Blogtrek

Drought makes me wet

Yesterday Governor Mark Warner of Virginia issued an executive order to combat the drought in Virginia. Among other things, he prohibited all watering of lawns and washing of cars in residences. Yes, we have been having a severe rain shortage. Only about once a week or less has there been rain all summer long, and usually it is only a fraction of an inch.

But Governor Warner, have you opened your window recently? Don't you see the drought from outside your window? Don't you hear the pitter patter of drought hitting the windows and the roof? Do you see the drought all over the streets, in places collecting in puddles? Have you gone outside recently? Did the drought make you all wet? A lot of us feel our Labor Day weekend has been ruined by drought. Gray drought clouds hover and threaten in the sky, occasionally dumping drought on us and getting us all wet. The weather bureau keeps predicting the sun will come back, but the grayness and the wetness keeps going on and on. Forecasts of sunny turn to gray as we approach them.

To me this is a bad time to issue this edict. We are already having to deal with the rain, clouds, and coolness in what is supposed to be the last weekend of summer in the year. Then we hear that we can't water our lawns because of the drought. Makes one feel like going out and watering anyway just to defy the governor. But that doesn't work, because of the Sprinkling Paradox. You see, with all this water we have been getting lately, including flood warnings, we don't need to water our lawns. The time when we need to water is when there has not been rain for some time; watering merely provides what the skies don't. But that's when they restrict you with this odd-even system and then prohibit you from watering altogether. That's the paradox: If you need to water, you can't; If you can water, you don't need to. Sort of like Catch 22.

I do think we should conserve; flush toilets only when there's brown in it; wash full loads and so forth. But I think Governor Warner should have waited until at least five straight days of rainless weather before issuing this executive order. The worst time to issue it is during the midst of a rainy spell.