Newspaper Page Text
OPINION
THURSDAY, MAY 17 - 23, 2018 • Page 6
Water not just for recreation
According to usgs.gov,
approximately 71 percent of the
Earths surface is covered with
water, and Earths oceans account
for an estimated 96.5 percent of all
water on the planet. Water can also
be found in our air and dirt in the
form of moisture, in the human
body and every living creature that
occupies our planet.
One may assume that with more
than 50 percent of the human body
being water and more than 71
percent of the Earths surface being
water, that there would be more
interest in protecting this simple
but vital resource. But as is all too
often the case, humans have a lack
of respect for an element that we
simply cannot exist without.
Neither human, animal nor
plant life can exist without the
presence of water. Earth as we
John Hewitt
johnh@dekalbchamp.com
know it cannot exist without the
presence of water. Yet we often
don’t give our waterways the
attention they deserve. They are
often polluted with chemicals and
grease, and rarely are the culprits
held accountable for their actions.
However, organizations such as
the numerous Riverkeepers groups
throughout the nation go to great
efforts to help preserve, clean and
maintain our critical resource so
that life as we know may continue.
Locally, South River Watershed
Alliance and Chattahoochee
Riverkeepers, along with their
networks of partners, volunteers
and supporters, are devoted to
keeping our waterways clean and
safe for humans and wildlife—but
they can’t do it alone. The public
must also do its part.
Just as over the years we
collectively have changed our
behavior of littering our roads,
sidewalks and public spaces, we
must adopt the same mindset for
the care and maintenance of our
waterways.
Government watershed
departments in the metro area
regularly must repair and replace
deteriorated water and sewer lines.
Damage to lines is often attributed
to accumulations of grease and
oils that clog the lines, do tens of
thousands of dollars of damages
and cause great inconveniences
such as we recently experienced
with the Buford Highway
watermain break that shut down
schools, businesses and offices for
days.
Whether one enjoys playing,
fishing, boating or rowing, it is
our civic duty to do all that we can
individually and collectively to
keep our waterways clean and safe
for all.
We must take action now before
too much damage is done. Water is
vital to our existence, if we destroy
our water, we in effect destroy our
very beings. We are, after all, at
least 50 percent water. It is self-
preservation in the most extreme
instance.
Your primary responsibility
"Elections belong to the people. It's
their decision. If they decide to turn
their back on the fire and burn their
behinds, then they will just have to sit
on their blisters,"Abraham Lincoln
(1809-1865), successful with his
second run for the Illinois State House,
followed by long service in the U.S.
Congress, an unsuccessful campaign
for the U.S. Senate, and the GOP's first
nominee, elected President in 1860,
re-elected in 1864.
Most every election year, even
during mid-term and occasionally
the odd-year municipal elections, I
start hearing an echoing complaint
after Labor Day about our looming
November elections. How do we
always end up with such lousy
choices?
Well, with no intent to offend,
chances are more than pretty good
that you, dear reader, are part of the
problem. You don't generally vote
in the Georgia general primary and
frequent Primary run-off elections.
And though the process for party
nomination and ballot selection does
vary by state, the vast majority of
states hold statewide general primary
elections, among the announced and
legally qualified candidates within
that party, and if the primary election
winner does not receive 50 percent,
plus one vote (a simple majority),
the bulk of states then hold primary
run-off elections. California and
Louisiana are significant standouts,
as both now hold a large open
*One Man's
Opinion 9
Bill Crane
bill.csicrane@gmail.com
primary, where all candidates from
all parties run at the same time, and
then the general election is held later
between the top two finishers.
In Georgia, we do not have, nor
require, political party declaration or
registration. We are an open primary
state, meaning that any duly-
registered voter may select a ballot
and vote in either primary, as well as
the non-partisan races for judicial
posts, school boards and virtually all
municipal office elections in Georgia.
Unfortunately, though the
primaries are open, and the only
forbidden voting choice is crossing
over during the other party's run-off,
after voting in a different primary
election first.
Though voter registration now
occurs automatically with receipt of
a Georgia driver's license, the vast
majority of Georgia's more than 4
million registered voters will again
sit out the May 22 general primary
election.
Election years vary, and during
this cycle we are selecting a new
governor, the bulk of all statewide
constitutional officers (Public Service
Commissioners serve staggered
six-year terms), the entire General
Assembly, Georgia U.S. House
delegation, and hundreds of local
sheriffs, school board members and
judges/magistrate offices across the
Peach state.
And despite the fact that it is often
state and local government decisions
that most directly impact voters and
their day-to-day lives, turnout among
registered voters will most likely hit
between 25-33 percent. Roughly
80 percent of the eligible voting
population is registered, meaning
20 percent essentially choose not to
participate at all. Incumbents in our
Georgia General Assembly, as well as
other elected officials, do not tend to
really mind low turn-out elections,
as they greatly favor incumbent
reelection.
But as I time and again hear
complaints about the broken process,
or futile calls for 'term limits,' I remind
my readers and frequently non-voting
friends and family that you have the
power of term limits right now in your
two little hands. Please use it. Advance
voting is now underway.
Granted, a new and earlier primary
date, leading into the Memorial Day
holiday weekend, required in part by
the U.S. Justice Department directing
Georgia to hold earlier Primary and
runoff elections to allow sufficient
time for balloting by overseas military
personnel, makes low turnout even
more likely.
So now we will complete the
party nominating process with a July
primary runoff, and the winnowed
field will head into the fall and
November general election. As this is
not a presidential election year, some
view the stakes as not being as high.
And while President Trump draws
crowds, media coverage and attention
wherever he goes; his unpopularity
is also legion—or perhaps closer to
Legionnaire’s Disease for some GOP
candidates. House Speaker Paul Ryan
chose not to campaign with his party
nominee, Donald Trump during 2016,
and he is now choosing not to run at
all—voluntarily and without scandal
or challenge vacating the third-highest
office in the land while still a young
man.
This election year show will be a
good one. Too bad most folks are more
likely to be binge watching something
on Netflix or Amazon Prime. We get
what we don’t bother to show up and
vote for.
Bill Crane also serves as a political
analyst and commentator for Channel
2’s Action News, WSB-AM News/Talk
750 and now 95.5 PM, as well as a
columnist for The Champion, DeKalb
Free Press and Georgia Trend. Crane
is a DeKalb native and business owner,
living in Scottdale. You can reach
him or comment on a column at bill.
csicrane@gmail.com.