A bright future ??

**Darian** · 02-13-2008, 10:31 PM

Scott,.... You're missing the point here. First, water has to be taken from a source, somewhere, to be used at all (whether for human or other consumption). After that it may or may not be recycled.... But, it still has to made available.

Next, whether we all recycle or follow golf course rules or not, there's only 100% of water available from ground and surface water sources. So, recycling won't increase the water supply available from those sources for development in the desert. It just creates more re-uses for water (not necessarily a bad thing). Most of the irrigation systems on golf courses I've seen aren't overly efficient, either. So there's got to be a bunch of evaporation.

You and I are not going to agree on this and, as I said, water for golf courses in the desert (recycled or not) is a bad choice (....even tho you or I don't get to make it). Think about the implications for the Colorado River of making the choice to continue urban develop in places like Las Vegas.... Golf courses are a downstream result of urban development.... And, if we can believe what was said in the article (above), the impact of that type of development on the Colorado River will be to eventually de-water the river and dry up Lake Mead. Re-cycling on that scale would help but probably not be reasonable until crisis need drives us to make it happen. So, that choice would have massive, negative impacts on Downstream activities (SoCal, Arizona and Northern Mexican areas....) not to mention the loss of a lot hydroelectric power generation for California.

My vote is that we use water for the greens, no fairways and golfers should learn to play from the rough (like they do in Europe....)

**BigBill** · 02-14-2008, 10:13 AM

I'm a bit of a golfer myself Scott. So maybe my argument makes me a hypocrite. But I am seriously considering giving up golf because of the impact I feel it has on our fisheries.

This last summer it seemed like every time I drove past the Edgewood golf course here in Tahoe they had the sprinklers going somewhere. Bijou is the only course in town that doesn't constantly run their sprinklers and you can tell by all the brownish/yellow grass and dirt poking through!

HC · 02-14-2008, 06:39 PM

Why build in the desert ???? David, Mike Darian permit me to blow off a little steam here. Bugsy Segal, Meyer Lansky and other westcoast Mobbies, being crooked but optimistic learned that certain counties in Neveda did not prohibit gambling and prostitution as did other states and saw opportunities for easy money. Now if Florida, a watery place, had the same legal position as Neveda, then the mob would have happily put their casinos there after they were booted out of Havana. Of course, for Floridians, this would have caused the usual growth problems we are familiar with; corruption, pollution, over crowding and so on. So Neveda's favorable political and legal stance toward gambling was the catalyst that kicked off this monster we call Las Vegas and for its ever growing thirst for water. To make it worse, add in Barry Goldwater, the driving force for damning the Colorado in order to bring water to the SW, you get growth with things like Del Webb, retirees, and copius golf courses all throughout and a place that could reasonablely accomodate a few hundred thousand people is now unwilling host to millions. Its all built on a very suspect and artificial foundation which everyone knows rainfall can not be legislated. So now we have fake environment of greenery which couldn't be had without serious water manipulations. Now the snow birds look out the window see grass instead of rock and sand all the time. In a simiar way Califronia is heading for a giant water shortfall as well and no matter how you take it apart its really to few resources shared by too many users. In other words we have overburdened our environmental capacity to sustain the amount of folks we now have here in the west. What was the question? Sorry for the single minded rant of my narrow minded views. Although, come to think of it the 3 things my Scottish ancestors, yes both sides, are credited with are good drinkin' whiskey, fly fishing and golf, and are mostly unconquerable endevors. But they are compatible as you can flyfish in golf ponds and slosh a round of scotch while you are at it, very nice acccccctually.

**Darian** · 02-14-2008, 07:36 PM

Harley,.... Great rant.... Even the Scot's play golf on a course that doesn't have manicured fairways....

Also, I think the water crisis you see in our future is happening right now.

We share common ancestry. I'm, also, a Scot. Altho, I'm sort of a falling away type as I don't drink Scotch. My weakness is for Irish Whiskey. Close in origin tho....