Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
them. Radical is what the approach has been. That's not to say
that was always the wrong choice, but it is now. True sustainabil-
ity comes from understanding the very large picture and acting at
that scale.”
THE NEXT STEP
A lot of wishful thinking runs through the water business, says water
negotiator Steve Mumme. “That's why I say planning by disaster is
a signifi cant part of the planning process. It's a very human drama.
The things that are happening now are reshaping lives. Some of
it involves learning that must occur, and some of it is just damned
unfair.”
Wherever anyone stands on the water issues, on climate change,
on shortages, abundance, planning, rights, conservation or lack
thereof, politics, and more, is not as important as the realization
that change is inevitable.
Utah farmer Jerald Anderson takes the pragmatic approach,
despite the threat that he may lose the water essential to his cur-
rent livelihood. He even suggests that history might not judge today
a “crisis” in terms of water supplies.
“Water has always been a problem in the West, particularly as
we've improved agriculture effi ciency. We've been able to do things
we weren't able to do before, and we've used water to do it. We've
used energy to accomplish things we just couldn't have accom-
plished any other way, too. But in terms of the word 'crisis,' I think
you have to carefully consider the time scale,” he says. Because of
high prices on something or dwindling supplies, we as a nation
might believe a resource is at a “crisis” point, whereas in the long
term, says Anderson, “it may never even make the list of problems.”
“Yes, it may be an individual crisis,” he adds, “but as a society or
a country it may not be. It may be that it forces us to adjust. Frankly,
no society should expect that things are always going to be the way
they are today. If we plan in that direction, we're doomed to fail-
ure. You have to know that things will change in the future, and you
must be willing to accept that change.”
