Department of Agriculture
#9
(08-11-2012, 01:44 AM)Taem Wrote: But of course, something that seems so simplistic on the outside must have it's flaws, so I really must be missing something. Besides, I think if I'm not mistaken, each state has it's own department. That would definitely complicate things. Thoughts?

edit: yeah, I just reread this post, and I'm realizing that it is meandering, argumentative, just slightly on-topic, and frankly not my best work. However, I don't have time right now to write something shorter and better, so y'all get the first things that came to my mind.

Mmmmm. Water rights...

First, I think you'd be barking at the wrong tree with this focus on the Ag dept. I believe natural resources come under the Department of the Interior (which is, in fact, responsible for things outside).

And then...
Let me pose the following situation: the state of Maryland owns the water rights for the Potomac River from the Maryland shore to the Virginia shore. However, tributary-front communities in the Commonwealth of Virginia tenaciously defend their rights to a) withdraw water from, and b) discharge into contiguous waters up until the point that the tributary ends, and the Potomac begins. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is charged with preserving the ecosystems of these tributaries, but does not have jurisdiction over the river itself. VADEQ conducts inspections of regulated entities on riverfront property: do they have the power to regulate pollution discharged into the Potomac river directly? If the facility declares that they hold a discharge permit from the appropriate authority in MD, does VADEQ have a responsibility to investigate?
- What about facilities in Arlington county and the City of Alexandria? The shore on the other side is not the state of Maryland (it is Washington DC for those not familiar with Northern Virginia geography): this section of the river is controlled by neither MD nor VA, and falls to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency, a federal body).
- What about federal facilities along the river (like the various military bases in the area)? Their use of water is technically regulated by the state or commonwealth that regulates the water in question, however, in practice, the facilities in general view their control of the land as granting them control of the related waters.

I guess that was all to illustrate a particular point: Water rights are like minefields - best not set foot in there, unless you've got the right protective gear to clean up the whole thing.

The American view of natural resources as being owned by the first person to stake and defend a claim is not the most open to sharing resources across jurisdictions. As you say, buying and selling of resources does fit this mindset, but I imagine that there will be a number of entities who would line up against the redistribution of natural resources simply because it sounds like the redistribution of wealth.

Oh, and be ready to revive and consolidate all the discussion we've had, and others have had about invasive microorganisms.

Oh, another thing, who actually gets paid for the water that gets sold? Who does ocean water belong to? Local governments, state governments, and the federal government, along with private landholders might lay a claim to coastal waters.

Don't get me wrong: bringing water to areas suffering drought could solve a number of problems. My concerns are about how many of those problems represent root causes. On some fundamental level, the impact of drought is driven by the need for food (or ethanol depending on the crop that's drying up). If there were simply fewer people in the world, there would be less demand for food (and ethanol), making it easier to abandon agriculture in the drought prone areas of the world. But I'm not sure the modern human spirit is inclined to settle for anything less than total comfort, regardless of how much it may impact their future.
but often it happens you know / that the things you don't trust are the ones you need most....
Opening lines of "Psalm" by Hey Rosetta!
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Messages In This Thread
Department of Agriculture - by Taem - 08-11-2012, 01:44 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Jester - 08-11-2012, 11:21 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Taem - 08-13-2012, 12:51 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Jester - 08-13-2012, 10:35 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Treesh - 08-12-2012, 01:33 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by DeeBye - 08-12-2012, 04:18 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by LochnarITB - 08-12-2012, 04:43 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by LavCat - 08-12-2012, 05:55 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Maitre - 08-13-2012, 01:38 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by kandrathe - 08-13-2012, 03:34 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Jester - 08-13-2012, 04:09 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by kandrathe - 08-13-2012, 04:30 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Taem - 08-13-2012, 06:42 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Mavfin - 08-13-2012, 08:56 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by kandrathe - 08-13-2012, 09:58 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Kevin - 08-13-2012, 10:01 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by kandrathe - 08-14-2012, 01:41 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by shoju - 08-15-2012, 07:45 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by kandrathe - 08-15-2012, 08:57 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Taem - 08-16-2012, 12:40 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by kandrathe - 08-16-2012, 03:28 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Jester - 08-16-2012, 10:45 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by kandrathe - 08-16-2012, 03:39 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by shoju - 08-16-2012, 08:28 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by kandrathe - 08-17-2012, 02:47 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by eppie - 08-22-2012, 07:59 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Lissa - 08-23-2012, 01:10 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by eppie - 08-23-2012, 09:21 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Lissa - 08-24-2012, 01:47 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by eppie - 08-24-2012, 05:52 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Lissa - 08-24-2012, 06:14 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by eppie - 08-27-2012, 02:24 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by kandrathe - 08-27-2012, 03:33 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Lissa - 08-27-2012, 03:43 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by NuurAbSaal - 09-10-2012, 08:41 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Lissa - 09-11-2012, 02:48 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Jester - 09-11-2012, 04:30 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Taem - 10-02-2012, 03:37 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by kandrathe - 08-23-2012, 10:09 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Kevin - 08-23-2012, 12:44 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by eppie - 08-23-2012, 01:35 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Kevin - 08-23-2012, 03:01 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by eppie - 08-24-2012, 05:36 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Tal - 08-24-2012, 03:51 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Jester - 08-24-2012, 04:21 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Tal - 08-24-2012, 04:37 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by shoju - 08-24-2012, 06:48 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by eppie - 08-24-2012, 06:16 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Tal - 08-24-2012, 08:51 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by kandrathe - 08-23-2012, 09:43 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Hammerskjold - 08-23-2012, 11:54 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by kandrathe - 08-24-2012, 06:56 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Hammerskjold - 08-24-2012, 05:21 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by kandrathe - 08-25-2012, 12:05 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by eppie - 08-25-2012, 06:30 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by kandrathe - 08-25-2012, 09:09 AM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by eppie - 08-25-2012, 12:56 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by shoju - 08-23-2012, 02:39 PM
RE: Department of Agriculture - by Hammerskjold - 08-23-2012, 08:10 PM

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