The term, which President Truman later turned into a famous political slogan, refers to the action a poker dealer would take after dealing a hand. A ‘buck’ referred to a knife or other weapon that the dealer literally passed to the player beside him – in case he should be tempted to cheat the deck.

I have managed to tweak enough attitudes as of late with my assault on gasoline/oil producing companies. Maybe it’s time I drift into a diatribe about a slowly disappearing product we use every day; fresh water.

Got a pop quiz for ya…

How much water is used in the U.S. every day?

a) Enough to cover the entire U.S. under one foot of water
b) Enough to cover the state of Rhode Island under one foot of water
c) Enough to cover the State of Rhode Island under 20 feet of water

Now before you all go out and find a tree for the noose, hang (pun intended) in there a bit. Water is 72% of what this planet is made of. So it’s not going to outright disappear (unlike oil). The same amount exists today as it did millions of years ago. But water evaporates, coalesces in clouds, falls as rain, seeps into the earth, gathers in pools and aquifers, and emerges in springs to feed rivers and lakes.

But 97 percent of it is in the oceans, where it’s useless unless the salt can be removed. Water fit for drinking, irrigation, and other human uses can’t always be found where people need it, and it’s heavy and expensive to transport. Like oil, water is not equitably distributed or respectful of political boundaries. Almost 50 percent of the world’s freshwater lies in a half-dozen lucky countries.

Fresh drinkable water is the ultimate renewable resource. However, as a people, we are extracting and polluting it faster than it can be replenished. Rampant economic growth, more homes, more businesses, more water-intensive products and processes, a rising standard of living, has simply outstripped our already dwindling supply. And the replenishment cycle is growing less predictable as climate change alters established temperature patterns around the world.

The Thirst of Nations

It’s actually not all bad news. We have managed to up the anti in our daily water savings efforts. Water savings from programs that concentrate hydro resources during summer months, when water is scarcer, should be valued higher than saving from programs that lead to more uniform water usage throughout the year, because these water savings reduce peak water needs.

There is also a buzzword that has found it way into our daily jargon; “conservation”. Using less water puts less pressure on our sewage treatment facilities. Saving water also saves energy. As a nation we have turned into water conservationists of a sort. Some of us use less water than we did ten years ago. Others are finding ways to make what we have go farther.

We, as a nation, must turn to making the most efficient use of the water that we already have. Technology can help. But the larger issue is conceptual: We must view efficiency itself as a source of water and tap this hidden wellspring. Americans already use 20 percent less water than they did a generation ago. Gains in industrial use are even more impressive: A ton of US steel manufactured today requires just 2 percent of the water it did in the 1940s. Still, we are using more than we have. Can we change enough, and soon enough?

At some point, as a water consuming nation, we need to point out to the world that, with regards to water conservation, “the buck stops here”!

By the way… the correct answer is B.

Until next week…