She's All Wet

Carole C. Burnett is an Eastern Orthodox Christian living in Silver Spring, Maryland who graduated in 1988 from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC, and taught there briefly. She may have contributed $700 to Obama's campaign. She supports divestment as an effective measure to offset Israel's policies.

Here she is:



She, it would seem, has a letter-to-the-editor in the Washington Post, Water Grab in the West Bank and mentions that

...water resources are being diverted from Palestinian towns into settlements and that this theft can only increase as consumption within the settlements increases. On average, one settler uses five times as much water as one Palestinian in the West Bank. As settlers pour copious quantities of water on their emerald lawns, nearby Palestinian families often encounter dry faucets, forcing them to purchase water -- water that is sometimes delivered in unsanitary containers, causing illness...In addition to this diversion of water, the settlers are polluting Palestinian agricultural lands by dumping garbage and industrial waste...

What's wrong with this?

Well, in the most basic way, according to Ms. Burnett, any growth in population is problematic. If so, and if there is a water scarcity, and there is, that must be solved since I presume should would want the Arab populace to grow.

Secondly, that figure of 5:1, even if correct, is based on the fact that the Jewish population, as I once said on air in a debate with Amiram Goldblum of Peace Now some 20 years ago, employs more machines (dishwashers, washing machines, etc.) on the average than the Arab population. I even think we take more showers and at many communities we have swimming pools. Although we do have less livestock that drinks water, I don't have exact figures for the water consumption. As for agriculture, we have introduced hi-tech water drip systems, mini-hothouse systems, etc. So Ms. Burnett really doesn't know much except the propaganda she is fed.

I have blogged about the fact that the Pals. refuse to cooperate or coordinate water-treating projects for waste with Jewish communities so it is their fault more progress is not made (another story here). In addition, Pals. literally steal water, some of it their own water from themselves, as has been proven especially in the Hebron area by hooking into pipes illegally and using copious amounts of water without paying. And their water pipe infrastructure is, literally, full of holes.

As for sewerage, try this Gaza tale.

In short, the facts are not all the facts and neither are the facts facts.

And the major issue is that if the Pals. get a state, they will cut off Israel's water, over one-thrid of which comes from the underground acquifers located in Samaria. See this
and look at this:



and she should see this book.

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and at second comment on the Post site

Does the WaPo print any lie that besmirches Israel? Carole Burnett repeats the canard of Israelis using five times more water than Palestinians. A study, "Water for the Future," by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences along with their Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli counterparts ten years ago, found little difference between water consumption in Israeli and Palestinian urban areas. “Per capita water use for urban Palestinians reaches a maximum of 100 cubic meters a year, similar to Israeli use.” The study suggests that low figures for rural Palestinians “is likely to increase with improvement in the level of living.” More telling, however, is the report’s finding that “water losses unaccounted for [theft of leaks] in the [Palestinian] distribution network” reach 55 percent[!]

Lastly, all modern, developed 21st century societies use much more water than developing societies. “The United States and Canada are the highest per capita water users in the world,” according to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, “…per person usage is more than 2.5 times that in Asia or Europe, and over six times that in Africa.” Cross the border into Mexico and per capita water usage drops by two-thirds.

7/21/2009 12:39:16 AM

Could Gaza Be Saved?

Saved from its sewerage problem, that is, the one that had a British commentator, Johann Hari, smelling sh*t.

L.A. prepares massive water-conservation plan

With vital and often-distant water sources shrinking, Los Angeles officials today will revive a controversial proposal to recycle wastewater as part of a plan to curb usage and move the city toward greater water independence.

The aggressive, multiyear proposal could do much to catch the city up to other Southern California communities that have launched advanced recycling programs...residents would be urged to change their clothes' washers, and new restrictions would be placed on how and when they could water lawns and clean cars.

Financial incentives and building code changes would be used to incorporate high-tech conservation equipment in homes and businesses. Builders would be pushed to install waterless urinals, weather-sensitive sprinkler systems and porous parking lot paving that allows rain to percolate into groundwater supplies.

..."This is a radical departure for the city of Los Angeles," said Department of Water and Power General Manager David Nahai. "I think overall this plan is going to be a beacon for other cities."

In fact, cities facing the same challenges, including Long Beach, have already moved to curtail residential and commercial water usage and punish waste. Orange County and other Southern California agencies are also recycling treated sewage water back into the drinking supply.

Los Angeles' plan -- a copy of which was made available to The Times -- would invest in projects to capture and store rainfall and clean up a sprawling, contaminated water supply beneath the San Fernando Valley. About $1 billion would be allocated for reclamation, including a politically sensitive plan to use treated wastewater to recharge underground drinking supplies serving the Valley, Los Feliz and the Eastside.

A similar system was approved and built in the 1990s, then abandoned after critics labeled it a "toilet-to-tap" scheme.

The city learned from its earlier "aborted attempt" at water recycling, Nahai said.

"This is a new day," he said. "We have new technology. We're going to reach out very aggressively to the public and engage them as to the facts."

One critic said voters should decide whether the water supply will be blended with treated wastewater. "It's grossly unfair for the mayor, the City Council or the DWP to decide consumers are going to be using this recycled water," said Gerald A. Silver, president of Homeowners of Encino.

But Millie Hamilton, an Encino Neighborhood Council member and docent at the city's Tillman Water Reclamation Plant, said recycling is safe, needed and nothing new. "There is no new water on this planet," said Hamilton, who was referred to The Times by the mayor's office. "We are drinking the same water the dinosaurs drank. All our water has been and is being recycled."

Does this read a bit crappy or can it work?

Taranto Right on Target

The Jerusalem Post reported earlier this month that metal provided by Israel had been used in the construction of those terrorist rockets. And why was Israel selling the Palestinians metal? "For the construction of a sewage system in Gaza."

Palestinian babies drown in sewage because of the bloodlust of Palestinian grown-ups. What a fetid political culture.

That's the WJS' James Taranto.

See also here.