I was interested in Ms. Baumann”s recent article concerning the nation”s water, its sale and depredation of supply.
I don”t agree with some of her views concerning food, but I find much to agree with her in her letter.
I suspect the thinking people of this country should take note and perhaps extend the same logic to other extractive industries.
Water, while extremely vital, is at least somewhat replenished through rain and snow.
I know from experience that our use is not sustainable simply because we use too much, too inefficiently.
National resources as gas, coal, and recoverable petroleum can not be replenished and when used, are gone forever, but these are presently over-produced with respect to U.S. requirements and the extra amounts are sold overseas.
If this country has any true goal of self sufficiency in the long term, good sense suggests that the production be held to present national demand and we keep the rest in the bank for future use.
Presently close to half of the refined petroleum products produced in this country are sold overseas. Fine, we need the funds and other countries need the product, but I bridle at using up our precious resources in this way when so many people are calling for national self-sufficiency. Much of the raw petroleum comes to this country for refining and reshipping. When this supply is less expensive than our own, perhaps we should buy it rather than use our own.
If we want to have our next generations have a sufficient supply, we better consider the wisdom of over-producing just to make a few large companies more money.
As a moderate Republican?yes, some do still exist?I worry that a lot of previously inviolate concepts, things such as individual property, land and water rights are going have to be modified for the benefit of the country as a whole, if it is going to continue to be self-sustainable. There are now 330 million people in our country. Compared to 150 years ago when there was maybe one-tenth as many. Rules and laws that may have been appropriate then, in terms of individual rights, simply may not be acceptable by the people as the country moves on. I don”t really like the idea, but I”m afraid it is inevitable. Cooptation comes to mind.
The concept is called systems theory and the good of the whole system, country or corporation is paramount, with each part, or sub system, subservient to the whole, even if it hurts. I suspect that, with the work he did with Bain in improving lackluster businesses, no one knows this principle better than Governor Romney. Takes work!
Guthrie “Guff” Worth
Lakeport
