Industrial Sites of the Mono Basin--the point

YOU GET ONE GUESS WHERE THIS IS
Photo by Erin Ryan

Where can you find flamingos, palm trees, green grass, and ponds? Funny, it is a place where the temperature often stays over 100 degrees at night, and the annual rainfall is less than 4 inches. In the middle of the Mojave Desert, there is a place called Las Vegas. Can you say overconsumption? Water, electricity, and people are drawn here in increasing amounts. Nevada is growing faster than almost any place else in the world. Worried about the world's population? Better also worry about American consumption. It is disgusting, when compared to the poverty and living conditions in our own country, not to mention other countries.

Photo by Erin Ryan (I've never been to the Hoover Dam although I have been to locations of all other photos by Erin on this site.)

The bottom line, when it comes to people having a negative impact on the environment, is either 1) too many people in too small a place, or 2) people using too many resources and creating too much waste.

The way to do something about this is to 1) not have tons of kids and 2) reduce, reuse, recycle. Easier said than done. But look at the alternative. If we don't control ourselves now, we will run into nature's limits at some point, just as sure as sediment is accumulating behind Hoover Dam. Technology will buy us time, but let's use that time wisely!

I don't want to be too depressing or gloom and doom, despite the fact that there is plenty of justification for it. Don't despair! We can make a difference!

YOU GET ONE GUESS WHERE THIS IS
Photo by Greg Reis--the house I lived in for my first 20 years.

Palm trees, green grass, no flamingos (but we used to have a pond). The annual rainfall is about 12 inches (4X Vegas!), and the summer temperatures will often stay below 80 degrees, especially when the morning and evening fog is around. The surrounding region is attracting more people, less water, and probably less electricity. If this doesn't sound much better than Vegas, look at the details. Water conservation and reclamation are increasing dramatically. Less hot water used means less power consumption. In the photo, you can barely see the corner of a solar water heater on the roof. The California Poppies in the garden are native plants that don't require much, if any, watering. The grass is only that green in the winter and spring, much to my parents' neighbors' consternation (it's really not all that bad the rest of the year). The garbage can in the center of the photo catches rainwater off the roof for watering plants. There is a compost pile in the backyard. The city has had a recycling program for years. My dad rides his bike to work every day.

Imagine the difference if everyone did these things! It is a necessary first step. Despite all of these good sounding things, the water still comes from the Colorado River (which is sucked dry before it reaches the delta), only a small fraction of the electricity comes from renewable sources, and I won't even go into the problems with food and material goods.

I think it is important for us to know. Knowledge is power. Once we know, we are free to make our own decisions. Learn about where your resources come from and where your wastes go. Make a connection to your ecosystem, and try to understand how we fit into it. We do fit, but it is getting more and more crowded every day. Click here for population statistics.

The Point