Water



	Water “Since widespread irrigation began in the 1950s, the Ogallala has sustained a net loss of as much as 120 trillion gallons — 11 percent of its original volume. One entire Lake Erie, plus a little. Gone... Groundwater is a mineral, and like most minerals it has practical value. Mining it is a means to realizing that value. We can use mined water to feed ourselves, and clothe ourselves, and keep a substantial portion of the American economy humming — one might say, floating — nicely along. We would be improvident not to do this. But ... pumping the Ogallala dry will have consequences. It is necessary to understand these consequences, to mitigate them where mitigation is possible, and to figure out how we are going to live with them where it is not. If we can neither mitigate the consequences nor adapt to them, we had better know it now, while it is still possible to turn off the pumps in a controlled manner and keep a little water in the aquifer to temper the problems we will leave our children to deal with as we move on to whatever must inevitably come afterward.” *William Ashworth, Ogallala Blue: Water and Life on the High Plains* (New York: W.W. Norton, 2006).** William Ashworth has written here about the Ogallala aquifer, but neither his interest nor his concerns are restricted to the Great Plains.* Nor is the issue of water resources limited to the Great Plains or the South West, as periodic water shortages in New York, the Delaware Valley, and Atlanta have shown. Indeed, even here in well-endowed Ohio we’ve seen a number of court cases . . . over water rights. What does this have to do with Save a Farm? A poorly managed farm, one without long term viability, will exhaust resources and may pollute, whereas a well-managed, diversified farm (more often than not such farms are independent) will not pollute and will act as a water recharge site. We do not have to “temper the problems we will leave our children”—we could begin to solve them now. * Also by William Ashworth: Great Lakes Journey: A New Look at America’s Fresh Water Coast and The Late, Great Lakes: An Environmental History.		Index of Articles Beyond 'Green Shopping' by Jerry Mander & John Cavanagh. Reprinted with permission from the September 24, 2007 issue of The Nation magazine. Portions of each week’s Nation magazine can be accessed at http://www.thenation.com. Horse Power by Dick Courteau. Excerpted with permission of Orion magazine September/October 2007 issue. Hurting a Small Farm Near You Reprinted with permission of Anthony Flaccavento. For more information visit Appalachian Sustainable Development. Put farm subsidies out to pasture by Brian M. Riedl. Reprinted with permission of the author. One Thing to Do About Food: A Forum by Wendell Berry. Excerpt reprinted with permission from "One Thing to Do About Food: A Forum,"which was part of the September 11, 2006 special issue of The Nation magazine. For subscription information, call 1-800-333-8536. Portions of each week's Nation magazine can be accessed at www.thenation.com. Farm Economics 101 *"You Kill It, You Eat It" and Other Lessons From My Thrifty Childhood* by Jean Bethke Elshtain. Reprinted with the permission of the author and the John Templeton Foundation, www.Templeton.org *Study Shows Potential Economic Payoffs Tied to Healthy Eating* from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Reprinted with permission. The full study may be read at: www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs/staff/files/health_0606.pdf Mid-sized Farms in a Squeeze Why Worry About the Agriculture of the Middle? A White Paper for the Agriculture of the Middle Project by Frederick Kirschenmann (reprinted with permission). The white paper included below originally appeared in the July 2004 issue of Juliens Journal. To support their initiatives on behalf of agriculture in the middle, please visit their website at www.agofthemiddle.org. A Plea for “d”emocracy The letter by Amalie Lipstreu printed below appeared in the Summer 2006 newsletter of the Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association (OEFFA). Posted with the permission of The Farmland Center www.thefarmlandcenter.org. Water “Since widespread irrigation began in the 1950s, the Ogallala has sustained a net loss of as much as 120 trillion gallons — 11 percent of its original volume. One entire Lake Erie, plus a little. Gone... (Quoted with the permission of William Ashworth) Charlotte's Webpage: Why children shouldn't have the world at their fingertips by Lowell Monke (reprinted with permission). This article originally appeared in the November/December 2005 issue of Orion magazine, 187 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230, 888/909-6568, www.oriononline.org. For a free copy, please visit their website. the ostrich rhumba and the realm of the inevitable preserving farmland Copyright Lynn R. Miller. Reprinted by permission of the author, originally appeared in the summer 2005 Small Farmer's Journal. Watch for Signs By Kristy Hebert, Farm and Dairy Reporter reprinted with permission, July 14, 2005 issue. Letter from Larksong by David Kline, Editor, reprinted with permission from Farming Magazine's Summer 2005 issue. Think Globally, Eat Locally by Jennifer Wilkins, December 18, 2004, reprinted with permission from the New York Times A Secretary for Farmland Security by Victor Davis Hanson (reprinted with permission) from an op-ed piece in the New York Times, December 9, 2004

Water

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