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>From my prespective I found it really interesting that prior to this
discussion I hadn't really thought of what I-we mean by "drought". As I
think about it I realize there are a number of definitions including,
scientific, political which may or not be the same as scientific, plus
personal impacts. How I define "drought" will to large extent be by how it
will impact me and mine. My interests and needs.
I'd be interested to know if we in the BASIN watershed have some type of
information system that let's see what happens at different water levels, for
example, a water season of x amount will create the following impacts,
farmers in NE Boulder County will not be able to plant. etc. And then
compare these levels to the likelihood of them happening, in order to
understand our risk: reward ratio. What behavior changes could I be called
on to make as a member of the Watershed community.
Another aspect of having a variety of ways to define "drought" is if one
wants to have a meaningful dialogue about the subject it makes sense to check
out with other parties what each of us mean. To often a meaningful
conversation is sidetracked by misunderstandings when we think we're talking
about the same thing but we really aren't.
I've been thinking about the comment made regarding the City of Boulder being
blessed with more than adequate water. Blessed not only by location but more
so by some very wise and responsible citizens and political leaders who
helped us create a valuable resource. I'm just not sure what that means in
terms of levels of dryness and possible frequency and length.
I'm also concerned about have and have nots within the BASIN watershed.
Even though we may have been farsighted in providing "adequate" (?)water
should we continue our same water lifestyle while our friends and neighbors
may be suffering. I know that sure wouldn't make me feel comfortable. Is
there any discussion/planning going on to discuss sharing in event of
disasters? What are we doing, other than this dialogue of course, to inform,
educate and motivate us in being more water savey?
Now this next one may seem a bit off the wall, although for me life is more
often stranger than fiction. With so much of our front range water (being
against the laws of nature, by our ability to more be more effective at
creating technological fixes than responsible behavioral changes) being
transported over the mountains, I wonder at the front range communities
vulnerbility to a wide range of "terrorist" attacks.
I also wonder if there is any information on what is the true cost of our
various water sources? Is growth being subsidized and if so how? Are we
mortgaging our future, depending on some future technical fix to save the
day? Do we know the risks if no fix and there are too many of us living too
wet a life?
Michael
See http://basin.org/forum/fire-flood.html for more information on this list.