It has long bothered me that while the government forces me to water during certain hours and only on certain days, they don't hold everyone to the same standard. In graduate school, I watched farmers water with sprinklers in the desert during the hottest hours of the day. In my neighborhood, they threaten to fine you if you water when not on your day or they find 'too much' water in your gutters.
The government isn't held to that standard. It's going to be 107F in Las Vegas today, and I can guarantee you that some government building, park, or byway somewhere will be watered in the heat of the day. Although I forget the numbers exactly, approximately half of that water will instantly evaporate in the air before it even reaches the ground. Plants that get water, in order to maximize the opportunity, will then photosynthesize during parts of the day when they are most prone to damage from the photosynthetic process in the absence of water. Most of our native plants are acclimated to fix carbon only through about 10AM, but if they don't have water then, they will not do it. Non-native plants will metabolize when there is water, and most of that will be lost to transpiration, which is driven by high temperatures and low humidity.
Stop being stupid. If I have to water only a few days and during certain hours, then you better hold yourself to the same standard. What's more, if you can enforce it among us, why don't you enforce farmers? That still gets my goat.
The government isn't held to that standard. It's going to be 107F in Las Vegas today, and I can guarantee you that some government building, park, or byway somewhere will be watered in the heat of the day. Although I forget the numbers exactly, approximately half of that water will instantly evaporate in the air before it even reaches the ground. Plants that get water, in order to maximize the opportunity, will then photosynthesize during parts of the day when they are most prone to damage from the photosynthetic process in the absence of water. Most of our native plants are acclimated to fix carbon only through about 10AM, but if they don't have water then, they will not do it. Non-native plants will metabolize when there is water, and most of that will be lost to transpiration, which is driven by high temperatures and low humidity.
Stop being stupid. If I have to water only a few days and during certain hours, then you better hold yourself to the same standard. What's more, if you can enforce it among us, why don't you enforce farmers? That still gets my goat.
No comments:
Post a Comment