9/11

          

      On September 11, 2001 I was four years old. I don’t remember much about what happened. I only have vague memories of the panic and the adults talking about it. A few years latter was the first time I remember watching it on television. It was on the anniversary of 9/11 and I was watching a documentary about it on T.V. The documentary showed the planes hitting the buildings and burning Twin Towers collapse into the ground. I also remember images of people jumping out of the buildings because they were burning to death. I remember it was terrifying for me to watch this. My parents have told me what happened to them on that day. They were both at work. My Mom was working in a tall office building in downtown Atlanta. Her building was evacuated because they were afraid it might be targeted. My parents talked about where they would go if the city was attacked.                                                                                                                  

       I know that twenty terrorists hijacked several planes going to California. It was a Tuesday morning and the terrorists chose that day because it was the heaviest day for air travel, so they would be able to kill the most people. One of the planes crashed into the pentagon, two crashed into the Twin Towers and the other one crashed into the ground because the people took over the plane from the terrorists. It was what caused us to go into Afghanistan and Iraq even though that wasn’t where the majority of the terrorists came from. 9/11 also caused a lot of panic over air travel and they put heavy security in airports that has lasted for years. After 9/11 there was no air travel in the United States for several days.             

Tri-State Water Wars Liam/Ben

Georgia, Alabama,and Florida have been arguing over something different than who’s better at football for almost 20 years. These three states have been arguing about allocation of water from two large bodies of water that cross their borders. The outcome is a critical, environmental decision in this area. Georgia is trying to make sure that it has enough water for its expanding population especially in metro Atlanta. Alabama is worried that if Atlanta uses too much water it won’t have enough for its needs. Florida wants to make sure that it can sustain its very successful shellfish industry.

Water used to be very abundant, but water issues began with droughts in the 1980s causing debates over water that have gotten progressively worse. The drought in 2007 was the most recent one when Lake Lanier got twenty feet below normal level. Some groups of people are proposing that Lake Lanier be raised two feet above it normal level to add 26 billion gallons of extra storage incase of emergencies. Georgia says it has the right to the water in it’s rivers and lakes, but Alabama and Florida blame Georgia for using to much water and not enough is getting down stream to them and that the lack of water is destroying ecosystems down stream especially in the gulf. 

After the Chattahoochee River enters Florida it becomes the Apalachicola River. By the time the Apalachicola enters the gulf it is very low and polluted. If too little water flows into Apalachicola Bay then salt level increase. This was especially bad during the drought of 2007. The high salt levels kill oysters and other animals caught in commercial fishing. This threatens the lively hood of the fisherman and ruins the local economy because commercial fishing is one of the most important businesses in the region.

The three states are involved in a court case in the United States DistrictCourt. In 2009 the judge ruled that metro Atlanta has very little right to take a lot of water from Lake Lanier even though almost 3 million people in the Atlanta area get most of their water from that lake. Georgia population has doubled since the 1960s and more people means it takes more water to sustain them. The judge has given these three states until July 2012 to negotiate a deal. If these states don’t reach an agreement the judge will order severe limits on the amount of water that can be withdrawn from the lake. The state of Georgia has filed an appeal that will be heard on March 9, 2011.

Georgia must continue to conserve water in order to prepare for the drastic measures that will be imposed in 2011. The Georgia legislature passed some laws in 2010 to help with Conservation. Conservation is important but Georgia needs to find ways to increase their water supply. If Georgia is not alowed to use much water from Lake Lanier this will have a huge impact on the environment, agriculture, and the economy of this state.

Citations: 

"Georgia Once Prayed For Rain, Now Plans For Drought : NPR." NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125190243>. 

"Water Wars Background — Alabama Rivers Alliance." Alabama Water Rally Online Registration Is Open! — Alabama Rivers Alliance. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.alabamarivers.org/current-work/water-wars>. 

"Tri-State Water Wars History." Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.chattahoochee.org/tri-state-water-wars-history.php>. 

"Tri-state Water Wars: Act Now on Water Contingency Plans | Ajc.com." Atlanta News, Sports, Atlanta Weather, Business News | Ajc.com. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.ajc.com/opinion/tri-state-water-wars-527806.html>. 

"Tri-State Water Wars." Southern Environmental Law Center. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.southernenvironment.org/cases/tri_state_water_wars_al_ga_fl>. 

"Arguments Set in Tri-state Water Wars Case." The Augusta Chronicle. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://chronicle.augusta.com/latest-news/2011-01-26/arguments-set-tri-state-water-wars-case>. 

“Chattahoochee From Water Wars to Water Vision”

Tri-State Water Wars Liam/Ben

  Georgia, Alabama,and Florida have been arguing over something different than who’s better at football for almost 20 years.  These three states have been arguing about allocation of water from two large bodies of water that cross their borders. The outcome is a critical, environmental decision in this area.  Georgia is trying to make sure that it has enough water for its expanding population especially in metro Atlanta.  Alabama is worried that if Atlanta uses too much water it won’t have enough for its needs. Florida wants to make sure that it can sustain its very successful shellfish industry.

     Water used to be very abundant, but water issues began with droughts in the 1980s causing debates over water that have gotten progressively worse. The drought in 2007 was the most recent one when Lake Lanier got twenty feet below normal level. Some groups of people are proposing that Lake Lanier be raised two feet above it normal level to add 26 billion gallons of extra storage incase of emergencies. Georgia says it has the right to the water in it’s rivers and lakes, but Alabama and Florida blame Georgia for using to much water and not enough is getting down stream to them and that the lack of water is destroying ecosystems down stream especially in the gulf.

      After the Chattahoochee River enters Florida it becomes the Apalachicola River. By the time the Apalachicola enters the gulf it is very low and polluted. If too little water flows into Apalachicola Bay then salt level increase. This was especially bad during the drought of 2007. The high salt levels kill oysters and other animals caught in commercial fishing. This threatens the lively hood of the fisherman and ruins the local economy because commercial fishing is one of the most important businesses in the region.    

            The three states are involved in a court case in the United States DistrictCourt.  In 2009 the judge ruled that metro Atlanta has very little right to take a lot of water from Lake Lanier even though almost 3 million people in the Atlanta area get most of their water from that lake. Georgia population has doubled since the 1960s and more people means it takes more water to sustain them. The judge has given these three states until July 2012 to negotiate a deal.  If these states don’t reach an agreement the judge will order severe limits on the amount of water that can be withdrawn from the lake.  The state of Georgia has filed an appeal that will be heard on March 9, 2011.

            Georgia must continue to conserve water in order to prepare for the drastic measures that will be imposed in 2011.  The Georgia legislature passed some laws in 2010 to help with Conservation.  Conservation is important but Georgia needs to find ways to increase their water supply. If Georgia is not alowed to use much water from Lake Lanier this will have a huge impact on the environment, agriculture, and the economy of this state.

> NPR- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125190243 

> Alabama Rivers Alliance- http://www.alabamarivers.org/current-work/water-wars 

> Upper Chattahoochee River Keeper- http://www.chattahoochee.org/tri-state-water-wars-history.php

> AJC- Tri-State Water Wars: Act now on contingency plans- http://www.ajc.com/opinion/tri-state-water-wars-527806.html 

> Southern Environmental Law Center- Tri-State Water Wars (AL, GA, FL,- http://www.southernenvironment.org/cases/tri_state_water_wars_al_ga_fl 

> The Augusta Chronicle- Arguments set in tri-state water wars case- http://chronicle.augusta.com/latest-news/2011-01-26/arguments-set-tri-state-water-wars-case   

Water

                                                             

    The world is facing many water issues today. From shrinking water supplies to flooding. By 2050 one third of people will not have access to clean water. Many rivers have become polluted causing animals to go extinct. Farming has drained aquifers and released dangerous pesticides into the environment. Global warming is a major factor in

increasing numbers of droughts and floods.     

     People and organizations like Ryan’s Wells are helping by making wells, so more people can have access to clean water. Farmers are finding new ways of irrigating their crops that do not waste water. Sanitation systems are being built that keep waste from contaminating the water supply and prevent disease. Also there are many projects to help restore environments to their natural state.

    Water allocation is another major issue but it can be solved by using less water and using it more efficiently such as toilets that use less water. The  there will be more water to go around. Water safety can be improved by making laws to prevent companies from releasing waste into the water and by improving sanitation.

    In class we can help solve these problems by using the compost bin that we have sort of forgotten about and we can use less paper because paper takes water to produce and uses trees.