New England Neighbors Shoot (For) the Breeze

It's reassuring to see that some of President Obama's green energy policies are making some headway, and a small source of pride to see two New England states leading the charge.

According to the New York Times, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are neck and neck in the battle to become the first state to host an offshore wind farm to generate electricity.  The rivalry of the two neighbors has meant progress has been reasonably swift for both states.

But I hope Rhode Island's approach to establishing the wind farm is the one that prevails in the long run.

Water, Water Everywhere, but Running Out of Drops to Drink

Did you know that the water in your toilet is perfectly safe to drink?

Well, that may not be quite true.  The cleanliness of the serving vessel has quite an influence on the potability of the contents.

But the billions of gallons of water that are used to flush away human waste on a daily basis comes from the same supply as the drinking-quality H2O that runs from the tap.  Robert Glennon, professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of Arizona gave a lecture at Quinnipiac University recently, related to the contents of his book, "Unquenchable: America's Water Crisis and What to Do About It".

While the points he made about redistribution, selling water as a commodity, and methods of human waste disposal were compelling, there was an underlying current of government intervention that is absolutely required in order to make his "free market" ideas work.

Poor communities cannot pay for water as a product, and he admitted as much.  Alternative waste disposal methods and redistribution schemes will require government incentives and oversight.  The free market will not be enough to change the status quo.  America's culture of greed simply will not allow it.

Let us hope that Prof. Glennon can get the attention of our government leaders who may be able to do something about the oncoming water shortage before we all dry up.