3 ms·

The article needlessly mentions the Murzuk-Djado Basin and the Arabian Basin as having "little hope of recharging", when the very study it cites shows that the

The article needlessly mentions the Murzuk-Djado Basin and the Arabian Basin as having "little hope of recharging", when the very study it cites shows that the Murzuk-Djado basin as being less stressed than the California basin it talks about. I hate how American Exceptionalism always creeps its way into everything regardless how benign the topic seems. It's like she's trying to say "hey, we've got it bad but at least we're not as backwards as those mOsLeM countries". here's the study for those interested: https://news.uci.edu/2015/06/16/a-third-of-the-worlds-biggest-groundwater-basins-are-in-distress/ https://news.uci.edu/2015/06/16/a-third-of-the-worlds-bigges...

Permit 3y ago
> It's like she's trying to say "hey, we've got it bad but at least we're not as backwards as those mOsLeM countries". Nope, it’s not like that at all.
- ChiCityRanger 3y ago
  I could be wrong. It's likely that my characterization was not her intent. That said, even the most well meaning individual in the "west" has this implicit bias against the "non west" that it just gets everywhere and you see it everywhere.
  - whiskeytuesday 3y ago
    You see it everywhere, I see it occasionally.
pdabbadabba 3y ago
As a general matter, I hear you. But in this case I think your objections are misplaced: it actually agrees with you that the California basis is more stressed, but also is the subject of an ambitious plan to recharge it (which may or may not succeed) which is the topic of the article. It also blames the stress on the Murzuk-Djado and Arabian Basins on climate change which, to me, places the blame more on the U.S. than on 'backwards muslims.' Here's the full passage: > Especially in places that have already been hard-hit by climate change, many aquifers have become so depleted that humans need to step in; the Arabian Aquifer in Saudi Arabia and the Murzuk-Djado Basin in North Africa, per a 2015 study, are particularly stressed and have little hope of recharging. In the U.S., aquifers are depleting fast from the Pacific Northwest to the Gulf, but drought-stricken California is the poster-child of both water stress and efforts to undo the damage. In any case, it's actually pretty fascinating how a few sentences about aquifers can draw out these issues. And, to your point, I would certainly not be shocked to learn that there are ambitious plans to recharge the Murzuk-Djado and Arabian Basins that this article overlooks.
justrealist 3y ago
I think it's more the practical matter that California even when dry receives 5x the rain of Saudi Arabia.

Permit 3y ago

> It's like she's trying to say "hey, we've got it bad but at least we're not as backwards as those mOsLeM countries". Nope, it’s not like that at all.

ChiCityRanger 3y ago
I could be wrong. It's likely that my characterization was not her intent. That said, even the most well meaning individual in the "west" has this implicit bias against the "non west" that it just gets everywhere and you see it everywhere.
- whiskeytuesday 3y ago
  You see it everywhere, I see it occasionally.

pdabbadabba 3y ago

As a general matter, I hear you. But in this case I think your objections are misplaced: it actually agrees with you that the California basis is more stressed, but also is the subject of an ambitious plan to recharge it (which may or may not succeed) which is the topic of the article. It also blames the stress on the Murzuk-Djado and Arabian Basins on climate change which, to me, places the blame more on the U.S. than on 'backwards muslims.' Here's the full passage: > Especially in places that have already been hard-hit by climate change, many aquifers have become so depleted that humans need to step in; the Arabian Aquifer in Saudi Arabia and the Murzuk-Djado Basin in North Africa, per a 2015 study, are particularly stressed and have little hope of recharging. In the U.S., aquifers are depleting fast from the Pacific Northwest to the Gulf, but drought-stricken California is the poster-child of both water stress and efforts to undo the damage. In any case, it's actually pretty fascinating how a few sentences about aquifers can draw out these issues. And, to your point, I would certainly not be shocked to learn that there are ambitious plans to recharge the Murzuk-Djado and Arabian Basins that this article overlooks.

justrealist 3y ago

I think it's more the practical matter that California even when dry receives 5x the rain of Saudi Arabia.