Editor,
It has not been a very good year for snow sports, ski resorts or landslides in our state. Now, Governor Jay Inslee has declared a drought emergency because our snow pack is only 27 percent of normal.
What’s going on?
The California drought is not expected to relent. It is the new normal.
In Sao Paolo, Brazil, with a population of 11 million, deforestation led to desertification. They only have 5 percent of the water left in their reservoir. Fifty percent of the rivers in China have dried up. The Aral Sea is no more.
One billion five-hundred thousand people across the globe are water stressed due to lack of clean water or a lack of water at all.
Three years ago, the Mississippi River and Great Lakes were at alarmingly low levels.
According to the EPA, many of our waterways are too polluted for swimming, fishing or drinking, including 64 percent of our lakes, 44 percent of our streams and 30 percent of our bays and estuaries.
“Got water?” is an increasingly repeated refrain.
The U.N. says water is a right of every person on the planet. California just passed a law saying the same.
To help get a handle on this crucial issue, we are showing the film “Blue Gold: World Water Wars.”
Following the film, assistant state climatologist Karin Bumbaco will describe what we can expect in our region in the future.
Will there be enough water for salmon, agriculture and hydropower production?
Please join us at 7 p.m. Friday, March 27, 2015, at the UUCWI sanctuary in Freeland for this important evening.
Gary Piazzon
Coupeville
