SE Farmers Seeing "Nothing But Dust" - Spring @ Jack Daniels Distillery Down By 2/3

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The Birmingham, Ala., area has some of the toughest repercussions for those who ignore its ban on using lawn sprinklers or who decide to wash their cars in driveways. Residents are being told to use hand sprayers or fill buckets to water their flowers and grass. In the city of Birmingham, violators face hefty surcharges for using more than the allotted amount of water. In Atlanta, where rapid growth is contributing to the water shortage, outdoor water use is banned during the week. In suburban Forsyth County, violators can receive up to $1,000 in fines and up to 60 days in jail for the second violation. The fire chief in suburban Roswell, Ga., is considering banning 4th of July fireworks in that city, fearing that a spark could ignite fires.

Extreme drought in at least 95 Georgia counties has hurt the state's $54 billion agricultural industry. Officials said farmers throughout the South are being hit hard, with losses to cotton, peanuts and corn. Farmers in California, Kentucky and Alabama are selling their herds because of a shortage of hay needed to feed them. "Farmers are reporting nothing but dust. It's dire straits," LeComte said.

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Jerry Hamilton, the distillery plant manager for Jack Daniel's in Lynchburg, Tenn., told The Associated Press recently that the stream that supplies iron-free water for its whiskey recipe was flowing about one-third to half its normal rate. Officials said the distillery is conserving the water from Cave Spring, which has been used for 140 years, using it only for whiskey.

South Carolina and North Carolina are battling over the Catawba River, which provides drinking water and electricity for the two states. South Carolina has filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to ban a plan by two suburbs of Charlotte to pump up to 10 million gallons of water a day from the river. Unless a resolution is found quickly, the states could end up in a water war like the one involving Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Those states have been locked in a court battle for 16 years over how to share the water in the Chattahoochee River.

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-waterwars_glantonjun19,1,6204601.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

" ... the stream that supplies iron-free water for its whiskey recipe was flowing about one-third to half its normal rate ... "


Suddenly, the Bush Administration is concerned about global warming!! :rofl:

I was under the impression from the OP that this was over water supply and the way it is handled by the states in question.

I imagine things will become more contentious, to the extent that there is less and less to share.

Not a happy thought - just ask California and Arizona - parties to the longest-running federal lawsuit in history, IIRC.

Water release from dams, aquafers and rivers that cross multiple state borders, etc are going to really get people pissed off soon.

Migrants from other states will face many of the same obstacles as migrants from other nations such as Mexico.

Just look at DU, where we often see extremist North/South prejudices expressed.

State borders will draw the same sorts of "minutemen" vigilantes as the Mexican border does if things get too ugly.

of the vast lakes of fresh water to their north, and they'll set about various legal strategies to pipe it down for their use and our detriment, that is to those of us who enjoy the water here, where it is, thank you very much.

However, since many of them erroneously think the world is only 6,000 years old, I wonder if they will be as deficient in geography, resulting in their buying of pipes that are much too short.

edited for spelling

Whilst your hope is a good idea ...

> However, since many of them erroneously think the world is
> only 6,000 years old, I wonder if they will be as deficient
> in geography, resulting in their buying of pipes that are
> much too short.

... I would suggest that a more reliable approach is to persuade
them that, as their faith in Someone's imminent return is obviously
so great, they should just eke out the last few gallons and wait ...

Surely they wouldn't be so weak and unworthy as to expect their
saviour to let them down?

They should all prove themselves by waiting in their little desert,
watering the Lord's golf-courses in anticipation of a holy 18 holes
in the near future.

:-)

The rest may follow.

I'd rather have newcomers resettle places like Gary, Buffalo, Detroit and numerous other smaller cities near the Lakes than have that precious water piped south and west.

As a Michigan ex-pat who wants to retire back home, I'd just like to remind everyone that the water must be cleaned up after use! No one wants to go back to the period before the various federal and state anti-pollution laws. I count myself among that group and speak from experience.

when he asserts that the sunbelt will suffer in the 1st half of this Century to the extent that it prospered in the second half of the last....

Water rights are only the beginning.

absurdly happy. so damn good to finally be having some rain storms.

Lake Okeechobee is the main water source for much of Southern Florida, including the millions that live between West Palm Beach and Miami. The lake is currently over five feet below normal, and becoming a mud mess. Water table in the area falling rapidly and salt water intrustion increasing in coastal areas.

Pictures of puny Lake Okeechobee (used to be SE biggest lake)
http://stormvideographer.com/blog/2007/04/04/florida-drought-2007-photos-and-video/

On Tuesday, Broward County commissioners will consider directing its attorney to write a countywide ordinance that would limit most lawn watering to three days a week. Miami-Dade officials are working on a similar law that could reach commissioners in a few months, said Frank Calderon, spokesman for the water and sewer department.
Water restrictions imposed by the South Florida Water Management District will remain in effect during the drought. That limits residents to generally watering once a week in Broward and twice a week in Miami-Dade.

Okeechobee ties record low as drought persists (major fire breaks out in dry lake bottom)
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/30/lake.level.ap/index.html

"Farmers ... are selling their herds because of a shortage of hay "

A guy drove 4 hours through to the state just for the chance to pay $5 per square bale !! Thats a 100% markup and he didnt even blink an eye. 400 bales @ 5$ per. 2000 bucks just like that. And he was HAPPY to do it. There is very little hay this year.

:crazy: