ECO Factoids: What's Your Water Footprint?

From MotherJones.com

It isn't only British secret agent James Bond who has Bolivian water hijackers in his sights in the movie, "Quantum of Solace."

The current Mother Jones (July/August) features a provocative report about the world's water--it use and misuse--for food production, consumer and industrial use and the reasons for calculating a "water footprint."

Because an "extreme" stage drought continues for the 23rd month here in Central and South Texas, I have been in a state of shock over the brown lawns and yellowed branches that scream the lack of water.

Thus, this report struck an especially raw nerve. I guess you could say I have water on the brain.

But, as a foreshadowing of the future of on-line journalism and "pay walls," I CANNOT give you a link to read it here.

You MUST PURCHASE the current issue, go to a library or read it at the ever decreasing number of bookstores that carry MJ...to get the whole story. Or wait a couple of months and it will appear on-line.

My apologies to international readers of this blog. Patience.

But here are a few pithy details:

It takes ONE GALLON of water to grow...ONE almond.
ONE cantaloupe = 25 gallons;
ONE apple = 18 gallons;
one pound of chicken = 467 gallons;
one pound of beef = 1,857 gallons;
one pound of cheese = 599 gallons.

*Plus MJ highlights urine?! as a top-rate fertilizer. How it is used in Mexico, Sweden, China and Africa.

*And how the global water trade may leave the poor countries... high and dry.

Cheap cantalopes are plentiful. WHY?

Cantalopes/cantaloupes...are back on sale...AGAIN...at H-E-B stores...the giant Texas grocery chain.

One buck apiece! The same price as a couple of weeks ago.

This follows last week's sale... at a low $.88 each...at Randall's, a hedge-fund owned Safeway...found in some Texas cities.

Cantalopes have been on sale here in Central Texas...for a buck or even less at times...since early spring.

Even tiny Sun Harvest Markets had a brief sale on its lopes...for less than one dollar.

I follow the price of cantalopes because...I consume one per day... when they are in season and reasonably priced.

Why not? I'm watching fat consumption....trying to keep it BELOW 50 grams daily.

Cantalopes are filling...low in fat, mostly water...rich in Vitamins A and C.

But why the continuing low prices... and seemingly big surge in quantity recently?

The quality has been pretty good, too.

I actually bought a giant 5.5 pounder...for a mere buck ...at H-E-B. It was tasty, too!

The reason, apparently, for the surge in cantalopes is...Guatamala.

Most of the early crop came from that small troubled Central American country.

I don't remember the quality and supply from Guatamala... ever being so large.

A caution...many of these giant Guatamalan lopes...don't have the usual belly-button some people use to check for ripeness.

Anyway...Guatamala is showing success in cantalope agriculture.

Guatamala has even overtaken Mexico in lgrowing lopes... now accounting for 41% of US imports...followed by Costa Rica.

More here: http://timcoworldwide.com/statistics_cantaloupe.php

What happened to Mexican production...especially in this Age of NAFTA? Why has it dropped off so rapidly?

And what are the Guatamalans doing to their land and water supplies... to sustain this increase in cantalope production?