rain, rain, isn't such a pain

Be Thankful for What We Have

     So what does Ireland have over Ohio? Well maybe a lot more ginger’s running around with a fancy accent, maybe some ancient folk lore. A potato famine in the past that sent a bunch of its citizens skirting across the pond and ending up in places like Ohio, those damn illegal immigrants, a ginger invasion of proportions we have never seen, all in the past of course, and of course sarcastically speaking. Also they call it the Emerald isle. But the green that is out there in Ohio this morning leads me to believe this area and others could easily match or surpass the green in Ireland anytime. And if the Amish keep inbreeding in Ohio, I don’t doubt that we will have our fair share of tiny people running around here with squeaky voices. Whether or not they will be sitting at the end of a rainbow with a pot of gold is debatable but instead you may see them at flea market or an auction with a fist full of dollars.

    California has a major drought on and it will increase the price of produce, and yes it will affect us here in Ohio. Why, it is because we have become dependent on California to provide produce at cheap prices due to the availability of Latino or migrant labor force  willing to work for cash , making growing produce here in Ohio almost nonexistent when it comes to the fact that what we consume is, and what we actually produce to satisfy our needs, are small in comparison because we have become dependent on the marketing lines that has been set up years ago. This is the still expensive and energy wasting alternative to us producing what we need here in Ohio. We truck lettuce by the head from the San Joaquin valley where it is irrigated and sprayed with insecticide as well as herbicide picked by migrant labor and shipped across the country to market near you when we could have easily produced it here in our state .

    Unfortunately it is hard to produce lettuce for less than the 1.49 / head it costs us at the stores currently, but if the drought continues then expect to pay more and expect shortages in more vegetables besides lettuce if the trend continues. Carrots and other vegetables are also produced in this same area and other drought stricken areas. California may have to import vegetables from other states just to feed their own people.

     Although we don’t have the climate southern California has, we do have water in terms of rainfall and with past snow falls and  our aquifers are full in comparison to California. With advances in greenhouse construction and a little innovation we could easily make up the difference in what it would cost to raise locally if the price goes up any more, it almost has to. The snow pack in California is 10 percent less than last year and water reservoirs are historically low in that region and we are just going into another summer and predictions of impending lack of rainfall make the forecast for that area even more dismal. California won’t have to wait for an earthquake to force people to leave. Being only able to bathe on every other day or use your water on a conservation basis, will make living in that area dismal as well. Sometimes paradise has its drawbacks. When the golf courses turn brown, swimming pools double as water reservoirs, tumbleweeds become new lawn ornaments, and people of that area will reconsider whether the most basic of all commodities is also most important. Then maybe moving somewhere where water is plentiful might be the best move. A brain drain will happen as the Silicon Valley makes a mass exodus for other parts of the country with Ohio being in the forefront of the go to places because of our technology advances and industrial base.

      We have rain and green naturally without watering. Sometimes we have more than enough for ourselves. We may soon become the new area for truck farming as we start to produce more of our vegetables here making us the center for migrant invasion. These in turn will make us less dependent on higher transportation costs associated with trucking vegetables across the country. Our land prices will increase as more westerners move to Ohio seeking properties and finding major deals in comparison to the cost of real-estate in California. A 150000 home in Ohio would be a slum property in L.A. County. Here it is a new home. This in turn will cause new problems for Ohioans.

     Fracking and the loss of real estate as it changes from agriculture to sub developments, and as well the recent fracking or oil well boom will increase the amount of wastewater to be disposed of and will limit how much water can be used for agricultural purposes in the long run if it doesn’t contaminate our supplies of water in some areas, where well water is mostly used as in southern Ohio. This is an area where in the hills around Marietta and other places people are dependent on cisterns as well water is already hard to get. Competing with the oil companies for fresh water will cause harm to those people dependent on water being supplied to them.

       For the most part most of Ohio has ample supplies of water due to rainfall being in excess of 40 inches most years, as compared to California where the rainfall is less than 10 inches in most areas. In California when it does rain most of it runs off as the amount of developed real-estate and loss of shrubs due to wildfires, limits the amount of saturation into the soil causing more mudslides. Water aquifers are constantly going over to saline production, meaning salt water is being introduced due to over pumping of strategic reserves.

     We should be thankful and appreciate the rain when we get it. Changes are coming in this country whether we want them to, just as they have always did when adversity rears its ugly nature, in this case we respond by moving. During the dust bowl era, a lot of Oklahoma and dust bowl residents moved west making Rt. 66 the major thoroughfare to prosperity in California as thousands of people sought relief from the drought that plagued the middle of our country. When Californians begin drinking the water out of their swimming pools they too will be doing the same thing, as many have their heritage in those same vagabond travelers that ended up in California.

      What can we do to prepare? Become more concerned with issues like fracking , and urban development taking over agricultural land. We need to look at our zoning and make changes allowing farmers a reward for keeping their land in production as it stands. In fact the same holds true for any open space as it stands now. Builders should be forced to acquire previously developed properties that have fallen into ruins such as ghettos etc., and improve them as opposed to giving any vacant land over to developers. We could encourage that through incentives as they do now with Brownfield legislation where if a company acquires a site to be developed with environmental issues, then the state and federal government steps in and helps defray the costs of cleanup. This same concept could be also be used to acquire real-estate previously developed with the infrastructure of sewer water and electric already there and develop these areas first.  Also when trees are destroyed we need to have in place legislation that would force developers to replant three trees to every one displaced by new construction. An assessment of the quality and number of trees to be replaced must be submitted prior to acquiring a building permit no matter where the property exists.

      Fracking and wastewater issues of oilfield exploration should be halted till the oil producers provide a complete list of chemicals that are used and conclusive evidence that fracking is not harmful to the environment and that they can control ground water infiltration with their fracking fluids. If not a substantial bond should be required to protect residents in the area that would be affected by the possible infiltration or seismic damage associated with fracking. Wastewater is overburdening our local sanitary services at wastewater treatment plants as they are now transferring drill fluids to those facilities,  as well to local landfills and filling our landfills to the point they will cause premature expansion of landfills . This creates more landfills just to accommodate the drill fluids and waste of fracking. The oilfield companies need to come up with a comprehensive plan to protect the citizens of Ohio. Our Republican representatives will spend our interests in a minute in an effort to accommodate big business. We need to be more responsible in this respect and protect our resources.

      If things play out as I see it, I can see agriculture being more of a business, that will reward us far into the future long after the oilfield companies have left looking for the next big find. Even oilfield workers have to eat, as well as all those affected by the drought as long as it persists. We need to think ahead and not be driven by profits, instead protect our resources and grow in a sound manner as it looks we have no alternative but to increase our population here, whether we want to or not.