War Of Ideals
When Conserving Natural Resources and Restoring Equilibrium, How Far Back Should We Look For Lessons?
Part three in the series ‘Reflections On Water’
What is the ideal state of the natural world? Are the resources provided by a higher power specifically for our exploitation and use as stewards of the Earth, our domain? Or are we to mold our needs and lives into the existing natural systems? How you answer these questions will say a lot about how you vote but probably not much about how you live.
The truth is, whether we like it or not, our world has been remade.
Environmental scientists working in the Central Valley will admit it is impossible to truly know how the area looked before Native Americans began to reshape it. Early accounts depict a seasonally flooded, unstable hydrology supporting massive numbers of birds and mammals.
Given modern economic models, transportation infrastructure and settlement patterns it is easy to see how this environment was unsuitable to 19th century settlers. In fact, it was absolute contrary to the faith-based fervor compelling the masses who trudged across the blazing desert to claim land and bend it to their will.
Forcing a European notion of settlement onto the Californian landscape that had evolved to serve seasonal migration had consequences with which we are still coping. Aquifers can’t recharge, the acreage available for migrating waterfowl is reduced and spawning grounds for salmon and other fish are destroyed.
The war over the ideals that live in our heads plays out in media and propaganda. Those supporting increased water infrastructure and storage, and those advocating the destruction of dams and freeing of rivers both see a spiritual element in their positions.
But where do these ideals meet reality? How can we maintain our economy and save the small amount of wildness that is left in California? Consulting the past, listening to it and taking its lessons into conversations with each other would be a good start.
This is an edited version of an article originally published at Weyland Photo
Editors note: ‘Reflections On Water’ is a weekly series of thoughts and observations about water usage in drought-hit California. Part one was Wasting Water. Part two was California’s Fish Economy.
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