Our Water Resources As the name suggests, Energy Wise Solutions strives to help businesses and homeowners save on energy bills. An important part of our effort to promote energy efficiency is our support for green building programs like LEED, Healthy Built Homes, and NAHB Green. There is growing recognition in the green building community, however, that sustainability means more than just saving energy. Other important factors include waste management, health and comfort of the occupants, and water conservation. Some experts even suggest that in the not too distant future, competition for water resources will become an even greater issue than the current concerns over energy. Too often we take water for granted. In many parts of the world, clean drinking water is a precious commodity. We use it to water our lawns. Hopefully, thirst will not drive us to take up arms, but a dispute between North Carolina and South Carolina over rights to water from the Catawba River did end up in the Supreme Court. Fortunately, the case was settled, with each state agreeing to regulate withdrawals from the Catawba Basin in accordance with specified guidelines. Still, the threat to the Catawba Basin is not unique. Severe draughts have affected many southeastern states in recent years. That one state would sue another for using more than its fair share of water should serve as a reminder that we cannot continue to take this resource for granted. You can find more about the Catawba litigation at http://sogweb.sog.unc.edu/Water/index.php/South_Carolina_v._North_Carolina ...submitted by John Kozma |
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Our Water Resourcesposted Dec 5, 2011, 4:51 PM by Stephen Mogowski |