All:
The following editorial by Dr. Mary Anderson, editor of the journal
"Ground Water" and a professor at the University of Wisconsin in
Madison, is beautifully written and deserves reading by anyone
concerned with ground water extraction issues. It was sent to me by
Jim Deacon. It fits so well with the problems we face (and will
continue to face) throughout the nation, and particularly in the
Desert Southwest. I hope that everyone will learn by it!
Phil
Edwin P. (Phil) Pister
Executive Secretary, Desert Fishes Council
P.O. Box 337, Bishop, CA 93515 (for regular mail)
For FedEx or UPS: 437 East South Street, Bishop, CA 93514
(760) 872-8751 [FAX and voice phone]
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"To be ignorant of one's ignorance is the malady of the
ignorant." ...Amos Bronson Alcott
Begin forwarded message:
All: this editorial appeared in the professional journal
Groundwater in its July/August issue. Consider these ideas along
with the concept of pumping the perennial yield, developing
undeveloped basins and exporting water 1000s of miles.
Tom
Ground Water Ethics
· Mary P. Anderson, Editor-in-Chief
In 1949, Aldo Leopold’s son, Luna, published his father’s book A
Sand County Almanac (Oxford University Press, New York) following
Aldo’s untimely death the preceding year. The final section of the
book introduces "The Land Ethic," a concept that became the
cornerstone of environmental ethics. "The Land Ethic" extends the
concept of community to include not only humans but also animals
and plants as well as the inanimate components of the environment
such as soil, rocks, and water. Leopold collectively refers to
animals, plants, soil, rocks, and water as "land" and states that
the land has a "right to continued existence in a natural state"
in at least some places.
In ground water management, we talk about ethical use of water and
define limits to use with concepts such as safe yield and
sustainability. But even under the most enlightened circumstances,
ground water management is pursued with a human-centric viewpoint.
For example, we might favor sustainable development of ground
water to preserve the resource for future generations of humans
and to avoid inconvenient adverse effects such as land subsidence,
sea water intrusion, degradation of water quality, or esthetically
unpleasant effects such as loss of springs and habitat for animals
and plants that give us pleasure. Sustainable use is also linked
to economics. However, in the philosophical context used by
Leopold, an ethic places "a limitation on freedom of action in the
struggle for existence."
Leopold gave this advice: "Examine each question in terms of what
is ethically and esthetically right, as well as what is
economically expedient. A thing is right when it tends to preserve
the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It
is wrong when it tends otherwise." If strictly followed, this
directive would place severe limitations on decision making in
many ground water management scenarios. In fact, the whole ground
water industry runs counter to the concept of ethics, as defined
by Leopold, since we aim to develop ground water resources for
beneficial use by humans. For example, the thesis in Water and
Ethics: Use of Groundwater (Lamas 2004, New York: UNESCO, p. 33)
is that intensive use of ground water is beneficial and ethical if
development is "well designed and controlled."
Aldo Leopold, like Henry Thoreau, exhibited tendencies toward
mysticism. Leopold talked about "goose music" and Thoreau wondered
who might hear the fishes when they cry. While Leopold probably
did not believe that inanimate objects such as rocks and water
have spirits (as in Shinto and the beliefs of Native Americans),
he certainly recognized a vital force in nature (Nash, R., 1977,
Do rocks have rights?The Center Magazine, November/December: 2–
12). Most people acknowledge that respect for oneself, for family,
for "tribe," for race or ethnic heritage, and for nation imposes
limitations on personal freedom; in civilized societies, codified
bodies of laws enforce these limitations. Furthermore, most people
will recognize that respect for life, with accompanying
limitations on freedom, ought to be extended to all humankind and
could be extended at least to animals. On the other hand, if
humans are to survive and thrive, we must necessarily consume
plants, if not animals, and utilize water. Yet, Leopold believed
that ethics might eventually evolve to the stage where humans
would recognize "the land" (i.e., plants, animals, soil, rocks,
and water) as part of our community. Extending this idea even
further, and speaking philosophically, humans can impart "rights"
to inanimate objects, rights that they obviously cannot claim for
themselves (Nash 1977).
Given the realities of the global struggle for existence, it is
unrealistic at this point in time to advocate water resources
management based solely on a ground water ethic derived from
Leopold’s Land Ethic. Leopold was enough of a realist to
appreciate "The Land Ethic" was a concept before its time, and he
compromised by recommending that ethics be considered along with
economics and esthetics. Nevertheless, today we preserve places
where ground water exists in a natural state, even if our
motivation is based in esthetics. For example, spectacular
displays of ground water discharge (geysers) are protected in
Yellowstone National Park, and in many places even minor springs
are protected locally. Maybe in another 100 years, with additional
technological and engineering advances, our notion of ethics will
have evolved so that a true ground water ethic, as envisioned by
Leopold, will emerge in some form as a basis for making management
decisions.
Footnotes
Editor’s Note: This editorial is based on a talk given at the
opening ceremony of the Center for Water Research at Peking
University, July 2006. The ideas expressed are those of the author
and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the National Ground
Water Association.
Tom Myers PhD
Hydrologic Consultant
Reno NV
775-530-1483
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
It is the mark of an educated mind to entertain a thought without
accepting it. Aristotle
The perfect is the enemy of the good. Voltaire
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "Great Basin Water Network" group.
To post to this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to waternetwork-
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/
group/waternetwork?hl=en
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
