Water: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

[@PixelatedH2O]

As someone who lives in Utah, John going on about the state and our governor was completely earned. Our state's leaders rarely do anything that makes sense or actually helps.

[@jeepz669]

Sad fax

[@Pretermit_Sound]

Who would have guessed that a state founded, and still extensively occupied by Mormons would be that way? s/ Seriously, good luck to you 😞

[@SinHurr]

Mormons +Infinite Sins

[@kuyshina]

If you care about water rights, especially with the news of the salt lake drying and potentially blowing poisonous minerals like arsenic into the city. Definitely reach out to whoever managers your water district. Ask them what they’re doing to conserve water and how they are planning to promote water conservation. Get involved in your community politics

[@lindzann]

Same. John could do a whole show about how the church claims to stay out of politics, but doesn't 🤦‍♀️

[@kageakuma3009]

You know, I'm gonna just thank John Oliver and HBO for putting his main content for free on YT. I'm an HBOMax subscriber so they already have my money. They are putting out important info for free.

[@21972012145525]

They could put the entire episode 🙄

[@kageakuma3009]

@@21972012145525 that's pathetic. It is a show that airs on premium cable and they give you most of the show free, and you want to complain? They even post it pretty soon after it aired. You're most likely a spoiled child, even if you are an adult, you have the mindset of a spoiled toddler.

[@mullujullu]

@@21972012145525 dude you sound so spoiled rn. all the important info is posted for free that's what matters. you can pay if you want the extra jokes plus lots of people post the clips hbo don't include on youtube

[@nataliestavrum4451]

Agree. I have HBO nordic, so I can see the full episode on tuesday, but love that the main segment is available for everyone on YT!

[@kageakuma3009]

@@nataliestavrum4451 It's just one of those pleasant surprises in life you always take for granted until you think of it.

[@brianna5257]

I live in Tucson, Arizona and my entire life we learned about water conservation. We even had people come to our school to teach us how we can conserve water because we are always in a drought. Our landscaping is just rocks and cactus. But just 2 hours north in Phoenix every house has lawns, all the neighborhoods have lakes and it just makes me feel sick. I grew up knowing when the best time to water plants is so the water doesn't evaporate and then I see people who are acting like we dont only get 9 inches of rain each year. This is such a serious problem and it feels like no one is taking it seriously.

[@growingweedisfordummies4190]

ive had atleast 6 new water wells put into a residential area of 5000 people. my family has lived on this land for 40 years. and all these ppl move here, put a well on their land, and steal our water. atleast thats how it feels. i know its not my water, its earths water, but damn that dibs thing ya know! were here first!

[@jordanstuteville9154]

Yeah, 85710 zip code resident here. When I first came to Tucson people would be partying in the washes because all the water was incredible. Now, you can't see anyone but the homeless in them.

[@MsTemptation]

Unfortunately people are just bloody selfish. They have to be knocked into reality only when the shit really hits the fan. Unfortunately you can’t just get rid of stupid people. You just have to wait for them to get a fucking clue.

[@roggmatz]

I was in PHX last year and I absolutely thought it was a wonderful city. It turned my disdain for the desert into admiration. But once I saw the lawns, heard about the golf courses, saw how water mister systems are used absolutely everywhere, and how there are massive vineyards in THE GODDAMN DESERT there, I was filled with anger. How short-sighted can people be to literally piss away water like this IN THE DESERT?!

[@bencarey243]

The rich people school made sure the poor people school conserve water so the rich people have all the water.

[@mynameisbritta]

In case you were wondering who was keeping drought records in the southwest during 800 AD, it was the trees 🌳

[@RadiRadi]

I was wondering.

[@RyuKyu.77]

We don't appreciate the work of archaeology enough

[@aegisraven1284]

lol yea so accurate Ethan you can read there was drought lmfao what utter bs

[@adamnielson42]

​@@aegisraven1284??? You know what tree rings are right?? The trees rings are skinnier when there's a drought, and then the trees get petrified and save the record for millions of years.

[@Lando_Calzonian_MK8]

Carbon Dating?

[@ethancrisp3491]

Lived in Vegas as a kid. Every museum and science field trip stressed the importance of water conservation and how dire the situation was for the future of the city and the southwest as a whole. Decades later, its in the exact place everyone said it would be. Its almost at the point where the Hoover Dam won't be able to provide any power. I am hoping these cities that keep approving golf courses and mega resorts in the desert become the biggest ghost towns in history.

[@richardadamson1438]

Admingly it would make a good bioshock game, though.

[@PeterDB90]

I live in Las Vegas and it's actually pretty amazing just how water smart the city is. Even with golf courses, there are no shortages of them here but they have met some pretty extreme and restricting standards. The essentially water the courses with repurposed sewage water, use specialized nozzles for conserving water, monitor watering times to prevent any runoff. I figure with the amount of money the casino overlords of Las Vegas have tied up with this town, they will figure something out - they won't let their cash cow die and for once, that's actually a positive motivator.

[@KitC916]

Also screw those localities rebuilding in the path of wildfires and expecting us taxpayers to pick up the tab... don't build there, how about that.

[@snikerz5886]

@@PeterDB90 my guy all those golf courses and casino pools are a large chunk of where that water is being wasted.

[@PeterDB90]

@@snikerz5886 If water is going down the drain, a crazy amount of it is being recycled (something like 90%) - the problem is when water is allowed to run on the streets or ground, because then it just evaporates and soaks in and it's gone, so golf courses - yeah, that's a waste of water, but they are also using water that is not being used otherwise - same with casino fountains. Things that are a problem are things like car washes and people washing cars in their driveways, which is water that is lost once used.

[@madelinelamee6142]

Hey Coloradan here! I did a water usage project in like the 4th grade (probably 14 years ago) and discovered a lot of of content John just presented on - including that Colorado snowmelt is the sole watershed for like 7 states and 4-5 territories of Mexico and that we allocate way more than we actually have. Even an 11 year old saw the writing on the wall that the western states were in massive trouble - I was traumatized and avoided taking baths for years and begged my parents to get rid of the lawn! I could never figure out why my teachers weren’t as surprised or alarmed as I was. Just sayin, If an elementary school student understands that the only way to solve this problem is to actually reduce water usage along the watershed, so should our elected officials!!

[@paulas_lens]

It all seems hopeless, as an individual, doesn't it? How can we each make any meaningful change, when we are powerless for the real consequential change that is needed? Even John Oliver is screaming into an empty room. SMDH. :(

[@laekrits]

I hope you work for an advocacy group (o:

[@slackersurf]

11 year olds aren’t being paid off by lobbyists.

[@ritamariekelley4077]

Your research and consequent knowledge made you a visionary and visionaries get ignored. Good on you!!

[@thekingoffailure9967]

@@paulas_lens yeah fam if only we could, idk, change the SYSTEM that prioritizes infinite growth over the environment, instead of trying the impossible act of fixing this with individual consumer life choices. Turning the water off while you brush your teeth is like pissing in the ocean. No measurable effect.

[@AlwaysBolttheBird]

I lived in Vegas when they started the “No lawns” and I was surprised how little people argued against it. I’m not saying some people weren’t upset but surprisingly it was pretty much a “that makes sense” moment. Also they were going around and offering to “buy” peoples lawns and replace them with decorative gravel. I took them up on that offer. Saved a ton of money on no longer caring for a lawn

[@benjaminsorensen9334]

I wish Provo would implement this; I'd take them up on it in a heartbeat.

[@richardnavratil9661]

As someone on 5 grassy/pasture acres in Ohio, that actually sounds pretty good, because lawn care takes a lot of time. And by lawn care I mean just purely mowing. We don't fertilize or water it, we are on a well so we also try to conserve water.

[@Praisethesunson]

Lawns suck and are a literal propaganda commercial from the 50's. Since lawns are similar to the BS estates found in Europe.

[@AlwaysBolttheBird]

@@richardnavratil9661 oh yeah I did the bare minimum to not get fined and it was still a pain haha

[@the_cosmic_alexolotl2282]

I live in MICHIGAN and don’t want a fucking lawn lol

[@lyssabradley7242]

My family’s well in AZ went dry in 1996 and I grew up like those folks did. Showered at friend’s or in the school locker rooms when we could, did laundry at laundromats, flushed toilets with buckets of already used water. House never felt clean and it was a constant source of stress. When i moved to the city and could flush my toilet with the handle instead of a bucket I literally cried.

[@joshuafrank3803]

Wow. Thanks for having the guts to share that. It sounds like it was a brutal way to live, and I'm so happy you have water again.

[@aegisraven1284]

Sounds like your family was uneducated and useless. Move.

[@afconnelly]

Have people tried showering in Mountain Dew?

[@rachelstanger6079]

I know how that feels. My stupid dad (he deserves the adjective, don't worry) decided to build a house, and made us live in it for two years half-built. Aside from the fact that it turned out it was dangerous and unstable, and we eventually had to tear it down - we had no electricity, no lighting, no plumbing. We showered and washed the dishes by dunking ourselves or the dishes in buckets of cold water. Laundry done at a laundromat. Candles burning all night - extremely dangerous - rather than normal lighting. One of those long drop toilets that constantly stank (and into which, incidentally, he threw the litter of puppies our dog had after killing them all - see, stupid is actually the nicest adjective I can give him). Oh, yeah, also, the house was freezing, and constantly got broken into. We all slept in one room - there were only two rooms, not including the toilet. Plus us under ten-year-old kids were made to do the hard labor of building it instead of doing our already piss poor education (homeschooled - for control and isolation - so it was terrible). Anyway.

[@weareallbornmad410]

​@@rachelstanger6079 God, I'm so sorry. Did CPS investigate at all? Or social workers of any kind? I'm from Poland, and the only people I can think of that live here in comparable conditions are the homeless, and they don't get to keep their children.

[@injusticevideos9459]

I'm from Arizona, and Ive seen "rock gardens" and "gravel lawns" more beautifully decorated than any water-wasting patch of grass ever was. Rock lawns may not fit the style of the eastern usa, but in the desert, it looks wonderful and you can get some truly beautiful and artistic lawns using only sand, gravel and rocks, with maybe a few cacti for some color. The shades of red, and grey, and tan from the gravel lawns can literally be made into art at the front of the house without using a single drop of water, and absolutely no maintenance. I wish and hope this becomes the standard for the south-west

[@ellie_cr]

Add a few a Palo verde trees or Ironwood trees for shade (neither of which has to be watered), and then you've got an easy, little to zero maintenance yard. Spend the extra free time doing something else you want... Games, cooking, sewing, going out, whatever!

[@ellie_cr]

@BanquetOfTheLeviathan is it possible to have fake grass on your lawn instead of real grass? Would the hoa/city officials know?

[@oceandark3044]

@BanquetOfTheLeviathan "Natural lawns" is sort of a misnomer. There aren't actually a lot of places in the US where a grass lawn would grow naturally. It takes a lot of work, water, and herbicide to make that happen. For example, here in Ohio, we SHOULD be living in a massive forest. There shouldn't be lawn care, there should be forestry. We shouldn't be worried about water, we should be worried about fire (which would be natural). We should have naturally occurring wetlands. Basically, we should be elves. But no, instead, we basically imported grasses from Britain, something that STILL requires more rain than our state's natural environment provides. Worse, instead of a canopy of trees that protects us from direct water erosion and sunlight, we've got the sun beating down and evaporating a lot of that water outright. The grass just shouldn't fucking be here.

[@ralfgockel2656]

Hopefully you are aware of the fact, that even „rock gardens“ heat up the surface even more?! Imagine everyone having small rocks in their rather massive front yards (compared to other countries), that would significantly rise the heat in the area even more. As a full capital society, wouldn’t rising the price of water a good idea?! I‘m wondering anyway why water prices are not skyrocketing, when there is such a shortage in the US?! When Texas had a blizzard, some guy had to pay 8.000 bucks for his electricity during that one month coz of the electricity shortage and he just learned that afterwards (following mouth). If that was a true report, why is water still that cheap. Well, take care!

[@22espec]

Even though those help, the bigger problem is too much people in places that can't sustain them, the damage it has already been done and it's not going to fix itself because soem people respect the water conservation, it must be the full state otherwise just at Monterrey to see your future.

[@EIEANIMATIONS]

In Cape Town, South Africa we literally had a countdown a few years ago where we would've been the first city in the world to run out of water...

[@arshilahmad9811]

How did it go?

[@Andrewza1]

To be fair we all so had floods a few weeks ago.

[@purplerobin92]

@@arshilahmad9811 they ended with no water and had to spent quite sometime living with ragione water. Now the situation is better but the water is little and they have to use as little as possible

[@Tavat]

Terrifying

[@snputri]

Yeah i saw a good reporting about it, it was a pure horror

[@mikaylawilliams4273]

As a indigenous woman, we have known about this problem for a long time. Even before Glen canyon dam was built. We warned the US government. We’re just ignoring the problem at hand. Like nothing is happening. Oliver hasn’t even talked about our aquifers that are not drinkable due to uranium mining on the Navajo reservation. As native people, we are not even in the talks about water. A few years ago John McCain tried to pass SB 2109 (Navajo-Hopi Little Colorado River Water Settlement) he came to Navajo trying to negotiate our water with the state of AZ. While the whole state has majority of the Colorado River. Navajo chased John McCain off of the Navajo reservation and his offer. We need water too!

[@bonniejosavland3227]

Wow I didn’t know that! On another note a huge thank you to the Navijo nation for turning AZ blue in the 2020 election!

[@gabrieleghut1344]

Isn't it insulting to your tribes that the european settlers still think they come first.

[@yourmommashouse]

@@bonniejosavland3227 how’s that turning out for you. Things are so much better with joe Biden in office!!! Biden and Trump are useless, as are most politicians, because it’s the type of person that wants to be a politician. Think about it, why does it usually attract a certain type of person?

[@yourmommashouse]

Oh you think Indians should have first say of the water!? You think war over oil is bad, wait till the water wars start. It WILL happen.

[@bubblesezblonde]

I remember the Navaho vs McCain water 'fight' in fact. I also wondered about the state of indigenous water rights, but then figured that could be an entire segment as a stand-alone topic. Good points thanks.

[@danieljob3184]

Once again, Brian Cox delivers an authentic performance, capturing the spirit and intent of the character he portrays. Bravo, sir!

[@katecornell8233]

Great video. One thing not mentioned: the lack of water in Lake Powell and Lake Mead also means the eventual halt of electricity production. The lakes are very close to not having enough water to produce electricity for all of the states in the southwest. We're screwed.

[@Alexander_Kale]

Glen Canyon produces not even 1,5 GW. Just build a damn powerplant. You have the time still.

[@katecornell8233]

@@Alexander_Kale I'll get right on that.

[@Smoove_J]

We’re getting into Mad Max territory here. People are going to start losing their minds if they’re denied basic needs like water and electricity.

[@brokenwrench404]

@@Alexander_Kale exactly! We need more power plants because of the drought. Many people aren’t aware of the power generated by dams and how they have to dump water to create that electricity

[@sandrafrancisco]

yeah it's a shame that republicans blocked investment into wind energy and solar energy. these types of energy don't use as much water because they don't utilize a closed loop boiler system.

[@ceb4747]

“Nobody wants to be the one having to deliver bad news… so I guess I’ll just do it” was probably the pitch for this show to HBO

[@RabblesTheBinx]

Not just a surfing lagoon in the California desert, it's a surfing lagoon in the desert for people who 100% could afford both the time and cost of just going to the goddamned beach, which is literally less than 90 minutes away!

[@RealMTBAddict]

LITERALLY LIKE LITERALLY BRO LITERALLY

[@thoughtlesskills]

@@RealMTBAddict so someone using the word correctly f*cks you up?

[@m1n3craftPCtut0r1al]

@@RealMTBAddict 8=====D

[@wolframstahl1263]

But that's where the icky poor people are. I need to have exclusivity, and I can't have that if I don't exclude people. Everyone can surf at the ocean, but it takes a special kind of asshole to want to surf in the desert, and I want to feel special!

[@UlshaRS]

Eww, but the poors are there. You simply do not get the struggle of the affluent rich. It's not done to allow the commoners to struggle, they need to know how fortunate they are for our crumbs. /s

[@moonbug5640]

My dad is a groundwater microbiologist and my family has lived in Colorado for generations. My dad said that when he was a kid it never got too hot even in the summer. Flash forwards thirty years and my parent's house IN TOWN almost burned down twice in the span of three months. Our neighbors lost everything including pets to the fires and my parents are seeing their house and moving to a less burnable area. Last year we didn't get our first snow until January (the day after the devastating fire). And as a child through adulthood I went to summer camp in the Rockies and worked as a counselor, only to evacuate the camp three years in a row due to fires. Colorado is in trouble. And as far as states go it's probably one of the luckier ones for water. We are all in trouble.

[@Julia-lk8jn]

Good grief, that's scary. It's not as bad where I live (Germany) but that's kind of a different problem: we don't feel any discomfort. Most people don't even know that crops like potatoes now can't be grown without watering them - that was never necessary twenty years ago! But since "hey, it's December and I don't have to shovel snow every darn day" doesn't _feel_ like a problem, there's not enough pressure e.g. for laws about water usage, pricing water on a sliding scale (low price for minimum requirements, then higher prices for whatever goes above that), making underground rain water storage mandatory for newly build houses etc. I'm very much afraid that we won't be any cleverer and wait with serious actions until a fire burns down half of what forests Germany has left. And I can't even think on how much CO2 those forest fires blow up into the air; when I try my mind just shrinks away from it.

[@thisorthat629]

​@@Julia-lk8jn10 months later, and this year we've entered a new stage of denial. Now people go "oh it's always been this way. remember 1876 there was this 1 hot day in mid october. see, 20+ degree all october, only 1 or 2 hours extreme rainfall, every other week is perfectly normal. now stfu, i have to mow my already dead lawn" on the positive, german forest fires might not actually be that bad. we barely have natural woods, older than 25y or bigger than 2 or 3 km2, storing significant amounts of co2 ... gotta think positive

[@agilemind6241]

I mean... the scientists told us this would happen 20 years ago. It should not be a surprise to anyone at this point.

[@ytrewq12345]

We and all don't necessarily is true if you don't live in your country, and you live in a very green country. Both have water... One is basically underwater the other has more water than we can consume in my lifetime, so, yeah, karma....

[@moonbug5640]

@@ytrewq12345 Not quite sure what you are saying bud, but no, as I said my dad has a PHD and 30+ years of expirience in the subject of drinkable water so if he says we are in trouble then we are indeed in trouble.

[@officialpookapanda]

As an environmental engineer focusing on water and storm water design, this is explained very well and covers the big topics for the western states better than I could. Water rights are ridiculous and out of control. Groundwater gets contaminated bad, and don’t forget about sea levels rising and moving up rivers contaminating water sources too.

[@SaintShion]

I seriously am afraid of this issue as a desert dweller. The Colorado River is literally drying up and humans could not care less

[@93Centinela]

I'm studying to become an environmental engineer. Do you think wastewater recycling could be a solution to the problem?

[@FrankHeuvelman]

@@SaintShion Welcome in America.

[@SaintShion]

@@FrankHeuvelman I'm from Japan I can't believe half of what legal and allowed. O. O

[@officialpookapanda]

@@93Centinela hoo whee this is a complicated topic so I’ll do a horrible job answering this. Yes and no. California recycles a lot of wastewater to drinking water. That’s part of the reason why the water tastes kinda bad. It’s literally fancy toilet water. Filtering out toxins and disinfection byproducts according to EPA regulations is pretty hard, and lots of DBP’s are correlated to carcinogens but there isn’t enough research to have the EPA justify more funding/regulation. So in summary, yes but it depends on research, location, and energy costs (like everything else)

[@duxnihilo]

John Oliver is getting closer and closer to just having " LIFE " as a topic.

[@pianopolly]

"Moving on, our main story tonight concerns life. You know, the thing your parents gave you that you never asked for, like for example a genetical disposition for bad eye-sight or cancer." Then he moves on to show interviews with people who have a clearly dumb or wise insight into the concept of life. The segment's mascot will be some intern dressed up in a comically disfigured costume of a protozoan from the from the priomordial soup who scorns the audience that they wasted his and his brethren's efforts to evolve into something meaningful. Also, John sets up a website where you can donate your own life.

[@AstonishingSodApe]

@@pianopolly Very good.

[@tomwolfe7782]

@Don't Read My Profile Photo I didn't, and so while I cannot be sure, my guess is that it had nothing to do with the topic of John Oliver or water.

[@sylvesteruchia5263]

😂 😂 😂

[@jdepaul87]

@@pianopolly Dude...go apply to work for the show because...godamn!

[@thurayya8905]

And let's not forget Nestle's contribution: buying water rights for a small amount of money (and then stiffing the area amount in subsequent years) and then depleting the underground aquifer, then moving on to the next -- all over the country. Nestle is a foreign multi corporation who is centered in Switzerland.

[@BrokeredHeart]

This was a quote taken from a 2005 documentary in which the former CEO of Nestle SD, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, spoke to the filmmaker about his stance on water rights: “Water is, of course, the most important raw material we have today in the world. It’s a question of whether we should privatize the normal water supply for the population. And there are two different opinions on the matter. The one opinion, which I think is extreme, is represented by the NGOs, who bang on about declaring water a public right. That means that as a human being you should have a right to water. That’s an extreme solution. The other view says that water is a foodstuff like any other, and like any other foodstuff it should have a market value. Personally, I believe it’s better to give a foodstuff a value so that we’re all aware it has its price, and then that one should take specific measures for the part of the population that has no access to this water, and there are many different possibilities there.” While he was roundly condemned by the UN and water rights advocates around the globe, it hasn't stopped their company practice of pumping out water on expired permits at negligible prices to sell it back to us in plastic bottles at exorbitant prices. Now, a vast number of their wells and bottling plants to local companies throughout the Great Lakes region, as the private equity firm One Rock Capital Partners has acquired a number of those brands, so it may have been an "out of the fat, and into the fire" scenarios.

[@rebootukology1014]

Boycot nestles

[@rachaelb9164]

Nestle sucks for so many reasons. John should do a show on how evil they are. They sold baby formula that they knew would lead to malnutrition and destroyed local water sources. My mother in law tried to fight them in the Shasta area and was given death threats. Nothing but evil. They sell tap water and put it in a bottle for a huge profit.

[@EmpyreanLightASMR]

Our family's been boycotting Nestle's for a while now but I only found out why recently.

[@Satchmojones]

Here in Michigan Nestle is draining the Great Lakes. People need to stop drinking bottled water, get a bottle, a pitcher with a filter, or go fill a 5 gallon jug at the grocery store instead.

[@michelleandrijich4214]

I live in Western Australia and here there is a groundwater replenishment scheme that I don't think many people know about. Purified wastewater is pumped underground and will get back to aquifers in about 30 years. We also have desalination plants off the coast because rainfall is increasingly not enough to supply the city of Perth

[@Julia-lk8jn]

That's great! With the ocean levels rising, you'd think de-salinating ocean water would be a lot more realistic than building a water pipeline half across the US to then *destroy the ecosystem around the Mississippi* . It's a bit silly of me, but I really want to see a law that bans the traditional "Old White Men" out of any job paying more than 120 K per year. I know, silly, because it's not like I believe that women, young people or anybody not European descended is in some way smarter or better. I'd just like to see what happens. Maybe the new comers would be motivated to show that they will _not_ immediately turn into yet another greedy arrogant club. And if not then at least we'd have the finale proof that all humans are equal.

[@CortexNewsService]

As someone who lives in the Mississippi watershed, we would NOT be on board with Arizona taking water from here. And don't bother asking the Great Lakes states. They've already said hell no.

[@NEPAAlchey]

The fact a leader of a state can go on TV and ask the entire state to pray a problem away so he doesn't have to do his job is terrifying.

[@anywallsocket]

Watching that was literally surreal for me, like I was thinking is this an actual adult? 👀

[@dstevans]

America, a country full of descendants of religious fanatics that Europe hated so much they kicked them out.

[@idontwanttousemyrealnamema4492]

I live here and think he is an absolute idiot. F**k prayers, we need action.

[@anirainz]

I live in Utah and we basically live in a theocracy with more steps

[@insertcognomen]

june 4-5 was a month ago...did it work?

[@scubawithatuba]

This show brings more value than any news outlet and posts about 1/20 of what they do. That's impressive.

[@OddlyIncredible]

And it's not spun in a specific political direction with the idea of promoting a specific political agenda. Although I'm quite sure conservatives will call it liberal propaganda of course.

[@Bapper0]

The 24 hour news cycle makes it so they need to stretch an hour MAX of news into the whole day. This alone is their highest crime in my opinion. All other issues stem from it.

[@theextraordinarypants4909]

@@OddlyIncredible You do not have to guess, they do and they hate it because it tells truths they don't want to "believe."

[@ImTheHamSandwich]

@@fayeinoue7455 just be careful because they ran shows both warning about supporting Ukraine and shitting on the Jan 6th commission before the FIRST hearing. Fuck Trump and Fuck Russia, but they do have some good takes on other issues.

[@Cbd_7ohm]

More like 1/1000

[@alaspoorjordan]

The amount of blindness on this issue is staggering, especially for people who actually live in the Southwest and see the effect of the water shortages firsthand.

[@michaelrch]

I wonder how long that will last. Climate change is currently making most of the south uninhabitable. It won't take long either.

[@SolidSiren]

I'm from the Midwest where water is plentiful and I remember beginning at age 7 learning every year in school and on TV about the water situation on our planet, droughts, man-made climate change and everything we are responsible for doing to help fix the problem.

[@SolidSiren]

@@michaelrch I can confirm, people in Vegas to Los Angeles just don't seem to even think about how insanely fragile their cities truly are. I look around at all the (non-native) exotic plants in Ventura county and all the trees and green farms and I know most everyone who lives there has no clue how dire the situation is. Even after the fires in 2017, 2018 and on, they don't seem to get it. In my opinion, no one should have EVER built cities out here. Even the Colorado River is struggling to provide for all of the Southwest now. They are trying to take water from MICHIGAN!!! HOW crazy is that.

[@kappadarwin9476]

Its manifest destiny all over again. The Government basically had to bribe people to go out into those areas and the bribes were often unrealistic. "You can use as much water as you want!". But when things started to go south politicians not wanting to lose their run for office kept up the lie and kicked the can down the road instead of telling people the truth. There is also a flaw in how America makes its cities and towns. Small towns are bad because you have to move resources around and often time the resources poured into towns don't make up for the cost. America should have had its cities build like those in Asia or Europe with train stations and such. America basically shows us the people who build the towns didn't think about the future at all.

[@SolidSiren]

And I'm from supposedly one of the "worst states for education". Kentucky. I got a fantastic education actually there, in public schools. Maybe it's the rural areas that make the stats bad, idk..

[@tendrams]

"All faiths....or one of the many wrong ones!" As a Utah resident, this was an amazingly accurate and insightful set of comments by Oliver.

[@nikfp]

I come from a long line of ranchers in western Colorado. My family used a practice of flood irrigation where the land was all sloped gently and fed water from a ditch at the uphill side for short periods (usually less than 10 hours) and then allowed to dry for up to a week at a time. Water that the land didn't use ran off and was collected in a lower end ditch and routed back to the streams and rivers. This meant the water was never stagnant and the unused portion was returned to the water supply, and underground aquifers were replenished at the same time through the root systems of the pastures. Then livestock was allowed to graze on the land and trim the grass, which fed the natural cycle of root growth and and then die off, building soils. Animal wastes were also evenly spread, and each spring a spring tooth harrow would be drug over the land to further spread the dung without ripping the soil up. The pastures were also rotated for hay production to feed the herds and flocks through winter, and for the hottest parts of the summer the animals were moved to managed public lands for widespread grazing at higher, cooler elevations, allowing a dedicated period of growth for hay production and also shading the ground for the hottest part of the year. The net result was that the land required no chemical inputs, was generally productive, and the few wells needed for water through the winter didn't run dry. Starting in the '80s, the area ranchers started seeing pricing pressure for the livestock from larger factory farm operations, making it unsustainable to keep ranching this way. One by one, all the "old timers" started selling their ranches to developers because it was worth drastically more as potential houses and they couldn't make ends meet otherwise, and in the mountainous areas factory farming just doesn't work. Had they been able to hold out for 20 years, they would have seen a resurgence of value in their animals because the methods used were technically raising animals that were organic (minus a few very infrequent vet visits for sick animals), grass fed, and grass finished, now in high demand. There are a few ranchers that did make it through and are capitalizing on that now. A big part of the reason these ranchers couldn't compete was access to water. The water diversions from the rivers and streams would be shut off mid season, even though the rivers were running high, because the water was needed downstream in another state. Less water meant less animals that could be fed with the land, meaning less animals to market and less profit. Wells that were used seasonally ran dry, the land started to parch in the late summer because the grasses couldn't be nursed through, and as a result the overall health of the land started to decline in a cascading fashion. Weeds started to take over in a lot of places and some land was just left alone for lack of water. You can imagine how frustrating this was when a short drive (or sometimes just a walk) to the closest stream or river showed plenty of water, but it was illegal to turn the ditches back on. Fast forward 35 years and much of that land is now subdivisions and golf courses, water is either being wasted on non-native grasses that are too thirsty or being funneled off through storm drains, and the area is quickly turning into more of a desert. I am not a rancher, and my entire extended family is now out of agriculture. Most of the old timers have passed away (lifelong ranchers don't retire, they just slow down a bit and eventually keel over), and the next generation mostly didn't take it up. The land was sold. I actually don't even eat meat, which is a huge departure from my upbringing. I have come to realize though, that what is now referred to as regenerative agriculture is really just a highly managed version of what was once just "agriculture". Water usage used to be surprisingly low, but the demands put on lands and the practices used to achieve those demands drove water usage up and soil quality down. Well managed lands can easily rebound from droughts even several years long. Healthy soils and native plants growing in them cause water to "slow and spread", soaking into the ground and allowing groundwater and aquifers to replenish. In many areas this means water can start to travel underground and not suffer evaporation loss, meaning water used by the vegetation is offset by the conserved water the vegetation moves underground. I think Tuscon, AZ has the right idea. They have seen massive success in working with nature to direct water back underground and take advantage native plants, and as a result the city is cooler and is seeing long dead natural springs running again as the aquifer replenishes. They should stand as a model for all western cities.

[@ALPHARHYTHM0]

Thank you for the in depth explanation!!

[@jwn0be]

I appreciate the insight. I've been wondering about this problem and it's now a lot clearer. Why grow almonds during a draught ?

[@nickwerner8129]

Brilliant comment

[@ellie_cr]

Wow... This is a great comment. Thank you for sharing!

[@himan12345678]

@@jwn0be almonds can handle drought. They are natively from the middle east. They just either won't be as productive or even not fruit at all depending on the conditions, but they will survive. To maximize yield, almond farmers go beyond the diminishing returns of almonds water needs. California's almonds farming practices aren't just bad for their water practices. Very few see it still, but their intake of bees for the pollination event is also bad, even if the logistics and spectacle are incredible. The vectors for disease spread and the disruption to their natural seasonal life behaviors are just the easy issues to see.

[@maralsa1]

I am from Monterrey, Nuevo León, México. My city has been experiencing water scarcity for this entire year. My grandma’s house didn’t have a drop of water for an entire week. This has been on going since March. Beer companies and other industries are sucking all the water that’s left in the state. Idk if we will run dry for good or if we will find a way out of this one. Good episode.

[@FinneousPJ1]

Sounds like you need to drink more beer 🍻

[@19ars92]

Es por el crecimiento desmedido de las empresas industriales, y la negligencia de los gobernantes, en casi todos los estados del norte ha venido pasando lo mismo Cerveceras y cementeras en Nuevo León Cerveceras y refrésqueras en Baja California Lecherias y producción de Alfalfa en Coahuila El poder economico y el poder politico han ido de la mano en estas entidades, y no es tanto de que no haya agua para la población si no que lo hacen por darle prioridad a los intereses privados sobre el interes social, ninguna empresa quiere perder ganancias por bajar el consumo de agua para dársela a la población, y hasta que la sociedad no entienda la gravedad y complejidad de esta situación seguirán en lo mismo.

[@rgsr5244]

We'll find a temporary solution..."temporary" being the correct term. And maybe we are not the ones who will suffer the true consequences of our stupidity... but our children definitely will. BTW, our governor (NUEVO LEON, MX) prayed near one of our dry dams. 🤣🤣. That was 2 months ago...so maybe he should pray a little more?

[@main4325]

It was infuriating to see the governor say "he can't make it rain" when what we were really asking of him was for his dumb ass not to give all the rights for companies to take all the water for themselves.

[@abrahamgsolis]

Also from Monterrey. We are currently getting water from 4am to 11am. We have changed our entire way of life to save as much water as possible.

[@WeyounSix]

The fact that Vegas can have huge water shows and still be beneficial on their water supply should really be a wakeup call that we can actively do something to help the situation if we really tried, without having to lose all of the luxuries we once had. Sure some things have to go and change, but if we actively make these changes there are many things we can keep that we wont be able to if we dont act fast.

[@Bolton115]

How many more fucking golf courses do we need?!?!

[@WeyounSix]

@@Bolton115 noneee

[@ThisHandleFeatureIsStupid]

@@Bolton115 I live in a city with ~40,000 residents, and 11 golf courses. lol Thankfully it's in Quebec, Canada - an area absolutely *riddled* with freshwater - but still...those are stupid proportions.

[@TiggerToo27]

The American people just don't care. They think that our supply of natural resources is endless, and they don't believe that our country is suffering from a lack thereof. Most Americans don't believe in climate change, and those that do don't recognize the global impact of a lack of clean water in other countries. The droughts occurring along the Equator, especially in many African countries, is already causing over a million climate refugees. But once again, Americans don't give a shit. Only after we are impacted by water shortages ourselves will we realize that this is a clear and present danger to our country and our planet.

[@lorenzoblum868]

Btw, the carbon / toxicity boot print of the elephant in the room aka the military industrial complex anybody? Not to undermine Las Vegas smoke and mirrors of course...

[@MostlyMildMidnights]

I was just scrolling through KZbin and I saw this video and out loud, without even thinking, I asked “oh John why?”. You condense despair into such an informative and entertaining package. Each week I both dread/ look forward to whatever fresh terrible you and your team are dishing out

[@ginac7235]

“fresh terrible” 😅 I like how you put that

[@JCW7100]

Perfectly said 😆

[@kylereyes2337]

“Fresh Terrible” *thanks, that’s my band name now*

[@septegram]

"It is imperative that we learn from our past mistakes." We are _so_ screwed.

[@sgrvtl7183]

😂yes we are! America doesn’t not learn from past mistakes❗️

[@Praisethesunson]

L.A is trying to waste Colorado river water to avoid dealing with a past mistake

[@buckrodgers1162]

And some wonder why, and even go so far as to call me 'crazy' when I say that; We are well on our way to terraforming Earth into 'The New Venus'.

[@isabellaangeline2175]

The Republican Party has made it a crime to learn from past mistakes. If it makes whitey feel bad then somehow it’s wrong.

[@troyarrington5492]

@@Praisethesunson pretty sure Colorado sold that water. Nothings being stolen

[@SomniisPMV]

Poor part of Utah: Well yes, we're in drought, so we won't be turning on your ground water this summer Rich part (southern): Why yes, you can build another golf course in the middle of the desert next to your brand new pool and unaffordable houses! It blows my mind to see all these rich people getting a pass to do whatever they want and everyone else gets blamed for it. Imagine if they actually faced consequences *gasp.*

[@Alblaka]

I mean, they're rich, so obviously they are virtuous people blessed by god, and therefore have the right to preferential treatment! It's not like you're born rich or poor. /s

[@Krazie-Ivan]

Yeah, I saw a report in St George where the realtor defended using so much water with 'you can't expect OUR children to play on anything but natural grass!', like inner-city kids have done for generations. Reeked of utterly self-absorbed privilege & ignorance.

[@randomcdude4430]

It would really be a shame if something happened to those nice golf courses... You know accidents happen all the time. People spill herbacide all the time.... It's so dry one little spark in the brush around town and....well you know poof there goes the golf course. Be a real shame it would. You really gotta be careful how you build in Minecraft. /Sarcasm. Op gives off some serious Big Vinny at the bodega energy.

[@Marijuanifornia]

It takes less than 14 minutes to learn how to save the world. The 13-minute, 42-second 1942 US Department of Agriculture video *Hemp for Victory* is the key to reducing unemployment, reducing poverty, reducing hunger, reducing homelessness, reducing health care costs, reducing crime, reducing police brutality, reducing government spending, reducing political corruption, reducing pollution, replacing fossil fuels, ending deforestation and stopping climate change, all at the same time. There is an official .gov link to the film from the US National Archives. It has been public since 1990. There was a bill in Congress titled HR 3652, the *Hemp for Victory Act of 2019.* The USDA reported in Bulletin 404 in 1916 that one acre of Cannabis can make as much paper as four acres of trees. Ford made a plastic car body in 1941 with hemp, and the Diesel engine was designed to run on plant-based fuel. This means that for at least the last 80 years, we could have made all of our paper from hemp, and cars and fuel for those cars from hemp, without cutting down forests or drilling or fracking or waging war for oil, and thereby averting climate change altogether. It is because industrial hemp can replace trees for paper and construction, and replace petroleum and petrochemicals for transportation fuel and plastic, bankrupting the timber and oil industries, that Cannabis Sativa was labeled "Marijuana" and outlawed as a "dangerous" drug.

[@erpthompsonqueen9130]

Imagine

[@nicoleludwig1879]

I'm European and seeing that a state head in the USA apparently thinks it's a reasonable solution to pray for rain in the 21st century is just so mind-blowing, I don't know if I'm more shocked or scared. Someone in a charge that high should at least believe in science or be able to gather a team of experts who can explain the topic to him and help find a solution.... Right?! 😳😳

[@Brian-tn4cd]

All the experts in the world dont matter to people unwilling to listen

[@wisewolftony]

Has an R next to his name and in this current age can't expect any single Republican to use science to solve any sort of issue even those that need it. No matter the issue they refuse to listen to scientist or doctors. Global Warming "Ohh the earth has always had periods of weather change so no it's not real and isn't an issue even with all the proof slapping us in the face". COVID 19 "Were just gonna ignore every single thing doctors are saying and instead make this entire virus and politic issue and undermine are top medical adviser and ohh when the center of disease control makes guidelines intended for the public to see were gonna bury the shit out of it and tell them it well never see the light of day" Trans wanting medical treatment were also gonna ignore what every doctor says and all the proof. And instead lie to are idiotic base of morons and tell them doctors are cutting the dicks and breasts off of 5yr old kids and they will all believe it. Hell we will rally are base to much we will get them to send bomb and death threats to children's hospitals who help the LGBTQ community. Who cares if that also fucks over kids with cancer or terminal illnesses it fucks with LGBTQ kids and families and that's all we care about. While were at it why don't we also try and topple democracy and the election process by telling are base the election was rigged despite not showing a single ounce of proof. They are dumb enough to believe that as well.

[@manuelschneider1105]

As an European living in the US... I feel your feelings....

[@AdenHoyle]

Right! Right?! It’s the tyranny of Christian nationalism.

[@kozmosis3486]

As a American born in America and never having been anywhere else, I am so fucking over this place and its embarrassingly stupid bullshit.

[@Thedudeabides803]

“That’s just unsustainable” “That’s just human nature” That’s the whole problem

[@nomisunrider6472]

Yup. Every time the government implements the slightest bit of common sense you get people whining that they “can’t water their lawns anymore” and companies saying it’s “too expensive” no matter how ungodly rich they are. You can’t do anything without everyone throwing tantrums. Endless growth as a social and economic system was never going to work on a limited planet but people would rather bury their heads in the sand than acknowledge that

[@joemomma3648]

That's also bullshit because the Native Americans that lived in the southwest for millennia never caused this shit on their watch.

[@weareallbornmad410]

"It goes back to manifest destiny and this American dream..." I bet it does.

[@wrawrer]

@@nomisunrider6472 Utah government will not even allow towns to cut back on development.

[@tamarindo386]

This combined with the overturning of Roe v. Wade makes it even more concerning. More children are going to grow up in shitty areas with unprepared parents with fewer resources. Whyyyyyyy America

[@ulalaFrugilega]

When I was child, I read a book on how we waste water everywhere, how this will become a problem along the way, and how we could do better. This was 40 years ago… it impressed me so much, I have been mindful of water everyday since. Strange that no one else seems to have noticed.

[@covfefe1787]

we have a whole ocean lets use it. or better yet create a machine to fuse Hydrogen with oxygen and create water out of pure air. the military most likely already has this technology.

[@ngrovotny]

@@covfefe1787 why not just cast another magic water spell?

[@slktool]

Science fiction and film makers have been sounding alarms for decades. Remember just a few years ago the whole plot of a James Bond movie was water control.

[@onemorelivingvids]

@@covfefe1787 Look up Moses West, he has a company Paladin Water Technology & is the founder of the Water Rescue Foundation.They make Atmospheric Water Generation machines, which extract moisture from the atmosphere and turn it into water. He’s taken them to Flint, Michigan; Puerto Rico; the Bahamas; and other places impacted by hurricanes. They use them to give away free & clean drinking water. Lots of his machines end up getting professionally sabotaged though, because people aren’t happy when they loose profit.

[@adora_was_taken]

@@covfefe1787 the technology exists, but getting pure hydrogen is really difficult and expensive. not to mention the water shortages are on such a scale that it'd take more hydrogen and energy than any nation could feasibly produce enough water to offset climate change. desalination of ocean water is a good idea that people are making a lot of headway on, but it'd still require massive, unrealistic amounts of energy and resources to make up for falling water levels. the most efficient solution is to use less water and reverse climate change as much as possible to let the same natural processes that formed these bodies regenerate them.

[@stevepowell6503]

My geology professor in college was from Alabama. He started the first class by saying in a heavy southern drawl, "that's right, I am that rarest of birds, a redneck with a PhD". One subject John didn't cover in this was contamination of groundwater by human waste, a subject my prof went into at length. I remember the whole lesson years later, possibly because one of the funniest phrases to hear in a Southern accent is "poo water".

[@bonniejosavland3227]

Tucson uses grey water for parks & to recharge ponds & dry rivers!

[@Drekromancer]

That professor sounds like a fucking genius. Props to him for speaking up where people don't want to hear the truth.

[@cocobutter3175]

Thanks. I had to record myself saying "poo water" so I could play it back to myself to hear how goofy it sounds. No matter how bad your Alabama accent is, you don't think you have one until other people mention it or worse-- you accidentally hear a recording of yourself and realize you sound like sentient cornbread.

[@stevepowell6503]

@@Drekromancer he was a great professor. I went back to school in my 40s. When I was young, I had gone to a State school. I switched to Wittenberg, a small liberal arts college when I went back. The quality of the professors wasn't even slightly comparable. I had a total of 2 good professors at Wright State, and only 1 who wasn't good at Wittenberg. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

[@danieldaniels7571]

poo water is what is used to water most golf courses in Arizona.

[@the_luggage]

There should be a spin-off series giving updates on each of these fantastic stories!

[@labellesouris1412]

My mom is a geologist and likes to play with water when she’s not playing with rocks. She was in Israel a few years ago and was seated next to a man in charge of the public water systems in Tel Aviv. He was speaking to her of the expansion that was being planned for that area and Mom asked him “where will the water come from?”. He told her that there was plenty of water. She told him that no, she had seen there was not, that the River Jorden was very low. That is when he replied that God would provide, stood up and walked away. Another one bites (mom’s) dust..lol…

[@mieliav]

actually israel does a ton of desalinization. 'god will provide' might've been his idea of a joke.

[@mbs0710]

the same way israelis believe in the "promised land" and thus justifying Palestenian Genocide

[@facilitator1031]

@@mieliav yes

[@BePaymind]

🇵🇸 palestina *

[@danielhorritz7986]

Israel is pure evil and will likely steal from its Arab neighbors. Israel must be abolished and the land returned to the Palestinians.

[@dancefan9000]

As a Colorado resident, the changes I’ve observed during my lifetime scare me for anyone alive in the next 50-100 years. The steady increase in wildfires across the West are devastating to wildlife and human settlements. The wildfire that broke out east of Boulder and into Broomfield displaced hundreds on families. Two years ago when nearly the entire Front Range was aflame turned the sky orange for weeks. Ash rained down daily. We are becoming the dystopian, apocalyptic novels and movies we consume in mass.

[@jamesbutler8821]

And it is going to get worse and worse very year. When I was a kid, my parents took us on grand tour of many of the national parks out west. Now in my 50s, I recreated that trip for my family and was staggered by the fact that many of the parks had fire damage, often completely marring the experience, something that was not true in the 70s. People need to wake the fuck up because in a decade or so they wont be talking about you cutting back on the water you use on your lawn, they will be talking about cutbacks on the water you DRINK.

[@alexblair337]

And what have you done in response -- other than write an email?

[@kevuseth8027]

@@jamesbutler8821 Screw lawns. Use native grass. Lawns are wastes of water and terrible for the environment.

[@jamesbutler8821]

@@kevuseth8027 I agree. The whole concept of lawns is asinine. Most people do not use them for anything but a buffer between you and your neighbor. Leave the land be, let nature grow whatever it wants, with you just trimming it back to maintain walkability, no water at all

[@generaltso6914]

And the wildfires now also occur in winter!! The Boulder-Broomfield fire was in December (stopped a few houses from mine, btw). Good descriptions-- the summer of fire, our throats always dry and sore from the falling ash

[@jaredwn2724]

I live in Utah, we have had "drought" conditions for like a decade now. Its hard to find citizens who care. I watch neighbors turn their sprinklers on daily at 3pm when its 100 degrees outside, basically evaporating before it hits the ground. We get about 3 months of 95-100 degrees in the summer. Then there are a TON of public golf courses (with some of the cheapest fares in the country). Then there are farmers who insist on crops that arent suited for our area. Listen to Bill Maher talk about Almond farms in CA... its ridiculous. And ALL of the talking points from our UT govt is about letting your grass die and not planting landscape around your home... how about close the golf course(s) and let the Boomers play somewhere else for $10. How about regulate what crops are subsidized and where they can grow.

[@RobertClontz]

I'd be on board with that. I'd also like to see large corporations and non-profits be held accountable for excessive water usage (extreme fines). When I see their sprinklers running almost every day mid-day and while my lawn is crispy dry, it's hard not to angry about the double standards.

[@MattZaharias]

Nope! That would hurt business, so instead we all get to die.

[@lanapowell]

@@MattZaharias Yep, that's exactly what they all said during the pandemic: we citizens should be willing to die to keep the businesses going.

[@cbpd89]

If the grass being dry/dead effects one's golf game, I must assume they aren't a very good golfer. 😆 So let the course dry out! I love in Utah, I'd say most of my community cares a lot about conserving water, but let's just get rid of the grass. Drips systems are more efficient than sprinklers. I am a huge advocate for this, but it's been pointed out to me that biggest issue for all of us though is agricultural use. Farmers need to switch to more drought friendly crops, not hay and alfalfa.

[@donnavorce8856]

We're screwed. Imagine for a moment you own a thousand acres of desert and have a shot at making a million a year planting alfalfa or something on that land. If you don't the government is going to still expect taxes on the land. Plus everyone wants to make a million a year right? So of course you convert (ruin) the thousand acres of prime desert, pristine perfect desert for animal feed. We're so screwed as a species. As long as people worship money.

[@janeljolly2093]

May we please get a show on Tipping? I feel like with the economy influx, I'm noticing more and more places forcing tipping into everyday purchases. Its hard to tell how much to tip, when to not tip, and how we can help employers maybe offer better pay (if that is what its compensating for in some cases).

[@Bolton115]

It's poor employee pay to allow for greater CEO pay and shareholder equity. Full stop. Starbucks isn't closing their store on 23rd and Union (In Seattle, WA) due to the crime that shitty Corporate pay structures breed-they're closing all the stores which are unionizing.

[@Julia-lk8jn]

Sounds like a classic Last Week Tonight subject: fairly simple on the surface, you think you have a pretty good idea what's going on, and then that rug gets pulled out from under you. I love in Germany where tipping is pretty much only for restaurants. I don't eat out very much, but I'm careful to tip in situations where I have my doubts that the employees get a livable wage, e.g. in a nail studio. And hearing that more and more places are "forcing tipping" makes me very, very weary. How exactly is "forced tipping" different from "raised prices" in effect? Doesn't help that I heard of stuff like 20% of the price being for "service" - meaning: the staff - but only 12 % actually end up with the staff. Sounds like a form of wage theft - another subject that really, really needs a LWT episode.

[@retched]

Welcome to a year later. And boy, do we have a story for you...

[@mamapetillo8675]

Born and raised in CA, with a mother that attended UC Berkeley in the 70’s, you’d better believe I heard plenty about water conservation. And I’m still very much aware of it, effecting my choices in many areas. One thing that wasn’t stressed enough, and still isn’t, is that the largest guilty parties as far as poor water use management, are corporations and the greedy bastards that take lobbyists $ to sell large quantities of our water to those entities. In Sacramento, Nestle buys our water, strains it thru a pantyhose, bottles it and sells it back to us. Indigenous tribes may have reservations, but their water is often stolen right out from under them, by large companies tapping the aquifers. It’s similar to what the oil barons pulled on smaller speculators, sucking the oil right out from the tracts of land that they’d invest in. (Not that I’m a big defender of oil, but in the context of the time, it was treated like the financial boon that gold was.) Water is far more valuable than oil or gold. There is no substitute for it. You can’t switch to solar to replace it, you can’t ration it for use in only the most important applications, like electronics or other scientific uses. (It obviously can be rationed to a degree, but what is required is pretty inflexible) It’s finite. And it’s being lost rapidly, in part because the encroaching danger is hard for the average consumer to see. We’re just used to turning the faucet handle, not maintaining a well that has to continually be dug deeper, as the aquifer drops lower and lower. This isn’t impossible to address. It’s not even a huge inconvenience. But it does demand action before people are truly suffering, and for spoiled water consumers, it seems to be too large an ask. Go ahead and call CA a nanny state; maybe people do need a nanny. They sure as hell don’t seem to know which end is wet, much of the time.

[@krisd8773]

Wow. You provided a lot of information I wasn’t aware of. Thanks

[@sarahrose9944]

Thank you for bringing up Nestle!! They are awful.

[@shaec3405]

Oh my God Nestle is doing the same thing in Michigan they signed a deal with our &&$$##_&__$&-+++-_$ azzshole Governor engler got that guy's a piece of shit they are pumping I think it's 30,000 gallons a day out of our aquifer up north . And if you try to go anywhere near it it will shoot you! It's like hi kick back much to a handful of people that keep letting them do this they're stealing our water. And they don't even pay shit for it

[@Craxin01]

California does at least have a ready source of water right off the coast. Desalination can and should be used in coastal areas. Whatever isn't used immediately can and should be pumped back into aquifers.

[@cookielapaz8927]

In Southern California Nestle has been stealing millions of gallons of water for decades. After pressure from groups California department of water finally issued a cease and desist. I haven't heard if Nestle has stopped stealing 56 million gallons of water a year or if any fines or jail time for the culprits. Residents are restricting water usage so Nestle can steal it and sell it back to Americans. Nestle has created 3rd world countries across the world by stealing their water.

[@mallisaunders4565]

I am so grateful for the rain we have had the last week here in NM. This spring was so dry. I have a 30 year old rosebush that almost died. This is a bush that has survived insane winds, accidental spills of toxic car fluids, and aggressive pruning. The drought out here is for real. PS, I don't have a lawn. I have a fig tree, some vegetable beds and said rosebush.

[@dannypomeroy9255]

Take the rose bush n plant it in wild in more shade n off a creek bed n letting go it will grow n every yr take the vine n stick n hole the tips of vine to restart another rose bush anything vines on the ends can be regrowth by in the ground the tips of vines Will restart

[@PartTheMists]

We do not have active creeks in many parts of NM. Our water comes twice a year from monsoons and snow melt from the rockies released in the Rio grande for agriculture.

[@lookronjon]

I live in Colorado. West of Denver in the hills. It’s been a long winter and looks like a hot, dry summer ahead. I’m glad to get the snow on June 2 this year. I’m grateful to have a deep, cold, clean well.

[@dannypomeroy9255]

@@lookronjon June 2 lol n foothills ya just ask Texas about colder weather globle warming is trends in both Directions with more n more swings in weather patterns like Minnesota last December first time in recorded history Tornadoes n December

[@VarmintLP]

@@dannypomeroy9255 In 2019 Luxembourg had it's first ever Tornado (as far as I could find). Boi that was scary. I do hope we can get this stupid climate change under controle. I don't want to fly away next time there is one. :/

[@codes5218]

“When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.” - Benjamin Franklin

[@emilyjoann]

I live here in Utah and one of the largest consumers of water in Salt Lake is the University of Utah. They have so many lawns where they should just have rocks or something else

[@chromicapop4595]

Why not cut back on landscaping projects? Or modify the landscape on university property to have rain collection barrels😂

[@nilsschuler]

I'm surprised at how little attention the "food production takes up 70% of water usage" part got. Growing the wrong crops in the wrong areas, overreliance on the incredibly water intensive practices in animal farming etc. Animal ag uses more water to produce less calories than even rice patties, but regulating agricultural water use is still not properly discussed. Tragic.

[@MrJack1987]

Yeah not a single word about Middle East and Saudi Arabia leasing vast swaths of land to grow alfalfa to export for their cattle.

[@deborah3250]

Beautiful, appreciated comment.

[@bonniejosavland3227]

Yes & all the freaking golf courses only the rich can afford at $1,200 a game😳🤬

[@luannnelson2825]

@@bonniejosavland3227 $1,200 for a round of golf?

[@Diana1000Smiles]

I live in Montana almost in Idaho, and an alfalfa field (someone else owns) is near my backyard. I can see rolls of alfalfa, currently, because this is genetically modified alfalfa and it requires irrigation for 6 months of every year, and harvesting happens 3 times every year, too. Shall we blame the cattle for needing so much food?

[@MsAnpassad]

In my country, if a politician asked people to pray in order to solve a problem, the next seat that person would get, would be in a psychiatric ward. I'm so very grateful for living in a secular country.

[@projectphoniex]

I wish we did too.

[@danakanafina3615]

Where are you from?

[@denisdaly1708]

@@danakanafina3615 I am from Ireland, and we would react in the same way. Ireland is a country with plenty of water. And we still conserve it.

[@MsAnpassad]

@@danakanafina3615 Sweden.

[@DynaDere]

I wish I did too

[@ItsMzPhoenix]

My mom and I live in the Victor Valley area of the CA desert region, and her water company is setting up restrictions on what days we’re permitted to water lawns and stuff. When I was little, my mom had half of our backyard grass-covered, but the expense (and question of water usage habits) has led her to leaving a patch of grass by the patio for our dogs and tortoises. As an environmental studies major, we’ve talked about water usage and conservation with regards to things like residential lawns, crop choices, reservoirs (Hetch Hetchy, anyone?), and tribal water usage. Thanks for helping bring more attention to this issue :)

[@LittleMissTotoro]

What I mainly took from this is Living in desert + Have a lawn??? Do many people in deserts have lawns!?? We don't water our Northern Eutopean lawn. We let the rain do it. And if it is so warm and dry we start needing to so it looks nice, then we usually get a text message asking us to be careful and conserve water. So we don't water lawns.

[@CraftsmanOfAwsomenes]

My friend’s HOA harassed his grandma for not having a green lawn in the middle of a severe drought. People trying to maintain the perfectly manicured full yard of bermuda grass lifestyle in California seems totally deranged.

[@karabearcomics]

@@LittleMissTotoro I know that my grandparents in the Mojave had a lawn ("had" because sadly they're no longer with us). I can't use that to extrapolate to everyone, but it lets me know that some desert areas can have them. Granted, I have no idea how much water they used to maintain it, but they also lived where there were some trees, so it may have been a fertile patch (I hesitate to say "oasis" here because I'm not sure if it applies). Now, I don't remember any grass growing naturally (ie in places where nobody was living), so take it as you will. Lots of creosote bushes, though. And despite the desert stereotype, very few cactuses in comparison, and no Saguaros.

[@chezmoi42]

@@karabearcomics "Can have" certainly does not equate to "should have". That is the whole point of this video.

[@vladyg8]

The water waste is mind blowing. I understand you want pets, and they could enjoy grass, but if everyone acted in such self interest there would be water shortage iss... nevermind.

[@Gwynbleidd_117]

We need a part 2 to this now that it’s been a few months.

[@carolewhitrock3979]

Once again, John, a masterful presentation about the absurdity of the American way.🗿

[@realAfrican]

John is a paid shill who pushes the WEF agenda

[@mysticmind4563]

And once again followed up with an ending sketch that makes SNL look like amateurs.

[@AlexZ-lc6nl]

The American way is take what I want, give me what i want-NOW.

[@JayChecksFacts]

🗿

[@christopherheckman7957]

@@AlexZ-lc6nl I think you're channeling George Carlin (who evidently was the model for God's speech at the end). "The Baby Boomers: whiny, narcissistic, self-indulgent people with a simple philosophy: 'Gimme that! It's mine!' "

[@LordZombitten]

I live in Utah. It blows my mind that the city I live in requires a certain amount of green lawn in the visible parts of the yard. It's something like 70 or 80% of it has to be green lawn. I don't want to waste the water on stupid grass that has no business being in a desert. I'd much rather xeriscape so I can have a nice-looking yard without dumping gallons of precious water on it. I mention it to city officials, but they ignore me. It's frustrating Edited to add: I read the most recent version of the city ordinance last night. The amount of required living plant matter has been reduced from 70% to 30%. Artificial grass may be used if each artificial blade is long enough, if it's dense enough, and if there's at least a 5-year warranty against color fading and physical wear. A permit must be obtained prior to installing artificial turf. The city I live in is kind of like the world's largest HOA

[@oofoof4875]

what a jackass city law

[@fugithegreat]

One of my favorite KZbinrs who lives in Tooele County was fined because he had sugar beets and other vegetables growing in his front yard. It's ridiculous that Utahns are forced by law to water ornamental grass and penalized for growing edible crops. By law, you also can't collect rainwater off your roof to water your crops, either. My home state is far too frequently the model of absurdity, and it's so embarrassing.

[@brookeworley5140]

Not only yards, but cities also have requirements for businesses or apartment complexes to have grass on parking strips in parking lots 🙃

[@logansmall5148]

Green spray paint is cheap :p

[@Cocky.Rooster]

Sounds like city officials are too busy praying for rain.

[@garrettneiss7297]

I lived in Utah for three years and when I turned the sprinklers off at my home to save water, my landlord showed up and threatened to charge me for damages done to the grass. They then sent over a person to program the automatic sprinkler and locked the control unit shut.

[@eideticex]

For future reference. No lock is safe against a diamond cutoff wheel or bolt cutters with carbide tips. Both of which can be found at almost any hardware store, even the cheap one.

[@sdfkjgh]

@@eideticex: That's the Chaotic Good content I live for!

[@x--.]

@@eideticex Yeah, but landlord/tenant law means you gotta pay for the lock and the damage to the grass.

[@wilkinscoffee4228]

@@eideticex Depending on what kind of lock it is. it could be easy to pick.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@wilkinscoffee4228 "Nothing on one, two is binding, false gate on three..."

[@yaninaaldaogalvan9077]

Thank you for bringing this issue up to the mainstream media. The water wars have been going on forever, and it is about time someone shines a light on it. Thank you, John!

[@joshtool]

Was really hoping John would go further into alfalfa farming, and how it’s done mostly to provide feed for livestock overseas. It’s a huge reason for the Great Salt Lake’s continued shrinkage, and thus Utah’s current aridification. It’s also leading to the potential exposure of arsenic along the Lake’s dry bed, which will be blown, as dust, into the surrounding area’s air. Another reason to examine our support for animal agriculture, AND to turn your damn sprinklers off.

[@nateynate1235]

It also sends some of the water used to grow the alfalfa to an entirely different part of the world, which leaves Utah with even less water than we had before. It's madness to be growing alfalfa anywhere in the southwest.

[@elizabeththelen7955]

Watch Cowspiracy.

[@MISmotionimagesound]

And "The Wonderful Company"

[@TheBenballs99]

I'd gladly let my grass die but, if I do, my HOA will put liens on my home 😮

[@Carp_Loc322OZ40]

The Saudis grow alfalfa in the desert of Arizona and ship it back to their country.

[@VetsrisAuguste]

I’m not surprised to learn that Utah uses the most water. I have a relative has a sod farm in the desert of Utah where he grows luxury grade grass for the NFL and various golf courses around the country. That same relative has been complaining for a decade about the effects drought has had on their business, but rather than redirect their business model, they are consuming as much water as they can get their hands on while they wait for the drought to end.

[@Zift_Ylrhavic_Resfear]

Let me guess : they believe climate change isn't happening. If they understood climate change, they would know the drought is only going to get worse.

[@stonefox2546]

"Surely if I keep pissing away this resource it will eventually come back! I can't do things any other way because it would cut into my profits in the next quartal!"

[@TheSpecialJ11]

Ah yes. The desert. A wonderful place to start a sod growing business. I'm sorry but we need to start letting people like your relative suffer the natural consequences of their actions instead of finding ways to bail them out. Like people who repeatedly build homes in floodplains. Pay them to relocate not rebuild.

[@breannap8585]

@@TheSpecialJ11 the problem is that greedy people aren't the only ones who will suffer from their actions. Everyone in the area is hit with the consequences.

[@theblondeone8426]

thats unbelievable - another reason to hate the NFL

[@MatthewSmith-sz1yq]

As a resident of AZ, thank you for covering our water issues. I live in Phoenix, and I am not joking when I say we have neighborhoods that look like they are from Indiana or something. The whole area is covered in grass, there are trees not native to the desert, and they will even have gardens in their backyards. Remember, we are in a DESERT. The only way they can keep these plants from dying (since they do not belong in a desert) is to flood irrigate their neighborhood, which is a method of watering crops where you literally flood the entire field. Our government is so corrupt about this too. They keep doing campaigns telling people to do stuff like shorten/reduce their showers, buy more efficient washer/dryers, etc, yet do and say absolutely nothing about the neighborhoods literally flooding their lawns just to keep the decorative plants alive. In the middle of this water crisis, guess what is the #1 consumer of water here? I kid you not, grass. We are draining the Colorado river because we want to grow grass, in a desert.

[@evanbelcher]

The bottom line is that you simply can't tell Americans not to have something that we want. The concept of making a sacrifice for the greater good is totally foreign

[@KarlosEPM]

@@evanbelcher True for Europeans as well. But eventually lifestyles change out of necessity, and what we perceive as quality of life will decrease soon.

[@jjbarajas5341]

@@evanbelcher Yes, until the day comes when their faucets run dry, as we saw in the video for those with wells. Everyone thinks they're invincible until it happens to them unfortunately.

[@johnnamkeh1290]

@@evanbelcher Well, in my country in EU we do have groundwater pumping bans at times, and they're getting pretty aggressive about it recently in response to precipitation predictions.

[@elizabeththelen7955]

No correlation between water availability and housing development is why I will never own property. We winter in ViewPoint Golf Resort in east Mesa.

[@AdenHoyle]

It was so good of God to come on the show and tell all of us what we needed to hear. Replace the water issue with absolutely anything else people tend to pray for and it still works. Thank “God” Thoughts and prayers.

[@josepholiveira2873]

I've been doing reading on water supplies/usage in California, and it all matches the episode. A fun fact I found is that water allocation in the state was all based on generous assumptions of 'average precipitation'. That is, rather than budgeting low and using extra as it comes, the state budgeted high and is left wringing its hands when it falls short. On top of that, evidence suggests that the 20th century was an unusually wet century in California, even before accounting for anthropogenic climate change. So the state is built on an assumption of plentiful water that simply doesn't exist, and won't exist anytime this century. Also, bonus fun fact about pumping groundwater: In California, at least, freshwater aquifers lie on top of saltwater aquifers that were deposited when the place was under the sea. So the more fresh groundwater gets pumped up, the more saltwater will rise to the surface. And once an aquifer is contaminated with saltwater, there's no fixing it; that source of water is done for. So all that unregulated groundwater pumping is just adding to an unfixable state of waterlessness. The situation: it be dire.

[@Corn0nTheCobb]

Sheeesh

[@borountree4539]

Also we practically give away enormous amounts of water to companies like Nestlé who then ship most if it out of state. They sell ALL of what they get for almost free at staggering profits. These companies are destroying our water table and depleting our supply and the government DOES NOT CARE along as they make money.

[@scottgrindrod]

Yet Nestle illegally pumps water in excess of allotment and gets a stern letter written to them while their profits soar into the stratosphere... And the main reason why ultra rich people don't care AT ALL about things like this is that they know they can afford to move when an area is turned into an uninhabitable wasteland from their practices.

[@kyleritty1883]

Politicians could literally be told that what they’re doing would cause the earth to explode and they’d still complain about “their right to do what they want” and “their standard of living”

[@prinnyhayate5517]

Best to just put them down lmao

[@michalis75]

As well as their voters. Covid showed everyone how selfish people actually can be.

[@Fabian46544]

Isn't that the literal plot of Superman's backstory? And yes, I thick you are right. Edit: grammar

[@VitaeLibra]

@UCc5GFr2_Ga7_kJjo2OHe46A damn I wanna click this but it sounds yoo much like a bait. Either the meme bait or a hacker thingy

[@tomgraves6463]

But if it does not explode at least they got some money and really awesome wealthcare,..... I mean Healthcare 🙄

[@EricTheKei]

Now we need "Water II: Nestle." Enough for an entire show just about them.

[@Robynhoodlum]

This!!!!

[@jocodabest]

Meat industry. Seriously cows, pigs, chickens drink a lot of water. Millions upon millions of thirsty animals.

[@Arcifer]

@@jocodabest And then they pee out the water and it goes into the ground and filters and the cycle continues.... why does it always have to be blame put on animals, for this its actually crops, way too much crops, and in the fucking desert of all places

[@casparhughey5651]

I think he already did

[@gsxrsterl]

Nestle sucks, what they are doing to state aquifers should be criminal. And don’t drink Poland spring water, I live in Maine and the are raping that area of the state.

[@andrebecker7350]

The end is the funniest thing I've ever seen on LWT. Fantastic. I want a feature film with god! What a great performance

[@jones8041]

He is great. But for now the only thing you can do is watch "Succession". :P

[@HarlanHughes]

As a Nevadan, I like the fact that most yards I see are more in line with the environment outside of the city with all the cacti and rocks and stuff. The only time I see grass other than at parks or other public places happens to be in the gated communities with retirees, and even then at least half of those yards are astroturf.

[@21972012145525]

That’s great. I’m actually surprised (soft) AstroTurf or yellowing lawns aren’t more common. Do people really like mowing their lawns?

[@GhostScout42]

Reno is not like this haha. They just drink up the truckee like its thiers

[@johncatty6560]

It's kinda weird. Here in Germany they started the fight against yards that are filled with crushed stones and demand to make them green again to give space to insects like bees. And in the states hit by this long-time drought they do the opposite. But I understand both the scenarios.

[@vladyg8]

it's fantastic that people are allowing the local flora to occupy yards. It will not only make life more sustainable, but also give the local fauna room to rebuild their ecosystems :)

[@tylerhibbs7086]

Get tiger turf it’s way better

[@mountainhun]

Got into an argument with someone about golf courses, they claimed that they took better care of the environment than when it had been left empty. When I pointed out golf courses in places where they completely destroyed ecosystems like the desert or wetlands, he said I obviously never played golf, so my opinion wasn't valid. XD

[@koopatroopa187]

As a resident of Southern Arizona, golf courses in the desert are the stupidest fucking thing ever. BuT tHeY uSe ReClAiMeD wAtEr.

[@michaeleverson3801]

And another angle...they're littered with RoundUp, known to be a hazardous carcinogen.

[@RegularTetragon]

I don't get why they can't just set up a golf course without grass

[@InternetKilledTV21]

@@RegularTetragon Golf is played by the worst people. They want what they want or you they don't like you.

[@Briaaanz]

I was at Valley of Fire and ran into a guy hitting a bucket of golf balls into the valley from a parking lot. He wasn't going to pick them up, he just didn't want to pay for the cost of a driving range. Golfers seem to be inherently @$$h0les

[@Bookwright]

We've had problems with grundwater shortages in Sweden. Know what we did? We took in experts from other parts of the world, India being one of them, who new how to conserve water much beter then us. We now have a lot of water projects going on and we're using a lot more saltwater where we can. With that said we can still do better. There is a lot of knowlage out there if one look.

[@Nerazmus]

Desalinating water isn't really option for most countries tho, not right now at least. Since most of the world, the energy for that would have to come from fossil fuels, it's just shifting the problem.

[@Northstar1989]

@@Nerazmus desalination is a long-term investment that has to be made now. It takes 20 years to do a good, well-studied desalination project without excessive costs or schedule overruns (better to plan for things taking longer, than to end up behind schedule and have everything thus cost twice as much...) So no, we can't just wave our hands at desalination. That needs to be done alongside conservation and swapping off fossil fuel usage. You can't just pick and choose, ALL are necessary.

[@PainRack]

Eh.... India has some very good experts. Their government isn't listening to them though (Chennai ). Its irritating even because the ancient Indians knew of water shortages and created the stepwell to store and conserve water, including use of clay tech to store it cool for use but Modern India copies colonial practices of pumping out groundwater that's unsustainable.

[@TheRedMekanik]

Unfortunately, the United States has a large portion of the population that refuses to listen to experts. These people either think they know better, somehow, or simply choose to ignore problems because they don't want to change their lifestyle. A few months ago, I had a neighbor tell me that gas prices were ridiculous because oil wasn't actually running out. This person believed that the earth will make more oil. While possible, that takes millions of years. Nah, they said, that's just what they taught you in school, it's not true. Now you see what the US is dealing with.

[@karinemw]

I've been saying for years that we should speak more with our Scandinavian allies and allies from around the world to look for solutions. My fellow American refuse to acknowledge that there is anyone else competent enough to solve our problems. We are still so new, I suppose.

[@ethanmathison9957]

THE GOD SEQUENCE IS UTTERLY BRILLIANT! TEN GOLDEN STARS! AND THANK YOU!

[@Think890]

"I'll be the Drought Daddy, I'll keep track of the wets" needs to be a tshirt

[@CatHasOpinions734]

I had a moment of "wait, that's not what people in this region in the 800s would've looked like, why would OH 0they're putting John in this costume, never mind, the Gregorian Monk Halloween costume makes more sense now, good call."

[@cbpd89]

Thank you for calling out Utah! I've lived in Utah most of my life, and water usage here is delusional. I'm not sure why so many people around here grow Kentucky blue grass, which is ridiculous because it is a very thirsty grass. It's not the only answer to a historic drought, but if people actually planted drought friendly plants and trees instead of non native water guzzlers, it would make a difference. I've lived in Arizona, no one there is dumb enough to plant non desert plants. I've lived in California, actually people on the coast plant tons of non desert plants, bad example. I'm a religious person, but I don't think God takes away consequences from people. We've been reckless with the water we have and contributed to climate change that will permanently effect how much rain and snow we get. It's up to us to live with the consequences of those actions.

[@ericmgodfrey]

I mean, yeah, we could do with less lawn, but only 7% of Utah's water goes to residential grass. Half of that lawn could go missing and not one would care. But 80% of Utah's water goes to agricultural and half of that is for alfalfa hay specifically. But like Arizon, Utah also recently passed laws to allow farmers to not "use it or lose it". We are making efforts here, but the biggest thing that needs to be done is improve agricultural use. (As with everything, thoughts and prayers don't count.)

[@Melonist]

@@ericmgodfrey why do these regions grow food, anyways? Why not import from whatever part of America allows them to export food around the world?

[@Spiff99]

@@Melonist Because grows very well with all the sunshine and all year long due to temps not getting to freezing (depending on area of course).

[@jacobbwalters8133]

@@Melonist do you like salads in the winter? What about fruit? If you answered either question to the affirmative then you answered your own question.

[@mikaellund1404]

its up to us to live with the consequences of past generations actions.

[@michalotten9722]

A few years ago I rented a house in Phoenix, AZ- all the homes in the neighborhood had large lawns with grass. In the summer, we were watering the lawn a good 30 min/day to keep it from burning. The HOA sent angry letters if we had burned spots on the lawn, which happened even with the watering schedule because it’s the desert! It was so stupid and such a colossal waste of water. I was so happy to move and not be a part of it anymore.

[@samaraisnt]

HOA/housing enforcement are the single strongest reasons everyone still has to water their lawn/keep one! If they didn't have such hissyfits about what a house "should look like" we'd be saving literal tons of water, it's infuriating.

[@marcpeterson1092]

St George, Utah may be worse per capita, but for me, Phoenix is the worst because of the wastefulness and population .

[@stillhere1425]

Sun City has desert-scaping now and it’s beautiful. So maybe AZ is wising up?

[@marcpeterson1092]

@@stillhere1425 What about Phoenix?

[@alexblair337]

And what have you done in response?

[@Drnardinov]

some times I don't think I have the time to watch these but they're always so gooooood!!! so I make time. Good to see and hear from God.

[@ETibbs11]

Dude, I've lived in Utah for a couple of years now, but I've also lived in the other Four Corner states. People who live here are wildly irresponsible with water. At least Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico are a little bit better about using more xeroscaping and less grass for new residences and businesses. But Utah has an *obsession* with grass. So homeowners are restricted to only watering their lawns and plants once a week when golf courses and other businesses get to water whenever they want DURING THE HEAT OF THE DAY or WHEN IT'S RAINING. These states are in the desert, and everyone out here acts like we live in the Northeast!

[@VarmintLP]

how about fake grass? Less maintenance I guess.

[@jasonlacroix6083]

@@VarmintLP I'm a landscaper, so I make my money cutting grass. But, I curse it all the time. That fake turf is the way to go. A few clients have had me replace limited size areas of lawn with artificial turf. Like around pools or playground areas. It looks fantastic! No wear spots. No chemicals needed. I love the stuff!

[@LynetteTheRogue]

I lived in WA and MI where availability of water isn't the issue and even we don't waste water this way.

[@yunofun]

I don't live in a state where it is currently an issue but it still pisses me off in the backwards ways some businesses act. Like having a sprinkler system, but they don't trust their employees, even the store managers to know when to turn t hem on/off so they end up watering even when it is raining so hard we are getting flood warnings. One near me is particularly stupid in that they placed signs in the way of the sprinklers so when they run they don't actually water anything, they just spray the signs. And of course if you go use the bathroom when you go to wash your hands the water is only on for 2 seconds at a time because "water is expensive!"

[@ThatsShowbizBabyy]

Can confirm. We’re currently getting rid of 80% of the grass on our lawn to save water, but our neighbors keep complaining that they can’t water their lawns as much. I’ve seen them go out with hoses to do it. I also used to work at a golf course and the amount they water is absolutely insane. One time it was pouring rain out and they had their sprinklers on. It’s sad.

[@mieliav]

was recently at a lux hotel in the desert - it had not a hint of lawn, just the natural thin dirt and rocks everywhere and sparse typical vegetation. they also kept it really dim at night, to experience dark. it was gorgeous.

[@whysocurious7366]

Neat!

[@chilliewhk]

Coming from a country which recently went through a 7 year drought, I can wholeheartedly say that the only way to survive is smart planning and very severe water restrictions. Watching a first world nation fail at such basic survival measures gives me second hand embarrassment.

[@maroonedexplorer6622]

South Africa?

[@internationalrtg5602]

How about confronting food and agriculture corporations that steal all the water?

[@chilliewhk]

@@internationalrtg5602 if that is a major cause for your water shortages, then that is definitely something that must be addressed. That's not an issue for us here luckily due to limited amounts of water.

[@chilliewhk]

@@maroonedexplorer6622 Namibia actually

[@aycoded7840]

Yes, it is embarrassing.

[@Jarod-te2bi]

Thank you HBO for putting all this on KZbin

[@monicawilliams7844]

I live in Las Vegas, and yes, water conservation is probably the one thing we are good at. Las Vegas has a water reclamation facility where the water gets cleaned and reuse in other ways.

[@LochNessax3]

Not to mention the push for desert landscape type yards and natural pools.

[@dridadbunkerphd6523]

Sadly, ReThugLickCONS defunded our very effective water reclamation project in Mission Valley in San Diego. It proved that you could produce drinking water from storm runoff and processed sewage. ReThugs didn't like that...because no one made profit from it.

[@rx7addict]

Uh what? Every municipality uses reclaimed water

[@chico6k_]

@@rx7addict 99% of Las Vegas water gets recycled back into Lake Mead, on top of the city only using 1% of the supply. If every city in the SW was half as efficient as Vegas, we wouldn't be having these worries.

[@rx7addict]

@@chico6k_ totally agree

[@whitnay07]

What cannot be stressed enough is that corporations need to be held accountable for their water usage! We as citizens can do all we can to limit our water usage, however what we use is a tiny fraction of what many corporations use and they don’t have many regulations.

[@shawnaleashelly7260]

This is what's happening in 80% of Arizona. The counties that don't require water/well metering are becoming unlivable for the average resident or farmer because corporate interests drill deep wells and use a lot of water without any type of conservation. Property owners can't afford to drill 1000 ft for water so their only option is to sell and relocate.

[@sfrosegrower]

Reduce or stop eating meat. Huge water and GHG hoofprint. Healthier too.

[@justayoutuber1906]

Always blame the anonymous "corporations" ...it's not ME, it's HIM.

[@ilovefunnyamv2nd]

@@justayoutuber1906 look at how the internet servers out the desert keep their machines cooled. Evaporative cooling is all the rage!

[@KitC916]

Also, fracking to ultimately export gas. Fracking pollutes water, causes earthquakes, and should be banned nationwide. Watch "Gasland." Can't wait to hear John's update on fracking.

[@shasita3361]

This is pretty much a worldwide issue. Even here in the Netherlands, where we're known for good water management (and it used to be an effin swamp), the water management companies are saying we will run out of water in the near future, due to river levels dropping too much in the summertime. That's also largely because of climate change, since we've been having more heat waves and less rain the last couple of years. And less snow during the winters as well.

[@hickknight]

Well, say that snow is so rare, I just joke about it. We haven't had winter for a long time now, we've had extended autumns. And summer? I hate summers nowadays.

[@ohsnapsonbro4260]

We were known yes. But our government isn't one for long term thinking....... Housing crisis, water crisis and soon a crisis in the food supply due to the stikstof bs. Money is the goal. Not sustainability

[@robbiedubbelman3024]

Heb je een link waar dat wordt genoemd? De grondwater niveaus zijn juist verbeterd de laatste paar jaar toch?

[@DragonKhan2000]

The good thing in the Netherlands is that they are already experts on water management and are very well aware of the issue. In a nutshell, it's just a question of going from "making sure the water flows out quickly" to "making sure we keep it in the country as long as possible". With so much expertise and infrastructure already in place, I'm quite hopeful the Netherlands can manage that issue. Now the issue of too much farming and the resulting emissions though, that's a whole other problem I have less faith in.

[@TheDoomWizard]

Yep I talk about this non stop on my channel

[@tsvetelin6556]

Another great episode!!! We need a show like this for every country or at least continent!!!

[@w15h0na5tar]

I also lived in Tucson, sad to say that now I'm in Utah. I loved that Tucson really embraced the desert. While driving up through Utah, you can see right where people start pretending that they don't live in a desert. There are trees that are struggling to live, grass along the sidewalks, flowerbeds everywhere. While Tucson made the desert the landscaping, Utah tries to manipulate the land into the grassy and tree lined streets that they want.

[@ZapDash]

Mormons

[@johnbanach3875]

@@ZapDash Really dumb Mormons.

[@cbpd89]

Zapdash, ...you know there are mormons in Arizona too, right? 😆 I've lived in Arizona and Utah so it really bothers me that Utahns seem to think they don't live in a desert even though Utah gets fewer inches of rain per year than Arizona. I think the mindset is shifting too slowly, but it is shifting. But unless agriculture changes, it won't matter one bit if the rest of us do!

[@bluexroses414]

I'm in California and I feel this. You can tell there are (especially wealthier) communities that for some reason still want their golf courses and lawns, but my town recently changed all the grassy medians to mulch and drought tolerant plants. At home, we put in all native plants. Every year when we hit that first 90º week in summer, the garden actually perks up and looks MORE lively. I asked my mom when was the last time we watered, and she literally just shrugged. It's so much easier to care for and they look great too!

[@Serenity_Dude_X]

Ah, yes, praying. I've heard that it's made as much difference in recent years as praying for victims of gun violence, praying for cancer patients, praying for the Red Sox and praying for world peace. Praying is the least effort when you don't really want to do anything.

[@inexplicable01]

Youd think with all the praying for ukraine would have done something right?

[@lackeyreader]

I live in Eastern Washington, the dry side. We have been in drought for years. We live in a desert that is only green because of agriculture. We have just recently been upgraded from extreme to moderate. We were blessed with a late snowfall (most of our water comes from snow melt each year, with dams storing and releasing water at specific times) and a cool wet spring. Today is the first day this year we are hitting the 100s. I know that the majority of the orchards, farms, dairy farms, ranches here are cognizant that water is limited. They have put in so many ways to conserve water. And if you are wondering why we grow here, it is because volcanic soil is really rich soil to go in, and since we have 5 volcanoes in Washington State, and the air currents carry the ash east, and drop it after clearing the mountains, our soil is really rich.

[@DMO-DMO-DMO]

I also live here, and didn't know that. The Columbia river might as well be in everyone's backyards right now, seems like -- but I'm sure a lot of that has to do with dam levels, right?

[@Robynhoodlum]

I didn’t realize Washington had droughts! I’ve only ever Sean the west side where it rains so much as to have rainforests! Thanks for teaching me something!

[@DMO-DMO-DMO]

@@Robynhoodlum Eastern Washington is full of amazing desert plateaus and scrublands and it's super sunny

[@Jane_8319]

@@DMO-DMO-DMO terribly hot too. But the drought conditions are real. I’m glad we had the late snowfall this year, though that’s probably just due to global warming anyways

[@arnarninson4413]

I am a farmer here in Eastern Washington. My family has been farming In The Wenatchee valley for the past 100+yrs. We had an issue a few yrs back when one of the dams found a crack in it and had to drop the levels of the Columbia river to fix it. We lost three wells over night when the levels dropped. We had to drill them 50-100 feet deeper to find the water table. And we are about 10 miles from the river.

[@kosipova01]

Thank you for talking about the water crisis.

[@justinhackstadt6677]

Damn, Brian Cox is one of those legends I simply must hear every word he throws at me. The man is one of the only few actors that can play God and it actually be believable. ❤️

[@fathampton]

Alanis is closer to what good is actually like. But, yeah… not believable. It seems like God really didn’t really things through very far.

[@davidstorrs]

Aha! Thank you, it was killing me that I couldn't bring his name to mind.

[@Craxin01]

My only gripe is his statement about not answering prayers. According to my religious friends, he always answers prayers. Most of the time the answer is no.

[@justinhackstadt6677]

@@Craxin01 God will never again intervene in the world of man. So by even the gospel logic, he won't answer prayers. 🤔🤦‍♂️

[@davidstorrs]

@@Craxin01 Is the answer *ever* yes?

[@Rydoge7]

Never have I felt more famous than my home town being called out by daddy John Oliver. It’s honestly so depressing seeing more golf courses and car washes approved month after month.

[@GhostScout42]

Protest them, and i would never condone destroying something as precious as private property. A good way to kill YOUR lawn Materials: 1 1 quart of vinegar · 2. 2 cups of salt · 3. 1/4 cup of dish detergent

[@kappadarwin9476]

I think it has to do with the mind set that the situation is so bad politicians don't even pretend to care anymore and just are stuffing their cheeks with as much crumbs as they can before abandoning ship. Its going to suck in thirty years when the towns are abandoned and then the people who kept ignoring the warning signs are going to deny accountability. How do we know this? After the Dustbowl you had people who live or use to live in Oklahoma deny that they did anything wrong, or they use well everyone was doing it as a means to downplay their role in it. I feel States like Utah are going to experience a similar fate.

[@Sonicbergs]

Suffer

[@RabblesTheBinx]

Our leaders out here are freaking morons. We have some of the best beaches for surfing only a couple hours away, but no, let's waste money (that could actually do some good on combating the homeless problem, here) on a surfing lagoon for rich people.

[@tonytestosteroni2273]

The car washes, man. In my city there are at least 3 car washes within 3 miles. Two right across the road from each other. With a fourth one opening not even a third of a mile away on the same road as the one that's alone.

[@kellylingro3288]

Praying for rain like it's a real (and apparently the only) solution feels like something I'd see in a movie set thousands of years ago

[@t_ylr]

I mean it's literally a cliche to refer to a useless or ritual activity used to solve a problem as a rain dance. Which is about as affective as prayer.

[@jasperzanovich2504]

Have they considered sacrificing virgins or are there no attractive virgins left in the US?

[@benjaminsorensen9334]

You just watched a video wherein people are flat-out denying that there's not enough water; once people are that far gone, is there anything short of divine intervention that's going to fix the real problem?

[@Mothaf4ckajones]

I love this show it’s eternally depressing but they’re real topics and he’s funny about such sad serious things

[@paranoah1925]

We are at a point where we would rather be depressed with reality than live in happy delusions 😕

[@jdepaul87]

@@paranoah1925 Fuckin hell....I hope that is original thought because you could make bank off it...imagine "Live, Laugh, Love!" but for the apocalypses.

[@labellesouris1412]

@@jdepaul87 excellent! You and @Para Noah come up with them and I will paint or burn the wood…then maybe we can buy some water…lol…

[@imrankahn8932]

Perfect description!.

[@brittanys1203]

Rain water collection can be illegal but isn't really enforcemed

[@Psykolord1989]

I feel like the existence of a surf lagoon in the middle of the desert may be the single largest middle finger mankind has ever given to nature. Which *sounds* cool until you remember Nature doesn't have a sense of humor about that sort of thing.

[@TyroRNG]

As far as nature is concerned it doesn't care at all All we are doing is destroying a habitable environment for humans and part of the species After the humans wipe themselves out by destroying the climate the surviving animals and plants will spread out and diversify to create a new climate and ecology

[@Psykolord1989]

@@TyroRNG "The planet is fine! The *people* are fucked!" - George Carlin

[@elihan9]

It is why I don't feel sorry for those idiots, the ones building the parks, living in the desert.

[@Kece89]

It gets more genius when you think about the thought process behind it. Talking about California. A state with almost a thousand miles of coastline near the biggest goddamn ocean of this world. Now, where should we build our fancy waterpark? How about in the FUCKING DESERT!? USING FRESH WATER (because of course)

[@MooCowKris]

Maybe it sounds dumb, but I live in a Great Lakes state and I am genuinely afraid for when western states start seriously trying to redirect the lakes. It’s not just us people who will suffer from lower lake levels, but all of the plants, animals, and fish that live there as well. Living here, I’ve always taken fresh water for granted, but as I’ve gotten older and realized what’s at stake, I get scared for future generations and what they’ll have to fix.

[@lanapowell]

I live near where the Missouri, Illinois, and Mississippi rivers meet, and when I heard about the idea to pump water from the Mississippi to the Colorado, my thought was, "Oh, so you're going to dry out all the farms in the Midwest so you can water your golf courses. Great plan."

[@gcash8892]

the great lakes have a huge amount of water u can never run low

[@Azzazpimp]

@@gcash8892 from my cold wet hands, pal

[@marktalsma2390]

Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner published in 1986 saw this happening.To bad people didn't do anything then. It might to late now. I live in Michigan you aren't getting our water! Screw you Utah.

[@jackburton2680]

@@gcash8892 Said that about the Colorado river at one point in time too i bet

[@quintin6292]

We live in a desert and it’s time to start acting like it. No one needs a grass lawn. We don’t need to be growing cattle feed or almonds here when there’s so much land elsewhere that has enough water. We should be implementing water reclamation and desalination to reduce dependence on rain/snow. We have plenty of water for a growing population we just need to be smart about how it’s used

[@Woodshadow]

I don't live in the desert and I can't figure out why anyone wants a grass yard. It is just an antiquated American dream that was pushed to us via the media. I don't want to spend hours every year maintaining it. And I don't want to pay someone else to maintain it. I'll gladly have no lawn

[@sjenson6694]

My grass lawn is fine, I don't want 3 million more people.

[@PunchDrunkLizzy]

@@sjenson6694what a silly way to think.

[@uweschroeder]

Actually a grass lawn, while inefficient, is a lot better than rocks. What we would need is to encourage people to plant trees and shrubs instead of lawns but what we actually promote is to turn yards into desert. You can only store and preserve water in soil - rocks don't do any good. My entire neighborhood followed the local program, getting a couple hundred bucks for removing their lawns. They did the easiest thing they could and replaced lawns with rocks and the city approved. When it rains the water now goes straight down the storm drain because rocks don't store water. The average temperature in the neighborhood increased because rocks store heat when trees and shrubs have a cooling effect. What these policies do is speed up the aridification of the area, not slow it down. Needless to say, I have trees and yes, a lawn - which with a special type of grass bred specifically to be heat resistant and low water use - only uses 5 minutes of irrigation per week even in 100 degree weather. Of course that lawn is mostly in the shade of the trees it's growing under. My back and front yard is consistently 20 degrees cooler than anyone else's on the block (with the exception of my neighbor who's from a hot part of Mexico and who knows better than to chop down all vegetation in favor of rocks and government subsidies.)

[@jeffwatson9890]

I live in Western Pennsylvania where we have abundant water resources and it rains like every three days. To have a property without grass is my dream. Mowing grass SUCKS.

[@austinm5630]

I remember visiting Las Vegas when I was 12 for a Golf Camp. I had never seen a golf course where the rough was made of rocks. Zero grass, just rocks. Only the fairway and the green had grass. And yet, it was actually really cool because it made the course feel really unique. That was Angel Park, in 1998. Vegas has been handling this right for many many decades. So yes, everyone else could learn from their example.

[@J--Dubs]

Why don’t they use fake grass for the green, like with many professional American football fields?

[@Iudicatio]

@@J--Dubs I would guess that it reflects too much light and gets too hot in the 90+ degree summer weather. I am from New Mexico and a lot of landscaping is done there with rocks too and I can say from personal experience that rocks are less unpleasant than astroturf. People don‘t even fill their backyards with astroturf because it‘s unpleasant. Only a portion of the yard maybe.

[@J--Dubs]

@@Iudicatio thanks for the answer! It makes me wonder if it would be feasible to make a new type of fake grass that would work well in hotter areas.

[@jamesgaston2745]

@@J--Dubs also a lot of field turns have their own problems because they have a ton of rubber in them. If done cheaply they can be a health hazard. Not to mention I'm not sure you could get a clean roll on it.

[@mandylou4]

fake turf melts in the summer in las vegas. they usually water golf courses using reclaimed waste water.

[@billrobershaw9165]

Love John Oliver!

[@stellayanda5987]

I’m an Agronomy student in Utah and Idaho, and essentially all of my work and research is on water conservation, not because we need to know more conservation techniques, but how to employ those techniques. I’m having to learn all the soil and crop science, and then essentially another degree in law and policy. It’s exhausting but so important.

[@Praisethesunson]

Good luck getting the real estate developers in that state to stop putting lawns in the Moab.

[@HypocritesExposd]

Good luck to you and your future career. You are seriously the heroes of our future.

[@Gwilfawe]

How much water is dedicated to animal agriculture in these states?

[@Praisethesunson]

@@Gwilfawe It's California that gets most of the water and too much of it goes to animal production

[@Gwilfawe]

@@Praisethesunson good point, there is a lot of cattle and dairy production in CA as I understand it, which are particularly water intensive. I know there is some serious raising of pigs in Utah. Smithfield has at *least* one large operation there which, incidentally, was the target of animal activists associated with the organization DxE a couple years ago. Anyway. My point is, I am sure there are parts of agriculture in all of the US states that could be remodeled, redirected or otherwise converted to being less water intensive and likely less cruel. I'm amazed that Last Week Tonight hasn't done even a single whole segment on Animal agriculture, considering it's an issue that touches and is intertwined with so many others which we grapple with. Water use Land use Prejudices Immigration Pollution Mental health Ethics/moral compass Nutrition Plastics Epidemiology

[@sonowa-unreal]

Denying climate change for 30 years, then pray to god for rain: a perfect allegory for our "modern" civilization.

[@paulas_lens]

That denial has been a lot longer. In 1959 scientists were already warning the industry.

[@aegisraven1284]

Climate changes every few minutes, always has always will

[@williamgilliam3484]

lol

[@Ris-vulpis]

I've lived next to lake mead the last 11 years and yeah, it's scary seeing how much it's fallen in even that amount of time

[@Threering]

Been here 22 years and the water was so close to the top of the dam back then. It’s insane what it looks like now.

[@CD054]

There's a channel called Sin City Outdoors that popped up recently and the guy and his son have made videos lately about how much the water has dropped just over the last 45 days since they've filmed. In one video while waiting to launch their boat they show the different signs that mark where the water level used to be at the boat launch area. It's insane.

[@Threering]

@@CD054 yeah I am subscribed to them. Love what they’re doing

[@izumimiyazaki8231]

Oh gosh

[@nicholassimmons9706]

And the less volume the faster it evaporates. It is exponential.

[@millzlane6589]

The knowledge of the word aridification is my gain for the day. Thanks Last week with John Oliver!

[@ogStroden]

Something I noticed was left out related to the CO River Compact: the original study to determine the annual flow in the CO that could be used was completed using data from an abnormally wet period early in the 1900s. Annual flow was thought to be more than 16 million acre-feet per year at the time the compact was signed based on this study. Only recently, through tree ring studies, have we figured the historical average to be closer to 13-14 million acre-feet.

[@Praisethesunson]

I guarantee the difference between reality and those past numbers is going to be filled in by screwing over the Indians along the Colorado

[@zacharywhite211]

This was a great piece, but I was annoyed by the dismissal of the pipeline idea. We have much longer pipelines than one from the Mississippi river to Lake Mead or Powell. We move fucking oil from Alberta, CA all the way to refineries in Baton Rouge. The longest pipelines are about 4x of what's needed here. But I get it... John can't find himself supporting the construction of a pipeline because of how unpopular Keystone is. Anyway, unless we're planning on eliminating some people, we're not going to fix this problem with austerity measures alone. It just seems very sensible to take surplus of water that can even cause major floods along the banks of the Mississippi, and re-route that resource to a place that needs it

[@Zt3v3]

@@zacharywhite211 - Agreed. It wouldn't be easy, but it's not a stupid idea and we should give it serious consideration. Perhaps using railroad easements could solve some of the routing issues.

[@terratrox7180]

@@zacharywhite211 Except the environment around the river relies on those floods. The ecosystem has adapted to the river flooding every once in awhile, and the floods bring resources from upriver to settle in the soil. Taking places with lots of water and giving the water to places without lots of water sounds great in theory, but in practice it's a fucking disaster. The solution would be to enable austerity measures and invest in the development of desalination tech. Water doesn't just disappear, after all. Siphoning water from the ocean would solve the problem. But current desalination is energy intensive and the tech is expensive to put in place. As noted in the video, having the government and individuals stop living in a fantasy land where deserts are actually filled with water would help a lot too.

[@zacharywhite211]

@@terratrox7180 I think austerity should be part of it. But that's clearly not the way out of the problem. It's part of it. The desert is not going to become like the midwest anytime soon. But with modern engineering we have many viable solutions. At least the following: - Desalinization plants attached to nuclear reactors are very efficient and don't have the problem of other desalinization systems that return hyper-salty water to the ocean - Pipelines are absolutely feasible, safe (since it's only water moving), and relatively low tech. Not cheap, but definitely less expensive than desalinization - Agriculture needs to be reduced massively in these states. Why the hell is California growing 80% of the world's supply of almonds? Or Utah using 50% of their water supply to grow one of the thirstiest crops there is like alfalfa is? - Austerity measures that price water usage appropriately. but frankly, considering the amounts of water spent in agriculture, I suspect that would address the biggest issue

[@TenTonNuke]

Rick Perry once gathered thousands of people together to pray for rain during a drought. The following four months were the hottest on record.

[@pikapukatoodlioo]

As someone who lives near the west desert, guess what this aridification has done? Create dust storms so thick that when at long last the storm breaks it just rains MUD. You sometimes have to pull over because it doesn't wipe off easily if even a grain of that polluted crud gets under your windshield wipers. Knowing how truly dire it is and watching the fifteenth car wash open up and cars running through it constantly makes me wonder if I'm actually in hell.

[@zarifa8865]

Your comment sounds straight out of a dystopia novel 😣☠😣

[@user-xw4vg1vy5e]

Sure does

[@pikapukatoodlioo]

@@zarifa8865 It's Utah so what greater state to be the focal point of future IRL mad max events?

[@mcamodell]

We don't get mud here. Soil is required to make mud. There is no soil here, it is not mud, its raining wet sand.

[@paulas_lens]

$3 dollars to wash your car - insanity! How do they earn enough to make a profit? I never go to those places.

[@carlacole1122]

God bless John Oliver. ❤

[@rexdink]

I grew up in Vegas, and lived there till I joined the Army, in '92, when I was 19. Love the Desert. But even back then, I knew there was not enough water for a population that size, much less growing at that rate. But I knew that the water wouldn't last, there was already a ring around Lake Mead, and they were building Lake Mead, and I'd never go back to live. Have convinced my Parents to move, and trying to get a few friends to follow. Now living in MN, and sure the winters are cold, but you can always dress in layers and bundle up. You can only take off so many articles of clothing before getting arrested when it's hot, even in Vegas. Plus we got a few lakes and a bit of water. though we still conserve what we can.

[@jer103]

It's amazing that we can have cities with millions of people located in the desert. I remember watching a documentary on how Vegas had to create a man made waterway from the Colorado river that was over 100 miles. With the mega drought, and the reservoir at Lake Mead at the lowest levels ever, will have lasting consequences for Las Vegas.

[@StealthDiablo]

Having lived through a couple droughts in Southern California I can relate that you just know its not enough water. It would suck hearing about other States getting too much rain and how flood defenses were failing. Always made me wonder why we don't build long aqueducts from State to State.

[@ericag4908]

I'm from Minnesota and moved to Vegas ten years ago, I may find myself back in Minnesota though 😕 but I don't like the cold.

[@JohnathanHoehaver]

As always John and associates, thank you for uploading your main story to youtube.

[@Aryahmmr]

For anyone interested in water, water conservation, and how the American west became a sprawling metropolitan area in a desert, Marc Reisner's "Cadillac Desert" is a must read

[@jensue3034]

Thanks I will read that.

[@TonyBabarino]

Thank you for the recommendation. I will read it! 👍

[@drewlovelyhell4892]

I'm never disappointed when Brian Cox shows up.. 🙏