Page 8 - Edwards AFB Desert Wings 7-3-15

Desert Wings Community Voices
8 www.aerotechnews.com/edwardsafb
What can we do, and what are you doing, to conserve water?
Patrick Nance, 412th Medical Group,
Paramedic
“With the conditions of the severe drought, we have to be
aware that every drop counts. Personally, I try to be more
aware of my water usage, and for example, not let the water
run or, if you’re running water to get to the hot water, save
that water instead of letting it go down the drain. I think one
of the biggest wastes is people take lengthy showers or leave
the water running when they’re brushing their teeth. There’s
also an issue in the state of California that large corporations
DUHEHLQJDOORZHGWRERWWOHWKHZDWHUDQGVHOOLWIRUDSUR¿W while for the water to cool down if I need cold water. So
and that’s draining the aquifers. I think if they’re going to ask
us as consumers to cut back then I think they ought to ask
the same corporations to cut back because water is a human
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Senior Master Sgt. Carlotta Tarver, 146th
Airlift Wing, Command Post superinten-
dent, Channel Islands Air National Guard
“What I’ve noticed on our base is that they have stopped
watering so all the lawns are now brown. They have replaced
some plants on our base with the drought resistant plants and
at home we are trying to do that also. I live in a condominium
and our home owner’s association has also limited the watering.
I don’t think the drought is going to impact my lifetime, but
unfortunately I have children and grandchildren, and obviously
the drought will impact them. Yes, it’s impacting me but it’s not
something that is in our faces like it will be in the future if the
drought continues. My concern is if California runs out of water,
and of course the central valley, a huge farming area, and also
where we live it’s a huge farming area. I noticed some of the
¿HOGVDUHGRUPDQWQRZDQG,¶PVXUHLW¶VGXHWRWKHZDWHU,MXVW hind it. We try to instill it in them and I think they’re more
heard they’re going to restrict planting new crops in Los Angeles
County because of the drought. For me, I don’t worry so much
about the future of it now, but if it isn’t contained and corrected
LWZLOOLPSDFWP\IDPLO\ODWHURQ,W¶VOLNHSK\VLFDO¿WQHVV,GRQ¶W that takes a lot of water too. On base, there’s no more wa-
want to say it wasn’t important for me, but for my generation it
wasn’t. Now these generations are coming up and it’s the same
thing. You have to teach them so they can continue it. Even if we
get these torrential rains, the drought goes away, all our reservoirs
are wonderful and the lakes are back up, it doesn’t mean that it
can’t happen again. If you teach them and train them now, they
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July 3, 2015
facebook.com/EdwardsDesertWings
Bao-Canila Merrell, 412th Force Support Sid Rouzer, 411th Flight Test Squadron
Squadron, Recreation Aid 6LG5RX]HUHPSKDVL]HGWKHQHHGIRUDFRPPXQLW\HI-
fort to cut back on water usage. He expressed his concerns
In our neighborhood we have our water sprinklers set that without the full effort of the whole community, there
on a community setting. They might come on twice a day would be few strides made towards water conservation.
but they do not stay on as long. I am concerned because $V 5RX]HU FXW EDFN RQ ZDWHULQJ WLPHV IRU KLV ODZQ KH
I don’t want it to get to the point where I’m getting water noticed some of his neighbors in Lancaster had not made
that’s muddy or not clean. I don’t want the water to get to similar adjustments. Little things, such as shorter showers
that point. I want to enjoy clean water. For one thing, we and shorter, less frequent watering cycles, are small steps
have considered saving the water as it is running to warm the community should take. “A few people practicing bet-
up for a shower. Now when it’s warm, it actually takes a ter conservation practices will not meet our needs due to
the drought. Only with everyone making an effort to be
LWFRPHVRXWKRW¿UVWDQG,¶PZDLWLQJIRUDFRXSOHVHFRQGV more conscious of water use will avert the concerns brought
for it to cool down. DERXWE\WKHGURXJKW´
Master Sgt. Amy L. Ramey, 146th Airlift George Baskin, 412th TW, safety spe-
Wing, Command Post training manager, cialist
Channel Islands Air National Guard George Baskin presented his concerns with corporate and
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“At home we’ve started limiting the time and days we water companies and golf courses as sources of large water
water the front and back yard to two days a week. With our consumption. With this in mind, there are opportunities to
kids, we joke around how we will implement “combat show- make efforts in everyday routines to conserve water. He men-
HUV´LIWKH\GRQ¶WVWRSWDNLQJORQJVKRZHUV7KH\¶YHOLPLWHG tions taking shorter showers, reducing the water used for
their showers to 10 minutes and we’ll just turn off the water grass, or altogether replacing and removing grass.
if they make it any longer. We joke with them about making
it only two to three minutes and making them turn off the
water while they lather up if they don’t start watching it. We
want to instill those habits with them when they get older so
they realize water isn’t free; it’s being taken away and we
don’t have a lot of it. I think a lot of kids take it for granted.
They don’t think about what’s involved and the money be-
conscious of it now. It doesn’t bother me so much anymore
that our yard is brown because everyone else’s is too. Even
playing in the sprinklers; we don’t do that anymore because
tering of the grass or anything. It’s just something we’ve
become used to — everything being brown. Some of the
neighbors have started planting the desert plants and not
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