Joseph L. Shaefer

Positioning for When Water Runs Out: Part II

My thanks to all of you who contributed questions and further information on the important issue of water availability, water usage, water rights and our water future. A family medical issue prevents me from addressing each comment separately but I hope to respond to most in this reply…

A number of commenters noted the incredible usage of water in tar sands recovery, ethanol production, shale gas extraction, and meat and grain production. As many more noted the value of conservation, given that much of the distribution network for water consists of open canals bringing water from cool mountains through hot deserts to urban swimming pools and golf courses. Much of the remainder comes via pipes manufactured in the early 1900s that lose as much water along the way as they ultimately deliver.

Many more decried the fact that water is so cheap, with a number of metropolitan areas still not even metered, that the end-user views it as free or nearly free and thus have no intellectual or financial incentive to moderate their usage. I share your concerns here – I believe many Americans would conserve far better if they knew what a precious resource they are wasting and all would be more careful if it were priced anywhere near its true value.

Those who commented on the careless, even profligate, way in which we extract groundwater clearly recognize that this is a one-time-good-deal. For millions of years the aquifers have been filling and we are extracting their abundance in a split-second of geologic time. When they are gone, they are effectively gone. Then we are reduced. Reduced to rainwater, snow runoff and desalination.

I am particularly indebted to those commenters who took the time to forward worthwhile websites for further study and invite all interested readers to take a look at some of these. No one has a lock on all the facts, and the SA community is filled with people from all walks of life who have provided excellent resources perhaps stimulated by, but going well beyond, my two articles.

Many commenters inquired as to why I neglected to mention one or another publicly-traded company in the original articles. Pure oversight. There are many fine firms working to mitigate our problems and, even after your suggestions, I still don’t know all of them. Among those I can now suggest for further research are ERII, HOO, and FELE, and perhaps even products like those suggested by follower 666 and others.

Just as micro-lending has probably been more successful worldwide than anything (everything?) the Too Big Too Fail, Ain’t Too Proud to Beg banks have ever done in the financial arena, I was particularly heartened to hear of the mini-dam projects and others like them world-wide. I’ve spent a good deal of time in the Mideast, Africa, Asia and Latin America and remember well the “miracle” it was praised as when the inhabitants of a squatter’s camp in Soweto (in Johannesburg, RSA) actually saw water come from a community tap rather than collected from a muddy, sewage-laden stream.

Finally, a continuing caveat about all water rights and BWEL in particular, originally intended as a response to fellow contributor Alan Young before our family issue arose…


I actually have three concerns about BWEL, sir. One has been voiced by other commenters -- what if California or the national government decides to condemn / confiscate/ buy for a penny on the dollar those rights granted and accepted in good faith and for valuable remuneration? GM and Chrysler bondholders took the first warning shot from big government already. (Motto" Trillions for our pals on Wall Street who contribute to our election campaigns, not one thin dime for the average investor!")

The second concern is the one you have voiced about our glorious Sierras in a global warming scenario. However, from what the climatologists tell us, our worst case is for the same level of precipitation -- the Pacific storms will still get stopped by our young mountains -- but it will be in the form of less snow and more rain. That does not make this investor or this Ski Patroller happy.

And the third is that BWEL has so few shares outstanding that they are not subject to the same SEC reporting requirements most companies are subject to. I imagine old J.G. (about whom the book, The King of California, was written) saw public shareholders as a necessary evil and the 2nd generation was only as forthcoming as the law dictated. Given that the 2nd generation patriarch died just last month, however, the many heirs of the 3rd generation may be willing to be more forthcoming in an attempt to divvy up the spoils, as often happens by the time the 3rd generation comes to the fore. For them, it is often about the money, not about the land or the vision…

Positioning for When Water Runs Out: Part II

On Jun 26 11:29 AM Davewmart wrote:
An excellent article.
I'd just like to draw folks attention to a few schemes to use water
more efficiently and/or desalinate.
www.seawatergreenhouse.../
www.seawaterfoundation.../
www.csiro.au/science/Z...

JS Reply -- Thank you for this comment. I've spent the past hour visiting these three sites. These are XLNT websites I can recommend to all who are interested in this subject. I may have to write a Part III about mining from the sea as a by-product of desalination...