American economy in crises - a long time coming

When a country and its society import more than they export for over a quarter of a century, it is bound to erod the economy to its primate state.

We have only ourselves to blame, what goods and products are we exporting, what goods and services are produced in the USA, the answer is very little by comparison.

In the past 50 years as our population has increased, technology advanced, we have become a nation that consumes enormous amounts of resources, we shop for competitive prices. Corporate America is constantly looking to increase the bottom line.

Most of the goods for and by Americans and its companies are produced overseas and in the past decade with the advancement of telecommunications, many of the services sector are also imported.

The increased costs of energy over the past 10 years, has affected the economy to unimaginable comprehension.

This economic activity has eroded our economy to its core. It seems that the situation is getting worse every year. American debts are increasing beyond our wildest dreams, endangering the future economic vitality of our future generation.

I hope it is not too late for our society to recognize the graveness of our economic predicament and its resolve to take appropriate action to stem the tide of our economic downturn.

Americans are a nation of great technology and knowhow. We must utilize that technology and our resources to find new means to regain our economic independence.

We must face and implement fiscal responsibility, both by the government and the population with its infrastructure of corporate America.

It is no longer an option, it is a must if we as a nation want to survive and retain our way of life and economic vitality.

Inflation, recession and financial crises are here. Let us take the bull by the horn, initiate immediate actions to minimize and hopefully reverse our economic crises.

Yehuda Draiman, Northridge, CA.

PS
The US economy has enormous momentum. Metaphorically speaking, if someone turned off the locomotive that drives the US economy, the economy would go on for miles before anyone would likely notice something was wrong. But something has been wrong for many years. Is there really hope for the future? Maybe. But the terrible truth is that no one really knows. But if there is hope, we're already on the wrong track. And that has to change..

Consumer’s responsibility to conserve energy

Consumers coming to the utilities for innovative ways to educate the consumer first of all, in other words some form of education to conserve energy to assist with the energy crisis, and then also the energy devices that one can implement either those which are relatively inexpensive or those that are more expensive.

What are some of the options consumers have?

If we have a look at just the simple basic habits - that’s switching off lights, buy low voltage bulbs (CFL-LED), switch off faucets, put timers on and or photocells, when you fill up the kettle only boil the water you require for your cup of coffee. I think this is a way of life, and it is about lifestyle - perhaps we are accustomed to something different, it’s now about saying “how can I be more energy efficient?” because I understand as a consumer that the crisis we are currently faced with at the moment goes beyond the responsibility of the utilities. This is the consumer’s responsibility - it’s not going to be solved overnight, but as consumers we can in fact take that role. Our appeal to homeowners is to say “how are we in fact conserving energy, and contributing or assisting in actually solving/minimizing the problem?” If each and every one went a little bit of the way - perhaps an energy saving of 5% or 10% can easily go a long way to assist in the energy crisis.

We still have to depend on wind turbines and solar power - we have batteries that we need to get in order to help to save those power needs as well - are we able to afford them?

I think when we have a look at things like a wind turbine and solar panels those are expensive items - but if you take the average house 20% of the electricity is actually used in the lights. If you used a low voltage bulb for example you’d save 650% of the actual lighting energy that you require - those are inexpensive ways to go about it.

When we use our vehicle, try to accomplish multiple errands at one time, you will save fuel and wear.

We also must look at conserving water – this is resource that sustains life, it must be preserved and not waited or abused. See if you can harvest and utilize rainwater.

Consumer’s responsibility to conserve energy

Consumers coming to the utilities for innovative ways to educate the consumer first of all, in other words some form of education to conserve energy to assist with the energy crisis, and then also the energy devices that one can implement either those which are relatively inexpensive or those that are more expensive.

What are some of the options consumers have?

If we have a look at just the simple basic habits - that’s switching off lights, buy low voltage bulbs (CFL-LED), switch off faucets, put timers on and or photocells, when you fill up the kettle only boil the water you require for your cup of coffee. I think this is a way of life, and it is about lifestyle - perhaps we are accustomed to something different, it’s now about saying “how can I be more energy efficient?” because I understand as a consumer that the crisis we are currently faced with at the moment goes beyond the responsibility of the utilities. This is the consumer’s responsibility - it’s not going to be solved overnight, but as consumers we can in fact take that role. Our appeal to homeowners is to say “how are we in fact conserving energy, and contributing or assisting in actually solving/minimizing the problem?” If each and every one went a little bit of the way - perhaps an energy saving of 5% or 10% can easily go a long way to assist in the energy crisis.

We still have to depend on wind turbines and solar power - we have batteries that we need to get in order to help to save those power needs as well - are we able to afford them?

I think when we have a look at things like a wind turbine and solar panels those are expensive items - but if you take the average house 20% of the electricity is actually used in the lights. If you used a low voltage bulb for example you’d save 650% of the actual lighting energy that you require - those are inexpensive ways to go about it.

When we use our vehicle, try to accomplish multiple errands at one time, you will save fuel and wear.

We also must look at conserving water – this is resource that sustains life, it must be preserved and not waited or abused. See if you can harvest and utilize rainwater.

Water is the source of life - treasure it! R3.
Water is the source of all life on earth. It touches every area of our lives. Without it, we could not thrive — we could not even survive.

Sustainability – “We strive to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
We should discourage wastefulness and misuse, and promote efficiency and conservation.
For the benefit of mankind, maintain the quality of life and preserve the peace and tranquility of world population. Water resources must be preserved - to sustain humanity. We must eliminate wasteful utilization of water, conserve our water sources and implement rigid conservation methods. We should utilize solar and or other source of renewable energy to operate desalinization projects from the oceans. Utilize renewable energy sources to purify and transport the water to its final destination. As world population increases the scarcity of water will become a cause for conflict, unless we take steps now to develop other sources of water for drinking, rainwater harvesting – storm-water and gray-water utilization. Designing of landscaping that uses minimal amount of water.
"With power shortages and a water scarcity a constant threat across the West, it's time to look at water and energy in a new way,"
To preserve the future generations sustainability, we should look into urban farming – vertical farming. The term "urban farming" may conjure up a community garden where locals grow a few heads of lettuce. But some academics envision something quite different for the increasingly hungry world of the 21st century: a vertical farm that will do for agriculture what the skyscraper did for office space. Greenhouse giant: By stacking floors full of produce, a vertical farm could rake in $18 million a year.
Yehud Draiman, Energy and water conservation consultant
Dec. 31, 2007
PS.

Hydro dynamics: forget oil. Sharing freshwater equitably poses political conundrums as explosive and far-reaching as global climate change.
Quoted from other sources
Anyone who has ever stood on a beach and looked out into the vast expanse of an ocean knows that there is a lot of water on this planet. In fact, 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water. It may seem like water is all around us, but safe, clean, reliable drinking water is not a cease¬less resource. The problems facing drinking water range from failing infrastructure, to climate change, to insufficient supplies.

Personal Conservation
Preserving our water resources is not a job for water industry professionals alone. We all have a vested interest in ensuring that water remains safe, af¬fordable and available. Therefore, each individual American has a responsibility to monitor and control their water use, There are many simple ways for people to reduce excess water use, lower water bills and protect the environment, espe¬cially in die spring and summer months, Beyond the standard constraints of watering the lawn only when neces¬sary and washing car wisely by using soap and a bucket of water, some steps include: draining water lines to outside faucets, disconnecting hoses, shutting off outdoor water sources during cold weather and running a small trickle of water on whiter nights to prevent pipe from freezing.
Conclusion
Water supply management is an issue that affects us all. It may not be apparent to every citizen today, but with climate change and population shifts transforming the United States, it soon will be. Effective solutions need to be put into place today before we are faced with a water crisis. A focus on careful planning, treatments, innova¬tions and conservation measures will help to create stability for long-term water management. Commitment to keeping water at the top of the list for communities and citizens will better prepare us for whatever the future of water holds.

WATER!
The indispensable source of life-without water there would be no industry, no agriculture and, most importantly of all, no life. In dry parts of the world this essential commodity is even more precious. Almost all human actions involve water from taking a shower to reading a newspaper to driving a car or simply eating a sandwich - almost everything we do or touch is somehow related to this precious treasure. We ask that you stop and think how you use water and what you can do to conserve this essential natural resource.
*Water, beliefs and customs,
*Water as a vehicle of the economy,
*Water, source of art and life, irrigation and cultivation.
The people have decided to act to try and develop a real awareness program on the theme of water preservation and distribution in an attempt to help maintain the original purity of rivers and streams.
In many parts of the world water sources and wells are not equally distributed. Water as a source of life can also be at the source of conflict.
Whether we live in India, Iceland or the Atlas… we have always tried to trap and tame water. Dams, pumps, canals, water treatment centers; there are so many different ways to exploit this resource that we often forget how fragile this unique and essential treasure actually is.
Unfortunately, many of the things we do every day can harm our water. That’s why all people and government should be working with municipalities, farmers, business leaders and developers just like you to take action to protect our water and clean it up.
Small changes can make a big difference. This guide outlines practical things we can all do to preserve and protect our water. We all need to be part of the solution.
Concentrated Solar Power, which requires no solar panels at all. It works by concentrating sunlight onto a small pipe using cheap parabolic reflectors. The pipe contains a liquid that’s heated to very high temperatures by the sun and drives a steam boiler that rotates a turbine to generate electricity (much like nuclear power plants, but without the nuclear waste). It’s cheap, low-tech, and far more affordable than solar power. Plus, it can be built in practically any desert, so it doesn’t take up valuable land. As another bonus, when CSP operations are built near the ocean, they can desalinate ocean water as a side effect, providing fresh water for irrigation to grow food. This is the only renewable energy technology I know of that can produce cheap energy, fresh water and crop irrigation all at the same time. Plus, it has no emissions, no toxic chemicals, no nuclear waste and very little environmental impact..
“You can’t escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today” - Abraham Lincoln said it.
“That man is richest whose pleasures are the cheapest” – Henry David Thoreau.
“To waste, to destroy, our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed” – Theodore Roosevelt.
“When the ‘study of the household’ (ecology) and the ‘management of the household’ (economics) can be merged, and when ethics can be extended to include ‘environmental’ as well as human values, then we can be optimistic about the future of mankind. Accordingly, bringing together these three E’s is the ultimate holism and the great challenge for our future” – Eugene Odum.