By Thomas Creely & Lois Robley
Futurists have predicted that, not too long from now, wars will be fought over precious and scarce water resources instead of oil. Needless to say, the water issue is not just a local problem; it is also a global predicament.
From their rapidly expanding economy, China and India's use and depletion of natural resources is growing speedily. However, and for the moment, our main concern is here at home, in northwest Georgia.
With the increased consumption and waste of water, a war of words has erupted to cast blame for the shortage. Watering lawns, car washes, over-development, fight for control of the Chattahoochee river and Alabama's unrestricted water usage, just to mention a few, are some of the highly touted causes of depleted water resources.
As metro Atlanta faces a looming shortage of water, there has to be a change in lifestyles for the basic needs of people to be met. Certainly, the scarcity of a resource determines its value, and in our case, water is becoming a commodity that is essential to life. This is not just a short-term problem, as water will continue to be an issue for the foreseen future.
The growth and population of Atlanta has drastically changed in the past 17 years. According to census figures, population numbers have grown from 2.9 million people in 1990 to 4.1 million in 2000. More people inevitably mean more water consumption.
According to the New York Times, about 70 percent of the water used in metro Atlanta is drawn from the Chattahoochee River. Numbers show that in 1990, Atlanta pulled about 320 million gallons a day from the river. That number increased to 420 million gallons per day in 2000 and it is estimated that by 2030 that figure will be about 705 million gallons a day - and that's only if we consider ourselves lucky.
Do No Harm
So, who is to blame for this atrocious consumption?
Whether we like or not, in reality, we are all to blame for the impending water crisis and the ethical disregard for its value.
The basic moral principle of "Do no harm" applies to the current water crisis. It is not intentional malice that has caused the water shortage. Rather, our consumerist and materialist lifestyle are direct consequences of our negligence-and that same negligence has inevitably taken us to be wasting water.
Also, there is a clash of technology and nature. The proliferation of technology consumes more water and other natural resources. Technology imposes itself on the environment, thus institutions are threatened. Cultural critic Neil Postman notes, "When institutions are threatened, a culture finds itself in crisis."
Take early history, for example. Baths were taken infrequently, maybe once a week. Later came along indoor plumbing with a tub and a single showerhead. Today, tubs are larger while Jacuzzi jets and showers now have multiple heads that surround the body. Living in the lap of luxury blinds us to the moral principle of "Doing no harm" because our personal desires take precedent over the needs of the community and others.
Negligence towards water resources demonstrates our lack of appreciation, our wastefulness and our ethical lapse. Regardless of whether or not we agree with Nobel Prize recipient Al Gore's politics, he heralds the warning to our consciousness to preserve our resources. In our postmodern society of progressive technology and competing values, we take for granted bodies of water, large forests and clean air. Being conservators of our natural resources, we are faced with an ethical imperative to reduce water usage and consumption through self-regulation. Everyone has an ethical responsibility to take action in conserving water.
One definition of ethics is the "ought" of right behavior toward others and the environment. What is our ethical behavior toward the precious natural resource, water? Do we allow faucets to drip, water run in the sink, take long showers or run the dishwasher half-full?
Have various industries and corporations included into their strategic plan the need to preserve and conserve natural resources they use for their products? In order to develop an ethical perspective of conserving water and respect for others and their fair use of resources, our environmental moral conscience has to be heightened.
Navy Showers
If schools, houses of worship, businesses, industries, governments and homes developed a greater awareness of water usage and waste in response to the ethical imperative, the water shortage might be alleviated until sufficient rain falls.
Suggestions include tightening faucets, replacing the washer, not watering the grass and washing the vehicles less frequently. Taking "Navy showers" saves a tremendous amount of water. A Navy shower is getting wet, shampooing and soaping up and then rinsing off.
It is time for people to take a minute to examine our individual and collective behavior toward responsible water use. This effort should be designed and coordinated through the State of Georgia and in collaboration with county and municipal governments to realize the effect in the workforce and homes.
Once the Almighty blesses us with sufficient water for metro Atlanta it cannot be business as before. Our moral behavior towards the environment must change or a major crisis will loom in the future.
Dr. Tom Creely, Ph.D., is assistant professor of leadership and Dr. Lois Robley, Ph.D., is professor of ethics at the Siegel Institute for Leadership, Ethics and Character at Kennesaw State University.
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Posted Comments
After the water is "used", what happens to it? It either goes into the ground to replenish aquifers or is treated and returned to the river for use downstream. If Atlanta and Lake Lanier didn't exist today, there would be less rather than more water flowing in the Chattahoochee to Alabama and Florida.