To the editor: The recent recent reports of Ian James and Sean Greene on the disappeared groundwater of California is an essential reading (“Humanity is rapidly exhausting water and much of the world is becoming drier”, September 3). It also echoes the trajectory that we have witnessed in Iran, where the same mentality of “conquering the desert” (deep wells, dams and aqueducts) pushed the country to what experts now call Water bankruptcy.
The water management of Iran has a lot in common with those of California, but Iran refused to run the course, even when the aquifers collapsed, the rivers and wetlands sold out, and millions were displaced. Water became a political weapon in the hands of inexplicable elites, with devastating human consequences.
California is not Iran. It has the advantage of democratic institutions, a free press and civic activism. But the structural challenge is the same: powerful agricultural interests that demand more water than nature can provide. Unless California treats recharge and sustainable use as urgent priorities, runs the risk of repeating Iran's error, becoming a global warning instead of a model.
Nik Kowsar and Alireza Nader, Washington, DC
..
To the editor: This is a great article to have on Sunday's cover. Just as I think I have heard of all possible consequences of climate change, a possible new one appears. I remember one of Donald Rumsfeld's appointments: “There are … unknown unknowns, which we don't know we don't know.”
This is one of the terrifying aspects of climate change. We believe that we know what will happen: a more extreme climate, oceanic acidification, more and larger fires, etc. Now, as I learned from this well -written article, the world is losing fresh water and may not come back. The plausible reasons given are “ascending temperatures unleashed through the use of oil and gas, and a widespread overload of water.” This is just another good reason to wake up and take quick measures to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. What else do we not know about the effects of climate change?
Larry Kramer, San Juan Capistrano
..
To the editor: While the warnings of disappearance of fresh water are valid and presumed, it is important to take into account that there is no water shortage on Earth. However, there is a scarcity of cheap and easy -to -accessible water. The land surface is approximately 70% covered with water and we know how to disarrange the seas and oceans.
As conditions continue to get worse and water becomes increasingly valuable, I have no doubt that humanity will resort to what is necessary to maintain life. Will there be misery before that happens? Without a doubt, but it is in our nature to postpone until tomorrow what we should be doing today.
Ron Garber, Duarte
