New York Renovator

Short answer: YES.

Long answer: Depends on what state you live, and depends on the outcome of new bills coming through the U.S. Congress, as they seem to making up new and stupid ones every day….

From what I have ascertained so far, it is illegal to collect rainwater in the following states:

• Utah
• Washington State
• New Mexico
• Colorado– although I JUST saw a news story published this week that says this has changed. BUT it appears that city dwellers who rely on municipal water cannot collect rainwater.

I also heard that in 1998 the UN past a resolution that all water on the planet is to be commercial, to be bought or sold like, you know, an XBox or something. GRRR. Now I have not confirmed this, but if anyone has any input, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll check it out. Also, there was a “water war” in Bolivia after the country privatized their water resources, and then a company from the U.S. (Bechtel) won a contract for the resources. Immediately, the company had the collection of rainwater outlawed because they wanted a complete monopoly on the resource. People colecting rainwater cut in to their profits.

Now, some of the water laws, especially for the western states, go way back– back to when the area was owned by Spain. Water is a precious resource over there. BUT, this law is being stretched. The laws state that you can’t divert streams or suck lakes dry for your own use. Sure, I understand that– evil people were crooks and stole the water resources. Bad. OK. But some states are suddenly interpreting this to mean that people can’t collect rain in rain barrels?! That’s dumb. The government does NOT own the rain. It’s ridiculous for the government to PRESUME to be able to CONTROL the rain and it’s diversions, as well. If those old water laws are now being interpreted so as to place more restrictions and heavier burdens on citizens, and line the pockets of Big Business and their Government Buddies, that’s tyranny. That’s all there is to it.

You know, we Americans ARE the government. We abide by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Dare I say that we do not have to obey de facto laws and we have the right to redress the government for grievances. These things are really going waaaay too far in this country.

I’m pretty excited about the new push for renewable energy in the country. Of course, I don’t think our economy should be brought to its knees before anyone does anything about it– our country should have been preparing for these things long ago.

A news story in my local area recently said that a “green” economy would mean good news for Upstate New York. Great news!

A new report says almost 132,000 new jobs could be created in New York state, and more than 2 million nationwide, by making investments that aim to reduce dependence on oil.

[A] report from a University of Massachusetts think-tank wants to use $100 billion in federal money over two years for so-called “green” projects. New York’s share would be about $7 billion. The money would be spent on projects like weatherizing buildings, improving mass transit and making the electric-distribution system more efficient.

That’s pretty cool, BUT there’s a caveat: the use of “carbon offsets” money to fund this idea.

The plan calls for the money to come from a “cap-and-trade” program to require energy producers to pay for the right to emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere — an idea that passed the U.S. House earlier this year but died in the Senate.

New York has established a similar program with nine other states in the Northeast, which will be implemented early next year.

Honestly, I think the idea behind carbon offsets is silly. And I am not convinced that “global warming” exists, especially when it’s being touted as a way to control people and world economies. Aren’t there better ways to encourage alternative energy and efficiency in our living spaces?

But I’m happy to see that thrift, resourcefulness, and sustainability are becoming the new trends. It’s about time! Now, if we can only get rid of scheming politicians and corporations’ “planned obsolescence”…

Photo courtesy of thinkpanama at Flickr.

I’ve said it numerous times before and I’m still saying it– the economy in the United States as well as the rest of the industrialized world is undergoing a radical change. Our lifestyles of excessive waste and consumerism are rapidly going by the wayside. I think we are going to see a need for more frugal living.

For many years, I’ve watched the demographics of American communities change. Remember in the 1950s, there was this trend of expansion? This was the time of the automobile, the shopping malls, the suburban development, the “plastic” age. Our society was built on the production and consumption of affordable petroleum. It was a big artificial bubble built on a shaky kind of prosperity (foreign oil and foreign goodwill). Things have changed. Now that world governments are ruining the economies and the food supply, I think we will have to change our way of life to adapt.

For example, my nearest grocery store is two towns away. That’s over 3 miles, and I am one of the closer ones! Some people have to drive 30 miles– THIRTY MILES– to get groceries. I’ve heard of some people getting scooters or mules or horses for transportation, but here in the Northeast, it is impossible to go that far to get groceries without a vehicle and gasoline. What happens when owning a vehicle and buying gasoline is no longer affordable (and I believe this will happen)?

Our modern society has been built on the automobile. There once was a small mom-and-pop grocery store down the street, but they closed about ten years ago because they couldn’t compete with WalMart, (just 10 miles, but a whopping 25 minutes away). And my town has “sections” of development that were concocted in the 1960s– a section for shopping (and the traffic is crazy there!), a section for housing, a section for government offices, etc. American state and town governments have basically eliminated the community. Anyone remember when we used to have communities– you know, the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, lol. You knew who your grocer was, your postman, your doctor, etc, and everyone was close by. You didn’t have to drive 20 miles to buy clothes or 15 miles to see the family doctor. Today everything is so far removed, and cold and antiseptic. I think we are going to see a huge change because this kind of lifestyle is no longer sustainable. I hate to admit it as much as anyone, but I really don’t think gasoline prices, energy prices, and taxes are going to go down.

What irks me is the mindset of so many “greenies.” It’s so very popular to live “green,” to do things the “green” way… but what good is it to recycle your plastics and still drive an SUV? You are canceling out any benefits you might offer. Going “green” is a lifestyle; it’s not a good deed you do once in a while to make yourself feel good or earn a gold star in school. And it’s not a laborless lifestyle, either; going green is HARD WORK.

Maybe I’m ranting a little… but I see an earth-shaking change coming and if we want to make it through, we need to realize that we need to change ourselves. We are going to have to build local communities again, just to be able to meet our basic needs. I think the time of excessive, individualistic living is over.