Fresh Water. Less than one percent of the world's water is liquid fresh water, and scientific studies suggest that a majority of U.S. and global fresh water is now at risk because of increasing consumption, evaporation and pollution. What steps, if any, should the federal government take to secure clean, abundant fresh water for all Americans?
Representative Timothy Bishop, New York State–1 (D) and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, writes:
On Long Island where water quality is a cornerstone of the local economy, I have stood second to none in advancing federal policies to protect our water resources. As the Ranking Member of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee in the House of Representatives, I understand the value of clean water to protect health and sustain the environment. I have led the way in developing policies to promote innovative financing mechanisms for water infrastructure, as well as policies to protect our beaches, rivers and wetlands while better utilizing our waterways to promote tourism, and improve domestic and international commerce.
Efforts to undermine the Clean Water Act and other federal initiatives must be strongly opposed, and I have led the charge against legislative proposals to roll back important clean water protections that may benefit some special interests, but risk public health and will damage the broader U.S. economy.
Representative John Boehner, Ohio–8 (R) and speaker of the House, declined to respond to the eight science questions we asked. We have not found public statements that address fresh water resources as of press time.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, California (D) and chair of the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, writes:
All Americans deserve access to reliable, affordable and safe drinking water. To move toward this goal, the federal government must work with local and state governments to make investments in water infrastructure. This means investments in new and expanded reservoirs; levee repairs and flood protection; groundwater storage; desalination; and water reuse. We must also continue to remediate contaminated aquifers—especially those where the federal government contributed to their contamination at former defense facilities—in order to take full advantage of natural groundwater recharge. Not only will these investments provide water supply reliability, but they will also create jobs.
Representative Ralph Hall, Texas–4 (R) and chair of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology, writes:
The U.S. is fortunate to have access to abundant volumes of fresh water resources. From lakes and rivers to enormous aquifers, the supply of fresh water is critical to all aspects of life, including our agricultural, industrial and recreational activities. States and the Federal government share the role of ensuring access to clean and abundant fresh water for all Americans. Continued collaboration and research to monitor water resources and better understand water availability and processes is important to assisting local, State, and Federal decision-makers manage and sustain this vital resource.
Senator Tom Harkin, Iowa (D) and chair of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, writes:
The Clean Water Act, signed into law in 1972, plays a critical role in maintaining the quality of our water resources, and we absolutely must continue its implementation. We must not allow the simplistic calls for decreased regulation to limit the protection of our water resources. This is especially critical in light of our increasing population and economic activities that tend to expand the sources and volumes of potential contaminants.
Senator Mitch McConnell, Kentucky (R) and Senate minority leader, did not respond to the eight science questions by press time. We have not found his public statements that address fresh water resources as of press time.
Representative John Mica, Florida–7 (R) and chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, writes:
Again, technology and innovation can solve the fresh water problem.
Representative Nancy Pelosi, California–8 (D) and House minority leader, declined to respond to this question. In 2007, The House approved three clean water bills and Representative Pelosi released a statement on March 9 of that year, an excerpt of which follows:
Today's bill, H.R. 720, funds the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which provides for low-cost loans to communities that need to repair and build wastewater treatment plants and sewage lines. H.R. 720 will help clean up our rivers, lakes, and coastal waters, so that Americans can fish and swim without fear of pollution.
In recent years, the Republican-led Congress slashed the clean water fund by 34 percent. After the fund expired in 1994, the Republican leadership refused to bring legislation to the floor reauthorizing the fund in an effort to avoid the Davis-Bacon requirement of paying a prevailing wage to workers on federally-funded projects. Today, with Democrats voting unanimously against it, the House defeated a Republican-sponsored amendment to waive Davis-Bacon, ensuring that H.R 720 provides workers who build these wastewater projects good and fair wages.
On Wednesday, the House passed H.R. 569 to provide $1.8 billion in grants to local communities to prevent sewer overflows. In many communities with infrastructure, sewers overflow whenever there is a heavy rain, sending raw sewage into rivers and lakes. On Thursday, the House passed a H.R. 700 setting up a pilot program to increase usable water supplies through water conservation and reuse of wastewater, an approach that is crucial in the arid West and Southwest.
Without new investments in wastewater treatment, we could lose many of the gains our nation has made since the Clean Water Act was passed in 1972.
In conjunction with the creation of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming earlier this week, Democrats are taking our country in a new direction to preserve our environment. This week, we have rededicated ourselves to addressing America's clean water needs.
Senator Harry Reid, Nevada (D) and Senate majority leader, did not respond to the eight science questions by press time. His Web site has information about policies and specific projects the senator has supported related to clean water. There he also writes:
I have been a strong supporter of the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. These cornerstones of environmental protection have implemented pollution control programs, set water quality standards, and funded waste water treatment facilities in Nevada. Throughout my career in Congress, I have helped provide funding for water system improvements for communities across Nevada. Improving and maintaining the quality of water in Nevada will continue to be one of my highest priorities as Nevada’s senior Senator.
Senator Jay Rockefeller, West Virginia (D) and chair of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, writes:
Clean water is absolutely essential to daily life and survival. But we are facing a potential global resource crisis as the use of water has increased six-fold while the world's population has only tripled. In areas where water resources are limited we see conflict between multiple needs such as drinking supplies, irrigation and even energy development. At the same time, existing water supplies are being impacted by climate change and overexploitation.
There are no easy solutions to this problem. Water desalinization and treatment is possible but incredibly energy intensive. Conservation needs to be the starting point of the discussion about water policy. Additionally, we need to continue funding research conducted by the Department of Energy into the energy-water nexus and find ways to reduce the water demands of energy production.
Representative Chris Van Hollen, Maryland–8 (D) and ranking member of the Committee on the Budget, writes:
Securing clean, abundant fresh water for all Americans in the 21st century will over the long term require a comprehensive strategy that prioritizes pollution prevention, using our water more efficiently and developing cost-effective technologies to increase our fresh water supply. As regards pollution prevention, we have unfortunately seen an unprecedented effort to weaken and dismantle the Clean Water Act over the past two years, with 31 votes specifically targeting that landmark legislation in the 112th Congress. I strongly oppose efforts to weaken existing safe water standards or undermine the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to enforce water quality rules.
Additionally, as the result of Supreme Court rulings in 2001 and 2006 and guidelines issued by the Bush Administration in 2003 and 2007, 20 million acres of wetlands and 60% of all streams (including those that supply drinking water to 117 million Americans) are without Clean Water Act protections. We need to clarify the original intent of the Clean Water Act to ensure that these essential waterways meet basic safe water standards. In addition to pollution prevention, we need to redouble our efforts at using our water supply more efficiently – whether by eliminating waste or by recycling and re-use where appropriate. Finally, we should invest in developing technologies like desalinization and other filtering processes capable of cost-effectively increasing our fresh water supply.
Representative Henry Waxman, California–30 (D) and ranking member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, writes:
Sources of drinking water are a valuable resource that should be protected through full funding and strong enforcement of environmental law. The Safe Drinking Water Act, which ensures that the nation has a safe drinking water supply, should be fully enforced. The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which can be an important funding mechanism for state source water protection efforts, as well as water treatment, should be reauthorized and fully funded.
We must also ensure that oil and natural gas drilling, including hydraulic fracturing, meet the highest safety standards to protect underground sources of drinking water from potential contamination. Regulations for waste disposal, including the disposal of coal ash, should be strengthened and fully enforced to prevent the creation of new contaminated sites and new threats to drinking water.
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13 Comments
Add CommentWe are part of a Northwest civic collaboration spanning Town Hall, Pacific Science Center, startups, scientists and academic leaders - all asking our candidate for governor (Inslee and McKenna) to answer 6 questions. They have not answered yet.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.sciencedebate.org/wa2012/ Thanks to Shawn Otto for helping us.
We should not vote for someone who does not even understand the nature of the world and our problems that can only be understood though the rigorous tools of science.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's too bad that we voted so many losers in congress.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIs there anything we can do to remove some of them?
If you already have a panel of scientific experts, why would you want to also include the opinions of Scientific American editors? To simply eyeball the opinions and conclude that the two groups were about the same seems egregiously unscientific. Here was a great chance to use your own editors as a control group. Frankly, I'd be much more interested in seeing how much they knew or didn't know. Show us your t-test.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisShame there was no question on evolution. Thought it was settled by the Scopes trial, but political/religious meddling in the school system is putting the country at a Luddite disadvantage.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe day politic turns into science will be the beginning of paradise on Earth (and the day aliens will officialy communicate with us).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWinged pigs won't help to align the economic strategy of our species with the scientific method.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou mean the only 2 nations that remain with a banking system controlled by their governments instead of the private Bank for International Settlements?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm looking forward to the day where the only remaining dictatorship will be nature and it's laws.
'Cause at that time, Earthlings will have understood: no matter how much money you create and no matter how many laws you pass, without a global cybernated resource management system that works independently of ideologies, patriotism and all that BS, there will be no sustainability in their system and they won't make it into the era of galactic cooperation.
Consider yourself as having a fan boy. An old, fat, ugly fan boy but a fan boy never the less. Now I have to find a T-shirt with a bird, tree and dinosaur on it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThank you! I don't know if you can get a shirt like that, but I appreciate the sentiment.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's a shame so many of our leaders, including my Senator Ron Wyden from Oregon, aren't willing to be more open about their views. He'll be hearing from me when next I see him.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGood! We need tovote all of those bums out and elect some efficient, intelligent people.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe resurgence of the so called fundamentalism in every world religion is on the rise because of our inability to understand the basic law of creation discovered by scientists, and its application to knowing: the balance of our natural world, the meaning of basic human rights, the definition of terrorism, the concept of natural justice and the making of a welfare state. Anti science behavior creates not only massive economic depression but it also drifts mankind away from understanding divine religions which ordain maintaining the balance of our natural world.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe massive economic crisis due to anti science behavior in societies has made man vulnerable and an easy prey to the merchants of death. Details are given in my book, “On the Creation of A Peaceful World by Natural Means of Selection”.
Abdul Ghafoor Khan