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Water: Limitless?

© Bob Ewing

Well, we finally had some rain. Unfortunatley it came in the form of a thunder storm and while there was considerable rain, it was not enough to diminish the number of forest fires that are burning in the region. While, I enjoy the terrifying beauty of lightening is the most frequent cause of fire and while it is a natural process that enables some trees to reproduce, it becomes a problem when human incursion into the ecosystem also causes fires. Now we are not going to be able to, nor should we want to intefere, into the natural processes that keep the Earth's vital force dynamic, we can reduce our impact by considering the consequences before we take an action.

Last week, we explored seeds and their importance within the food system. Seeds can have a long life expectancy and may lie dormant in the ground until they encounter water. Water is essential to the food system right from the beginning, not only to the animals and plants we consume need water to thrive, seeds need water to begin the growing process.

How the grower delviers this water to the crops that we eat or use as fodder varies. Irrigationis necessary when the rainfall in an ecosystem is insufficent to ensure a viable crop. A well is one way to tap into the water supply. Agriculture is a water intensive activity and supply water is a major business.

I know that those of us, who get water, by turning on a tap, may think that water is a limitless resource, but when we begin to realize that the earth's fresh water supply is only 3 per cent of the water on our Blue Planet and that in many parts of the globe, drought is a common occurence, we may then begin to think in terms of water conservation

There are steps we can take, if we are growing our own food; one we can mulch thereby reducing our watering needs. We can take this even further and learn how to xeriscape, a technique that brings us rythm with the land. I do believe that we need to learn this rythm, if we are to prosper and live in harmony with our ecosystem.

Once again, I'd like to thank Barbara Martin, Contributing Editor, Cottage Garden for her excellent links. The site she provided for xeriscaping was very useful. Visiting the other sites here at Suite101 is always inspirational and informative.