There are a
number of psychologists who have compared the captains of
industry and the richest investors on Wall Street to criminals and
psychotics. Their results are alarming. Not only do the greediest
among the criminals and the most dangerous among the psychotics share
traits with some of the richest Americans, they also share traits
with our corporate and government systems. These traits are so
powerful that they have become the dominant traits of our culture.
We love money.
We covet it.
And some people are more
than willing to bend the rules, accept some collateral damage, and
not even care about anyone or anything else to get it.
… and get all of it, if
they can.
There are some among us
who treat capitalism like it's war. And of course, all is fair in
war. There will be blood. But there also will be the spoils of war –
the exploitations gained from the exploits of war.
There are those who
believe that this is just the best way to win at this game.
Which is the fatal flaw in
their thinking.
They treat life like it's
a game.
We have been trained to
think inside of the box. We've been trained to think that life is
like the game of Monopoly. We've been trained to think that money
buys happiness. We've been trained to think that it's patriotic
to go shopping. We've even been trained to think we can buy our way out of any crisis.
Our culture ignores the
real world.
Moreover, our oligarchy
controlled mass media omits the information that might offend their
advertisers (or them). Our free news isn't free. It has cost us a
part of the truth. Our perception of reality has been tampered with.
All I ask of you is that to try
to think outside of the box.
We can create a better
future.
We can make better
decisions.
We can fix our systems.
We can create a more
functional democracy.
But we can't do it by
letting the craziest among us run amok!
Consider the Watergrab
(the Southern Nevada Water Authority Groundwater Development
Project). If someone could get $5,000 an acre foot for the “delivery”
of the estimated 200,000 acre feet per year SNWA wants to cannibalize
from its neighbors, that would amount to one billion dollars a
year! ...And SNWA has already paid as much as $10,000
an acre foot for water from the Mesquite area. This is a sign.
Someone may be hoping to get as much as $10,000 an acre foot from
Southern Nevadans soon. That would be two billion dollars a year.
But is this what is best
for the people of Southern Nevada?
They'll be the one's
paying for this.
We already know that this
isn't what is best for all of the people of Nevada. We
already know that the Watergrab is exactly what ecocide looks
like. And we already know that offshore
desalination is cheaper, far less financially risky, and far less
environmentally destructive.
The Watergrab should only
be a last resort for a civilized
people. Draining our reserves is an act of desperation. Or at least
it should be. Especially when there are less expensive alternatives.
Especially when there are alternatives that will provide more
water. Especially when there are alternatives that won't turn rural
Nevada into a giant dust bowl.
This isn't that difficult
of a problem. SNWA cold just desalinate water off the West Coast
for California in exchange for more water from the Colorado River.
Problem solved. No pipeline necessary.
But then they wouldn't be
able to charge $10,000 an acre foot for water. We already know that
desalination costs far less than $2,000 an acre foot. They can only
charge so much more for desalinated water before they're accused of
overcharging. ...But if it's the last of the desert's water, they can
charge whatever the market will bear.
In short, creating an
artificial shortage is good for business. If you're in the business
of destroying our economy, our government, our civilization, and most
of life on Earth.
We do love money, don't
we...
Since no one could
accomplish this scam on their own, our hypothetical “someone”
would have to share the wealth. Which is what makes this scam so
common. Municipalities all across the country have been getting
themselves deeply into debt with boondoggle projects. This leads to
the
same scam that brought down Greece. The construction companies
make exorbitant profits with cost overruns. And the banks make
exorbitant profits from predatory loans.
On top of that, since the
municipalities will consequently lose the faith of the community,
they are vulnerable to privatization – and subsequent price
gouging.
Scarcity favors of those
who control what is left.
As we all know; we the
consumers want abundance. Of course we want abundance. It's only
natural. It's only healthy. More water is good. And no matter how one
looks at it, desalination means more water.
Desalination means more water for the people of Southern Nevada and
Rural Nevada. Desalination means more water for future generations.
Desalination means more water for the environment. And desalination
also means more water for California.
But the same
scam is also going on in California. The oligarchs of California
have already conned the people of California to pay for water
projects to make the oligarchs even richer.
Here's the scheme:
- The speculators and developers cash in because they con the people into paying for developments for somebody else.
- The big construction companies cash in on the project and the inevitable cost overruns.
- The banks cash in on the loans, the many fees, and high interest loans for the cost overruns - on a project that has extraordinary commitment (to be finished or it's worthless).
- The water “providers” cash in when they privatize and charge what the market will bear. (They'll find a way around Nevada Water Law. If they can't, they'll find a way to change it.)
- Smaller construction companies cash in when even more people move into Southern Nevada – no matter how unsustainable the population becomes.
- Local retailers expect to cash in when more people move into Southern Nevada. (But these new people will probably move into new communities with new stores. So most likely, the retailers will be disappointed).
- And some construction workers will cash in when they get jobs – jobs to devastate the environment (which ultimately will cost them more than the money they earn).
- While the unsuspecting populous get stuck with the bill.
- And the hotel/casinos get stuck with the image of Evil Empire destroyers of the Environment. (Which can't be good for their tourism business.)
This super-project
boondoggle scheme is so profitable for so many people, that gradually
the scheme has become the system. And the system that was created to
function for the people has been transformed into the
system that feeds off the people. Our democracy is
becoming a cleptocracy.
And what was once a
democratic republic becomes a nation of debt slaves and oligarchs.
Our government system has
reached a stage where it can't make the right
decisions.
SNWA could offer a trade
with California for more water than they are presently getting from
the Colorado River – and financially help the negatively effected
farmers. This is a win/win arrangement. California's coastal cities
could get more water. And SNWA could help California farmers with
investments in water conservation technologies such as:
- water capture technology such as TerraCottem soil conditioning polymers
- smart breeding research to develop more drought resistant crops
- low water use irrigation upgrades
- environmentally friendly sprays that will get crops' pores to close up and resist drying and drought
...If there were the will
to do it, we could all end up with more water and more
food.
But the executives at SNWA
don't want to do the right thing. They know the cost of desalination
has dropped drastically. But they would look like fools for wasting
hundreds of millions of dollars on an unfinished boondoggle. They
fear that they might lose their high paying jobs if they admitted
that desalination is cheaper now. They might even lose the
opportunity at those even higher paying jobs they might have been
offered when the revolving door swings their way – as they step out
of public “service.”
And where are the
regulators and bureaucrats who are supposed to see that things like
this don't happen? Most likely, some of them are looking forward to
the high paying jobs they might get when the revolving door swings
their way too.
But even if they're not;
most of the time, the regulators' hands are tied. In the case of this
Watergrab EIS; the BLM is only able to decide on whether the pipeline
is a bad idea – not on whether taking out a river of water from a
place that has no rivers is a bad idea. The pipeline is only a
tool. The pipeline is like a knife. It doesn't really do that much
damage – unless it drains the life blood from something. But, of course, draining
the water is not to be considered in the EIS.
If those at the BLM can't
consider the water, they're not really considering the Watergrab.
This just looks good on paper. In reality, the EIS is just an
exercise in distraction and whitewashing.
But it doesn't have to be.
If those within the BLM were to deny the Watergrab pipeline, it would
be a serious setback on a ridiculous effort that could end up being
highly disruptive to Nevada's economy and the world's future. Sure,
SNWA could go to court and probably win in the long run. But what
would they win if public sentiment were solidly and enthusiastically
against them.
A no action decision would
be a serious blow to the legitimacy of the Watergrab. It would be an
opportunity for the public to pay more attention to the implications
of this boondoggle project.
This “robing Peter to
pay Paul” project will ultimately drive us closer to a more serious
shortage in the long run.
The Watergrab may as well
have been designed for maximum exploitation.
A no action decision would
not hurt Southern Nevada. It would help them take a more
sustainable path.
No comments:
Post a Comment