Once again, our local media is failing us, and they don't seem to want to acknowledge it. Jason Winders has an editorial in today's paper complaining about reaction to the water restrictions that have been imposed upon us. He says (emphasis added):
But what do you say to someone who sees emergency conservation as a government conspiracy against her garden? That, my friends, has been the question of the week.
I'd feel better about the call if she stood alone. However, as absurd as my response, it has been eclipsed multiple times by those who fail to see this situation as dire as they need to see it.
All week, I fielded calls and e-mails centered on what people honestly believe to be county government overreaction to this drought. Let me just say, I've watched this county overreact. Not only that, I've watched this county over-legislate, over-discuss, even ride in on a dead horse just so they could beat it.
But trust me, this isn't one of those instances.
Now, I will readily grant that there are thick-headed people out in the world who fail to grasp the import of events and situations. The fact that Bush's approval ratings are as high as they are is ample proof of that. However, this is a case where the Banner-Herald (and other local media outlets) must shoulder some of the blame. How hard has the newspaper pushed this story? How many people are aware that we have only six weeks of water left? Jason does mention that fact in the middle of his editorial, but there is no other mention of just how dire the situation is in the paper.
In fact, I would argue that the Banner-Herald has trivialized the situation. Take a look at the front-page story in this same paper, which looks at how the watering ban is going to affect green spaces on campus, in particular Sanford Stadium:
The lack of rain has made Sanford Stadium groundskeeper Paul "Waldo" Terrell a worried man.
As Terrell mowed the stadium's turf last week, the field still has the green glow produced by regular weekly watering.
But without water, that glow could vanish by Saturday's home game with Ole Miss, Terrell said. By late October and November, the turf could be a colorless, churned up mess.
"First, it will turn kind of blue, then gray and then brown," he said. "Brown is not good."
The aesthetics of the field are one thing, Terrell said, but what has him really concerned is its "playability."
So, we are in a dire water shortage to the point where in a month and a half we might not have water to for anyone to drink, and the Banner-Herald is publishing front-page articles about how playability of the football field is going to be affected? This is typical of coverage around here. We all know that there's a drought, and that there is a watering restriction in place, but until three days ago I had no idea that the situation was as bad as it is, and I consider myself reasonably well-informed. As long as the only stories (and to be fair, action taken by local government) we see revolve around outdoor watering and its impact on rose bushes and sports teams, I'm not surprised that people are not taking the problem seriously.
If Jason and the crew at the Banner-Herald want to help people understand just how critical the water shortage is, I would suggest the following:
Oh, and instead of berating readers for "not getting it," take some responsibility for yourself. It's your job to make sure we "get it." Got it?
Posted by Jason at September 23, 2007 12:19 PM