Not funny and Too Funny. Plus, Partnerships Rock!
greatly needed humor at the end
Friends of Confluence West -
News to make us groan, encouraging news, and a Dr. Seuss California water poem via ChatGPT - what more could you ask for in a Three Drop e-newsletter?
And, a request for all of you boys and girls out there in Three Drop land - we’ve been thinking about what a “Project 2029” would look like. Could you connect me with anyone or an organization also working on this, not just for environmental issues, but also social justice and equity, and incorporating science and climate change as essential parts of federal decision-making?
We have a lot of work to do come January 20, 2029, and we’ll need a game plan ready to go.
For the West,
Kimery
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Damn.
Earlier this month, Brett Walton at Circle of Blue wrote a helpful snapshot piece on various environmental Executive Orders, NEPA overhaul, and cuts to NOAA’s satellite programs—our thanks to John Orr at Coyote Gulch, who shared the piece with his network.
Some of the most ‘special’ actions:
Unobligated Inflation Reduction Act funds – those not yet committed to a recipient – were yanked back for programs on climate data, environmental justice block grants, reducing air pollution at schools, and more.
After an EO, the White Council Council on Environmental Quality has been barred from doing NEPA. DOI, USDA, and the Corps are writing their own rules. The USDA’s rules are grim and are published in the Federal Register.
Also in Brett’s piece, the federal EPA watchdog released a report on Superfund sites and the risks from sea level rise and storm surges. For the latter, “If contaminants from federal facility Superfund sites are released into the surrounding communities, the health, jobs, and environment of millions of U.S. residents may be threatened. Further, the federal funds expended to implement those remedies would have been wasted.”
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Partnerships Rock!
Partnerships rock - and have legs!
Getting the NEPA process funded and completed is one of the biggest obstacles local forest and watershed advocates face. The US Forest Service has limited capacity (funding and staffing) to do the EIS. Using the collective power of their coalitions, a number of groups in the West are funding the NEPA process themselves and engaging and overseeing consultants, with the District Supervisor signing off on the final product.
A few years ago, we published “How did they do it?”, a look at how the French Meadows Project (California Sierra Nevada), which focused on the partnership between a water utility, the county, environmentalists, and scientists, successfully worked with funders and the Forest Service to complete the NEPA process.
This work has now led to the collaboration Placer Water Future, a joint effort between the Placer County Water Authority and local cities. It has been lauded by the Sacramento Water Forum, which notes that calling for collective, regional planning provides a stronger foundation for long-term water reliability, both upstream and downstream.
Assuming NEPA remains on the books, these partnerships have a significantly better chance of completing the process on time.
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Dr. Seuss Does Western Water
Thank heavens for Jay Lund’s posts—they keep us giggling and somewhat sane! This time, he asked Chat GPT to: “Write a 200-word essay on California water management in the style of Hunter S. Thompson”; “Make a California Water Plan Map in the style of Salvador Dali”; and “Write a 200-word essay on California water management in the style of Dr. Seuss (my fav—see below). I’m sure, sure, that none of you would use the buzzword sentence …(see the post).”
Oh, the water we need, how it gushes and flows,
From the tops of the mountains to the crops that it grows!
It trickles and tickles, it splashes and speeds,
It fills up our rivers, it waters our seeds.
But oh, what a tangle! What a messy affair!
There’s not quite enough, and it’s never quite fair.
The farmers want more, for their almonds and hay,
The cities say, “Wait! We need water today!”
The rivers, poor rivers, are running too thin,
And the fish, poor fish, say, “We can’t even swim!”
The dams go up high, and the pumps dig down deep,
And the Delta? Oh, Delta! It tries not to weep.
Still, people are clever, oh yes, they’re quite smart.
They’re building solutions with science and heart.
Reuse it! Recycle it! Catch every drop!
Let’s save all the water and never let it stop!
But the sky has the secret, it holds all the rain,
And when it will fall, well, no one can explain.
So we plan and we argue, we fight and we fret,
But one thing’s for sure—we’re not done yet!
Many excellent NGOs, water utilities, tribes, Nations, communities, and public agencies are working to protect rivers and forests in the American West from the (sometimes overwhelming) challenges climate change poses. We are proud to partner with many of them.
Why support Confluence West? Over the past 17 years, we've learned that Long-term, equitable solutions require dedicated and talented people from every sector, issue area, perspective, expertise, and culture to bring their part of the elephant, their truth, to the table.
We build and lead projects that connect diverse decision-makers who, in turn, create science- and evidence-based campaigns. Check out our work! Or, email Kimery.
Please support Confluence West (aka Carpe Diem West!) Since our founding in 2007, we've been building successful alliances and campaigns and bringing new climate science and opportunities to put innovative, sustainable regional water projects into motion in the American West. You can read about our current projects and the ones we're developing. Thanks for your support!
Confluence West brings new approaches and allies to challenging Western water issues. Learn more