Thanks for sending on this discouraging report. The heart sinks.
> On May 17, 2016, at 12:16 PM, Stephen Guerin <[email protected]> > wrote: > > It was back in March but I just saw it: > > http://www.santafenewmexican.com/opinion/my_view/reader-view-state-loses-from-one-way-water-dialogue/article_4662cd14-b808-5cfb-b82d-f611b9895d9d.html > > <http://www.santafenewmexican.com/opinion/my_view/reader-view-state-loses-from-one-way-water-dialogue/article_4662cd14-b808-5cfb-b82d-f611b9895d9d.html> > > The New Mexico Water Dialogue held its annual gathering on Jan. 7 at the > Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque. I’ve been attending their > meetings for several years as a student of New Mexico water governance. This > year the presentations had a different tone, like a jilted lover in a > telenovela. It takes two to dialogue, and I had the feeling that the group > was exhausted after years of singing to a tone-deaf state. > Maybe it was the title, “Planning: How Can It Make a Difference?” The title > warns of the bad mood to come. If it isn’t going to make a difference, why > bother planning at all? Regional water planning is going on all over the > state. At the rollout meeting in Albuquerque — I was there — planning seemed > more like directions from on high to follow what had been pre-planned. The > process looked top-down and underfunded. There was no promise that the > recommendations by the regional groups would be taken seriously. And that, > apparently, is how it’s turning out. > Consider two of the hottest water issues in the state right now — the > Santolina development and the proposed Gila River diversion. Several speakers > raised serious questions, as yet unanswered, about the assumptions about > water on which those projects are based. And yet the approvals keep on > keepin’ on. > Or consider the panel of New Mexican scientists appointed by the Legislature > to report on climate change. Warmer on average is one well-supported > conclusion. That means, over the long haul, more evapotranspiration, less > snowmelt, and more groundwater use. Did this inspire any proposals for water > governance reform? No. The Legislature did not renew the project. > It’s a cliché now, what with climate change and the Anthropocene, that both > bottom-up and top-down have to be part of water management, with a continual > conversation and shared power between the two. At the moment in New Mexico, > judging from the day of presentations, the top is hermetically sealed so that > the bottom has no way up. > The three main water policy authorities in the state are all filled by > executive appointment. Legislation last year proposed that thought should be > given to whom the appointees represent and what their qualifications are. > Water policy, never mind climate change, requires long-term nonpartisan > thinking, not authority that shifts with the political winds. That proposed > bill never made it to the House floor. > I left the meeting mid-afternoon, desperately seeking a positive conclusion > to the day. My feeling wasn’t that New Mexico water governance is an Edsel in > a Tesla world. It was that more people are saying exactly that, loud and > clear, in well-crafted arguments, based on solid evidence and good logic. > It would take a lengthy article to go down the list of presenters, detail > their experience and qualifications, and summarize their criticisms and calls > for action. You can see some of it for yourself if you go to the New Mexico > Water Dialogue webpage > (http://allaboutwatersheds.org/new-mexico-water-dialogue > <http://allaboutwatersheds.org/new-mexico-water-dialogue>). > The good news was that so many distinguished water professionals agree on the > bad news and have good ideas for how to address it. I remembered a quote, > attributed to Gandhi, that goes something like this. “There go my people. I > must follow them, for I am their leader.” New Mexico water governance needs a > pair of running shoes, or maybe water wings would be a better metaphor. It > has a lot of catching up to do. > Mike Agar is still trying to figure out New Mexico water. He has written > several pieces on the topic for the now dormant New Mexico mercury > (www.newmexicomercury.com <http://mercury.com/>). More information on him and > his work at www.ethknowworks.com <http://ethknowworks.com/>. > _______________________________________________________________________ > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > CEO, Simtable http://www.simtable.com <http://www.simtable.com/> > 1600 Lena St #D1, Santa Fe, NM 87505 > office: (505)995-0206 mobile: (505)577-5828 > twitter: @simtable > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
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