Oil crisis, meet water crisis

Almost three decades ago, President Jimmy Carter said the following words in a nationally televised address: “The energy crisis is real. It is worldwide. It is a clear and present danger to our nation. These are facts, and we simply must face them.”

America saw the facts and looked away. Now, 30 years on, we’re entering another energy crisis, this one not caused by OPEC but by the rigid law of supply and demand. And the nation is in a worse position to meet the challenge.


We import twice as much foreign oil today. We’ve lost three decades that we could have used to intensively research and develop alternative sources of energy. And an entire generation that could have been trained in the habits of fuel conservation missed the opportunity.

This oil crisis brings to mind shortages of an even more critical natural resource: water.

Dallas Morning News