Newspaper Page Text
4
CONTACT US AT P.O. BOX 1027, ATHENS, GA 30603, LETTERS@FLAGPOLE.COM
OR VIA THE “TALK BACK TO US” LINK AT FLAGPOLE.COM
HELP WITH WATER
In light of the ongoing drought and diminish
ing supply of water in Athens-Clarke County, I
would like to help to get the word out for all of
us to pitch in to conserve water if it's not too
late. The headlines in the Banner-Herald have
been redolent with warnings that our county
is currently on a
countdown as far as
our water supply is
concerned. As of last
Friday (Sept. 14),
Athens-Clarke County
has estimated that we
have roughly 45 days
of water left in Bear
Creek Reservoir, our
only current source
of fresh water for the
area. I suggest and implore all of our citizenry to
pitch in to conserve our water to help sustain us
all until rains hopefully recharge our rivers, reser
voir and aquifers.
Restaurants should refrain from pouring
water for customers not needing or wanting it.
People need to stop letting the water run on in
their sinks while they brush their teeth or shave.
This summer, I learned to use a small bucket to
collect the water that runs out of the tub hot
water spigot until it gets warm enough to get in
and shower—this saved water is a great use for
watering plants inside or out. Incidentally, quick
showers use 5-10 gallons of water compared to
15-20 for a bath. Rain barrels under downspouts
at your home would also help to cut down on
public water needed for outdoor watering. Fix any
leaky faucets or toilets at your home or business.
I recently measured a small drip in a hand sink to
waste 8 gallons a day. Aerators for old faucets are
cheap and easy to put on without a plumber.
There are many thoughtful ways we can all
make it through this potentially dire time to
gether. I urge everyone to consider what other
ways they can contribute towards this conserva
tion effort. Athens is a thoughtful and proactive
community that I know is able to come together
for such an important and universal cause. There
are but a few ideas listed in this letter. For more
water conservation tips, please refer to this web
site: www.wateruseitwisely.com.
There is not a lot of time for us to debate
this; the problem is real and we all need to do
our part.
David Cappi
Winterville
THE TRUTH ABOUT WATER
There is plenty to be said about the full ban
on outdoor watering, and much of it already has
been. But one important point gets neglected
sometimes. A little review, and then I'd like to
emphasize it. Yes, we are getting hammered hard
by drought. Will this, too, pass? Maybe. If global
climate change at an accelerated pace is in fact
occurring—even if cyclically—maybe not, in our
lifetimes. Now, if you are of the persuasion that
the world is pretty much all about you and your
lawn, this is a catastrophe and a very annoying,
unfair one at that. On the other hand, if you see
yourself as participating in an ecological order
larger than you are, you might just give a philo
sophical shrug and begin to investigate xeric
landscaping.
Either way, there's not much to be done about
the weather. But the drought is just a yellow
highlighter accenting a sentence written decades
ago in the annals of Athens-Clarke County: there
simply isn't enough water. Or, said another way:
There are just too many people. Take the drought
away, let it rain, and there will still be a need
to conserve water. Most likely, the full ban on
watering would go away. Don't expect all restric
tions to be lifted, however. Those bays are gone
with the greenspace. Too many people, too many
showers, too many carwashes, too many lawns,
and so on...
The county's "population boom" is not to
blame. There's really no such thing, in any sense
meaningful to this discussion. There are just a
lot of individuals and families, each making a de
cision to move to Athens because ifs still a great
place to live. It doesn't make any sense to blame
"the developers," ei
ther. There's a terrific
demand for housing,
and if these develop
ers don't meet that
demand, others wilL
As tempting as it
is to blame our ACC
government for allow
ing growth so extreme
our lawns die of thirst,
it isn't their fault.
There's just no way, given the political realities,
the situation could be much different. There's no
viable scapegoat. Athens-Clarke County is being
shaped by decisions made by individuals within a
context we all share. These decisions are gener
ally sensible and in no way evil, except possibly
in the aggregate.
Our shared context does limit the range of our
individual choices, and perhaps their effect as
well. But there's no way around it: it is our ongo
ing, day-to-day decisions that led to a full water
ing ban. Everyone's decisions. Mine. Yours. So to
the important, neglected point: since you chose
this, why grumble about it? Instead, why not
consider the real future, where careful consider
ation of water use is an essential element of per
sonal life as well as citizenship. Let's start talk
ing (positively) about how we are going to deal
with this increasingly limited resource. Perhaps
that way we can keep Athens a great place to
live. If we don't pay attention, we're likely to
find our overall quality of life slipping away just
because we neglected to prioritize wisely. Your
lawn is telling you quite clearly: water is not
something you can take for granted anymore.
- Ash Raymond
Athens
ALCOHOL FACTS
Mr. Hamby ["Alcohol in Society," Letters,
Sept. 12], while I recognize that you are entitled
to your own opinion, and have no obligation to
let the facts get in the way of your preaching,
there are those of us who prefer to make deci
sions based on what is actually true. In the hope
that some readers will appreciate hearing facts,
even if they disagree with a few "gut feelings," I
will give you some facts about alcohol.
In 2003, per capita alcohol consumption in
the United States was 8.6 liters per adult (that's
estimated total pure ethanol consumed in a
year). For this survey, an adult is anyone 15 or
over. (This survey—available via http://earth-
trends.wri.org—was done for the world, not just
the United States.) For comparison, Australia's
was 9.0. This gives us a pretty good basis for
comparison, for Australia is quite similar to the
United States in many respects. Germany's per
capita consumption was 12.0 liters per person.
Mr. Hamby, you have asserted that alcohol is
a major contributor to many crimes, including
murder, spousal abuse, assault, rape and robbery.
If this is true, then we would expect a correla
tion. The higher the alcohol consumption, the
more of these crimes we would expect to see.
Here are the facts. Murder: The United States is
24th in the world per capita. Australia? 43rd.
Germany? 49th. For rape, it is more pronounced.
USA: 9th. Germany: 24th. Australia? Not even in
the top 65. For robbery, the United States is 11th
in the world. Australia: 15th. Germany: 23rd.
Domestic abuse is difficult to track because of
inconsistent definitions, but assault is not. USA:
6th. Australia: 10th. Germany: 26th.
The obvious truth, Mr. Hamby, is that while
alcohol might be a factor in some or all of these
crimes, it is clearly not a major factor. In fact
the United States alcohol consumption is lower
than in these countries, and yet we have more
crime than them. In science, we must have an
actual correlation before we declare a thing to be
true. The facts are against you, sir.
In your letter, you further pronounce the
evils of alcohol by citing the billions of dollars
of court costs, insurance premiums and medical
premiums. Space does not permit me to list all
the facts in this case, but has it occurred to you
that cost does not reflect the reality of what al
cohol does? It reflects the reality of what alcohol
legislation and insurance legislation do.
Lastly, you mention birth defects, low birth
weights, depression and disease. While it is true
that these can all result from alcohol abuse, it
is also true that people in every country of the
world have been drinking alcohol for thousands
of years, and the human race has survived quite
nicely. In fact, if you do some of your own home
work, you will find that alcohol-related illness is
a very small percentage of human mortality. If
you do some research into psychology, you will
find that depression often causes alcoholism, not
the other way around.
While I understand the emotion that went
into your letter, let's be clear about the truth.
There are a lot of things going wrong in America
right now. However, alcohol consumption, while
it's an easy scapegoat, is not what you claim it
to be. Please, Mr. Hamby, let's try to use facts to
make decisions, even when the facts may not be
exactly what we want them to be.
Bill Hamby
Athens
OCONEE CORRECTION
Diane Cronin writes a good letter about im
portant matters, and she is always generous with
her expressions of thanks and appreciations to
officials who support her position. In the Sept
12 issue of the Flagpole, Ms. Cronin erred in
thanking Oconee County Commissioner Margaret
Hale for her opposition to the lezoning of nearly
300 acres for a high density development east
of Old Barnett Shoals Road. Commissioner Hale,
in fact, voted for the approval of this rezon
ing request and the development of a Gwinnett
County-type subdivision on the properties.
The petition was presented before the
Oconee County Commissioners by landscaper Ken
BeaU, on behatf of David Bird, a developer from
Gwinnett County, after the request had been
denied twice by the Oconee County Planning
Commission.
The county commissioners who voted against
the petition to rezone the properties, in sup
port of the existing Comprehensive Land Use
Plan and, subsequently, offering protection of
one of the most historically important sites in
Oconee County were Commissioner Jim Luke
and Commissioner Chuck Horton. Commissioner
Margaret Hale joined Commissioner Don Norris
in support of sprawl and a Gwinnett County-type
subdivision which will destroy an important his
toric site where neither sewer nor water services
are currently available. Chairman Melvin Davis, in
casting the deciding vote, aligned himself with
sprawl development and the destruction of his
torical patrimony.
Bill Paul
Athens
TOM the
DANCING
BUG
feT THE GOO-MAN
TAN CLUB, LOCAL 3H0...
-
THE ADVENTURES OF GOD-MAN
by
RUBEN
BOLLING
GUY$, LOOK WHAT 1 GOT/
a reprint op the really
OLD GOD-MAN COMICS/
IS- GOO-
MAN
REALLV
A BAP
GUV?
JOT COURSE NOT/
IT'S UNCLEAR.
I PROM THIS PIC
TURE WHETHER
/any people were
\N THAT CITY.
£
\\ r
that \well, you have
sounds ho ANALY2E THE
SMARWNARRATIVE THROU6H
ELENSOPTHE TIMES
IN WHICH TWfcN OCCURRED.
WE'RE PUTTING YOU IN
CHARGE OP INTERPRETING
OLO god-man COMICS/
r V£S, SIR./JSQ THIS GOO-
''MAN IS GOOD?/
.1 OONTGET IT*
4 FLAGPOLE.COM • SEPTEMBER 26,2007
NEWS & FEATURES I ARTS & EVENTS I MOVIES I MUSIC I COMICS & ADVICE I CLASSIFIEDS
'199- —ONrtiog y loajo s ttivd as xiiO