OPINION
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University Daily Kansan, June 27, 1984
Page 4
The University Daily KANSAN
Published since 1889 by students of the University of Kansas
The University Daily
KANSAN
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JAMES BOLE KAREN DAVIS
Editor Business Manager
SHARON BODIN JILL GOLDBLATT
Managing Editor Retail Sales Manager
JILL CASEY ROB LEONARD
Campus Editor National Sales Manager
CHARLES HIMMELBERG KRISTINE MATT
Editorial Editor Classified and Campus Sales Manager
MIKE KAUTSCH JOHN OBERZAN
News Adviser General Manager and
Sales and Marketing Advisor
Avoiding the falls
The "water crisis" is an issue that threatens to become the "energy crisis" of the next generation. Like the energy crisis, the time to act is before the fact. The following analogy written by Massachusetts Sen. Paul Tsongas in "The Road From Here" illustrates the importance of identifying such crises well in advance.
"So you lean back in the canoe and face the sun. Eventually, both you and your companion will notice or hear the waterfall. One characteristic of a waterfall, however, is that it is best seen, and its danger best appreciated, as one is about to go over it. It provides no real warning.
"The crucial area — the 'decision zone' — is that portion of the river where one can still reach the shore. Its most crucial characteristic is time — time to make an unpleasant, chilly, exhausting splash for survival. Obviously, the sooner the decision is made within the decision zone, the less difficult and less hazardous the venture."
"Your companion assures you that although he's never been down this stretch of the river, all is well. Why would there be a waterfall beyond that wide bend ahead? Besides, the only alternative is to jump into the chilly water and swim ashore, and who wants to do that?"
'Let me draw an analogy. Imagine yourself with a friend gliding peacefully down river in a canoe without paddles. The spring weather is pleasant, the river is swift and cold. The lack of steerage is of some concern, but the long trip has been successful and the sun's rays are hypnotically warming. Suddenly you see, on the distant shore, a man jumping up and down, frantically waving his arms and shouting. The voice carries poorly, but you think you hear the word 'waterfall'.
"Our mythical canoeist eventually reaches a point of no return, the area closest to the waterfall where it's already too late to swim ashore.
Bury this dinosaur
Kansas liquor laws are dinosaurs: cumbersome, out-dated and stupid.
The water crisis is today in the decision zone.
During the early ages of Kansas' statehood, temperance ruled the land. In 1880, the following statement was added to Kansas' Constitution: "The manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors shall be forever prohibited in this state except for medical, scientific and mechanical purposes."
Forever lasted until 1948 — almost 15 years after the end of Prohibition. It was then that legislators watered down the constitution to appease pro-liberal groups without offending the still powerful dry forces.
The University Daily Kansan welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be typewritten on two sheets of paper, double-spaced and should not exceed 400 words. They should include the writer's name, address and phone number. If the writer is affiliated with the University, the letter should include his class and home town or faculty or staff position. The Kansan also invites individuals and groups to submit guest columns. Columns and letters can be mailed or brought to the Kansan office, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit or reject letters and columns.
Section 10 of Article 15 of the Kansas Constitution was amended to read: "The Legislature may provide for the prohibition of intoxicating liquors in certain areas. Subject to the foregoing, the Legislature may regulate, license and tax the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors, and may regulate the possession and transportation of intoxicating liquors. The open saloon shall be and is hereby forever prohibited."
This lumbering legislative reptile, and its numerous offspring, have led to a confusing system of two drinking ages, private clubs and 3.2 percent beer taverns.
LETTERS POLICY
It's time to bury this anachronism.
Water: An unlimited resource?
Contaminating our future
Water, water everywhere
And all the boards did shrink
Water, water everywhere
Nor any drop to drink.
Little did Samuel Taylor Coleridge know when he drew this picture of supernatural horror in the 'Ancient Mariner' that one day this would ring so true. The United States today faces that very unpleasant situation — contaminated water.
Contamination is especially troubling when it invades ground water. Unlike surface water, ground water moves extremely slow, and once contaminated, may remain so for thousands of years.
"Contrary to popular belief," says David Burmacher, senior analyst, Urban Systems Research and Engineering, Inc., Cambridge, Mass. "Sound water does not flow in underdrain rivers. That is a red herring."
Surface water and shallow ground water, by contrast, remain of relatively higher quality due to the presence of microbes and oxygen in the soil which breakdown and remove many of the contaminants from the water.
A basic principle of refrigeration occurs deep within the earth. The cold, dark and sterile environment of the aquifer acts as a refrigerator and preserves the contaminants.
Even when polluted, there is hope that this water may be recoverable. Not so with ground water.
Tracing many problems to irrigation, agriculture experts say that irrigation water, unlike rainwater, is not as good for the soil when the water evaporates.
The presence of salts affects the structure, permeability and aeration of the soil. These changes seriously affect the crop growth and can render once fertile fields unproductive. The cumulative build-up of salts is an issue that has caught the attention of concerned farmers; many of whom have already noticed the effects.
the productivity of land that these policies are causing.
Solutions offered by state agricultural departments include the possibility of a return to dryland agricultural production, as opposed to irrigated lands, the implementation of better management of water resources, and using surplus local water to recharge ground water.
Burmaster says, "Crop reductions due to increased salinization can cause major economic, political, and social effects. Many ancient civilizations — especially those in the Fertile Crescent, the broad valley formed by the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers in what is now Iraq — rose by irrigated agriculture. Although these societies suffered wars, plagues, and floods and other human problems, salinization is generally attributed to be the cause of their demise."
Although the short term benefits of irrigation have been spectacular, the long term harmful effects cannot be ignored.
The future of Kansas farming
Irrigation is the lifeblood of agriculture in Western Kansas. Nearly one third of the total crop acreage in this part of the state relies on irrigation. Of all the water used in Western Kansas, 99 percent is used for irrigation, and 99 percent of that water comes from the now famous Gallala Aquifer.
The Ogallala Aquifer is a huge underground layer of water-bearing rock that extends from the northernmost edge of Nebraska and into the heart of Texas. The western one-third of Kansas lies above this enormous underground reservoir, and for the past 30 years, farmers in this region have drawn extensively upon it for irrigation.
CHARLES
HIMMELBERG
Editorial Editor
Beyond the threat of contaminated drinking water lies the decrease in
At the human level, these agricultural practices are leading to an increasingly omnine scenario water unsafe for any kind of consumption.
The problem is easy to understand. The Ogallala Aquifer took millions of years to form, and water withdrawn from the aquifer is replenished very slowly. It recharges at a rate of 32 million acre feet per year, but it is mined at a rate of about four million acre feet per year. Withdrawals in excess of recharge have made this water a threatened resource.
Testinging before Congress in 1981. Harry Mangus, a professor of agricultural engineering at Kansas State University, said that at the
Staff Columnist
KALPANA
TRIVADI
The overwhelming source of contamination is the constant use of pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides that leads to a buildup of toxic organic chemicals. Another source of contamination is the use of chemical fertilizers which contribute to contamination by nitrates, substances which have been identified as possible carcinogens.
Much of the contamination occurs because of the agricultural practices of the United States.
depletion rate existing in 1975, the water supply would last another 75 years, or until the year 2050. As with so many other resources once thought to be in abundant supply, the future availability of water is forcing a re-evaluation of its use and conservation.
The future, however, is not so bleak. There are many ways in which farming can adjust to a sustainable level of water usage. The most feasible solution in the short term is efficient water management. This involves the use of leaf-dependent crop species and varieties. In example, is expected to drop to 10 percent of its present level as it is replaced by more efficient water users such as wheat.
Many of these conservation techniques will implement themselves in much the same way that higher gas prices forced consumers to buy fuel efficient cars and drive less. As the water level in the aquifer gets lower, and fuel prices get higher, it will become more expensive to run the pumps that bring the water to the surface. Profit maximization will dictate the use of less water and more efficient farming strategies.
According to study conducted by Orlan Burier, an agricultural economist at Kansas State University, irrigated lands will decrease significantly as they are replaced by dryland farming. In 1977, irrigated lands constituted more than one third of the land farmed in Western Kansas. As dryland methods come into wider use, irrigated acreage is predicted to decrease 19 percent by 1985; 52 percent by 1990; 57 percent by 2000; and nearly 75 percent by 2020.
In spite of the reduction in irrigated lands, crop yields are expected to continue improving. This will be the result of improved crop varieties, crops better suited to semi-arid climates, improved irrigation systems and smarter water usage.
Other suggested solutions are unlikely to help in the foreseeable future Recharging the aquifer, importing water from distant sources and weather modification are all under consideration, but they will have to overcome considerable barriers before they can be expected to have a significant effect. Recharging and importation are now technically and economically prohibitive, and weather modification may never be a viable alternative.
The real promise lies in the ability to improve dryland farming techniques rather than in the creation of artificial climates such as irrigation has attempted to do in recent years. With continued research in this direction, and the inevitable advances which are still to come in fields such as genetic engineering, Kansas will not likely lose its role as the breadbasket of America.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Parallels unfair
Dear editor:
Charlie Himmelberg's column in the June 20 edition of the University Daily Kansan concerned the forthcoming economic position paper of the U.S. Catholic bishops. The simplemindedness displayed in this editorial leads me to wonder if the only reason for its publication was to elicit responses from readers. Surely Himmelberg's true views were not accurately reflected in his column!
I am not certain if Himmelberg had access to an early draft of the pastoral letter, or if he wrote on what he imagined such a letter would contain. I have not had the opportunity to read the manuscript and, therefore, do not know for certain if the bishops are making precise economic policy suggestions. I suspect that their letter will not contain detailed recommendations on monetary or fiscal policies.
Himmelberg is correct in deducing that the bishops are not economists. What Himmelberg obviously does not grasp is the fact that economic issues are deeply embedded in the morals and values of the society in which we live. In a free society, citizens express these values through the election of public policy makers. Our social values thereby influence the economic policies of our government.
The weather here has been great very little of the expected drizzle.
The bishops may not be trained economists, but millions of Americans desire the bishops' opinions on matters concerning both public and private morality. In this country, the existence of hungry children or poor health care for the elderly should raise moral concerns. It is clear that the bishares are not outside their responsibilities in addressing these "economic issues." Encouraging the
development of a human system in values is a responsibility we all share — even bishops.
Himmelberg's ignorance of economics can be tolerated. The ignorance he displayed in referring to the bishops as a "giddy" group, along with the unfair parallel he draws between this letter and Copernicus, the 14th century astronomer, is nothing more than prejudicial journalism. The editorial was a refinement of the same ignorance contained in "The Pope's Secrets," a pamphlet published by the Alamo Christian Foundation.
When Himmelberg begins to develop the skills of a responsible journalist, he will show greater concern for substance in his columns. I hope that this learning period will be short lived and less offensive in the future.
John Murry,
Lawrence graduate student
The bishops' role
Dear editor:
Charles Himmelberg is distressed that the U.S. Catholic bishops would have the presumption to address such "highly technical and secular" subjects as economic planning, unemployment, poverty and welfare, and international trade. He implies that only trained economists are qualified to speak on these subjects.
But the fact that after years of study, economists themselves cannot come to an agreement on economic policy does not mean that concerned individuals cannot have some understanding of how economic policies affect them. To say so is outright academic snobbery.
It is also simplistic to say that the Catholic church should stick to spiritual guidance and stay out of secular teachings such as economics. It is impossible to seperate the two so neatly.
The Catholic church must be concerned with the quality of human life, and certainly government economic policy affects the quality of our lives. I would not advocate that the church dictate government policy, but church leaders are educated people, as well as citizens, and have the right to speak on behalf of their constituents. In fact, in light of their position, one might say they have the duty Martin Luther King put it much better than I could:
"Any religion which professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the social and economic conditions that scar the soul, is a spiritually morbund religion only waiting for the day to be buried."
I cannot help but wonder whether Himmelberg is disturbed that religious leaders would attempt to address economics, or simply that "non-expert" would. I am disturbed that either idea would bother him.
weeks at the University of Manchester Institute for science and technology. While here, we are having summer editions of the University Daily Kansan sent to us. We have been here less than a week and still feel cut off.
Dear editor:
Joseph Reichlin, Lawrence senior
A distant letter
This is just a distant location checking in on Lawrence, Kansas, from Manchester, England. Eighteen KU students, including myself, and one other student from the University of Wyoming are studying international business for eight
I thought you might enjoy some observations to share with your readers.
It is difficult to compare Manchester and Lawrence since this city is more like Pittsburgh of Detroit. It's a working class city of several hundred thousand. Instead of a small, green, bucolic setting, we commute by bus to a city campus crossed by a rail line and a super highway (an "M"). Parts of the school date back to 1830 and it shows. This is the birthplace of the industrial revolution.
You really appreciate the U.S. after only a short stay. We go to McDonalds to make us feel at home. Radio and television selection is very limited — about three channels each. They complain about American television, yet it import shows like "Manimal" and believe it is our best.
It is difficult to get about. You miss your car, the shops close early, and the desire to call out for pizza at midnight is very strong.
The people are pleasant, but they abbrev U.S. policies, especially Ronald Reagan. We are seen as arrogant, anti-communist bullies.
Students here have it pretty poor Until recently they went three years without knowing how well they were doing until one major exam made or broke them.
We look forward to hearing from you, in the paper of course.
Peter Lorenzi.
associate professor of business