnotes but this is a spectaculary great post. When I find a post like this I paste the content into a separate document because I think it is something I will reference in the future. I have a couple of posts ahead that touch of some of these issues peripherally but wow, there is a lot to learn here.
I don't think that lots of people grasp how precious and fleeting of a resource our groundwater is and we gamble with it all the time in a modern society. Your post focuses on the unequal access which only furthers the necessity to pay attention. Thank you. This became a 20 page document in Google Docs.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Mark! Truly is a precious and fleeting resource. If you're hankering for an audio version, that went out this morning: https://greatamericanroadtrip.substack.com/p/where-we-get-our-water-podcast?r=2eho
I will make time for that. Because of Substack GO I am thinking about jumping into Podcasting also. Writing is fun for me and I plan to experiment with some longer format things which I think is more suited to the format. I write about tech and the pressures the modern world puts on the planet. I think that there is a lot to be said about how life in the VERY NEAR FUTURE (the next 20 years or so) might pivot almost solely on water despite the current concerns about climate and fossil fuels. I have a son who works in a business related to resources and water. What has always been true but now more than ever is that humans are VERY POOR at assessing risk. It just has more consequence with 8B on the rock. A comment is no place to get philosophical so I will stop. Your post will fill my head with meanders about water so I thank you.
25+ years in Minnesota has turned me into a local. A great friend of mine has the expression (we walk in all kinds of weather), there is no bad weather, there is only bad outerwear