As I read the news throughout the summer, I was struck consistently by the drumbeat of misinformation and faulty reasoning.  Common sense, I think it was once called.  When we proclaim that dry river beds on prized trout streams in the western U.S. are the result of ‘climate change’ or ‘a season of drought’ we not only miss the target, we wholly neglect the power of adaptive management.

Could we not simply divert less water from the rivers for irrigation? Should we not maintain instream flows for the sake of all the other water needs – like fish and wildlife. Agriculture presently accounts (on average) for 70 percent of all freshwater withdrawals globally (and an even higher share of “consumptive water use” due to the evapotranspiration of crops). That percentage of water use for agriculture is much higher (as high as 97% depending on the exact region) in the arid mountain west.

If our conscious choice is not adaptive management of our available water resources, is the option then to simply run out of water for everyone and everything?  

All species must adapt to their changing environment or perish. Our biosphere is changing rapidly now. We must collectively begin to respect that we cannot outstrip or poison our needed resources – things like air and water – and expect to sustain our species.  Consider for a moment that the current rush of species extinctions could ultimately have us in its path.

As I looked across a thirsty and sometimes smoky summer in Montana this year, I wondered if ultimately we would be so foolish to let greed, personal agendas and political ambitions stand in the way of our shared, common and absolute need for a healthy planet.   And it occurred to me, without water we are like those trout in the Big Wood River.