Part 3 — Consensus and Economics (and the first piece of US freshwater adaptation legislation to come before the US Congress!)
In the third and final part of Pat Mulroy’s interview, she discusses how policy, economics, and climate change come together — both in the Colorado river basin and around freshwater management across the US. Climate impacts in hydrology and ecology are altering the economic landscape across the region, and policymakers and the public are faced with difficult and often expensive choices.

Perhaps most remarkable, Pat Mulroy discusses the first domestic piece of climate adaptation legislation at the national level in the US, which has been proposed in the US House of Representatives by Lois Cardin of California and in the Senate by Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, Barbara Boxer of California, and Harry Reid of Nevada (where Pat’s office is located).

For more information on this first piece of climate adaptation legislation and the Southern Nevada Water Authority, select Read More. Read More...

Tags: policy, capps-cardin, united states

Part 2 — Institutions and Infrastructure
Expanding on topics brought up in Part 1, water manager Pat Mulroy explores in Institutions and Infrastructure how the policy, governance, and history of the Colorado river region are interacting with the “new normal” water-scarce conditions.

How are ordinary people and decision makers responding to a long drought? How do we pursue consensus over conflict? While institutions can shift, bend, and anticipate, water infrastructure like dams, pipes, and valves are far more fixed and rigid. If they weren’t designed for current (or projected) conditions, then how can people either adjust to inefficiency or modify that infrastructure? Perhaps most importantly, how do we begin to think about sustainability in the context of a shifting climate?

For more information and background on the Colorado River and the Southern Nevada Water Authority, select Read More. Read More...

Tags: drought, infrastructure, united states, mexico, colorado river

Part 1 — Connections and Threats
Pat Mulroy manages water over a vast piece of real estate in the southwestern United States. But — as she will quickly make clear — there isn’t a lot of water there. There never was much water there, in fact. As a result, the cities, farms, and factories spanning the greater Colorado River basin have learned to live with less. The best of them have also learned to be efficient and smart in their growth. But the past twelve years have either been a drought or the start of a new normal, where only a few inches of rain each year became even less. That’s the threat.

As a result, the region whose water is governed by the Southern Nevada Water Authority that Pat manages has had to look beyond its borders for allies and cooperation. The stability, security, and growth of economic engines such as Las Vegas depend on these alliances. Those are the connections.

In the first of three videos presented here, Pat discusses the actual and virtual basin where southern Nevada is embedded.


For more information and background on the Colorado River and the Southern Nevada Water Authority, select Read More. Read More...

Tags: drought, infrastructure, united states, mexico, colorado river

Climate adaptation is finally entering the consciousness of important policymakers, trickling up and through organizations. But these shifts are not occurring smoothly or without controversy and a lot of injured fingers and toes. And we seem to be moving towards two views of how to adjust to our emerging climate: “adaptation” and “Adaptation.” The state of conflict between these two views in the U.S. is globally important right now because the U.S. has been the silent watcher on climate issues for the last decade. The U.S. government has not substantively participated in climate talks, and because the U.S. economy is so large, competing economies must keep par — for good or ill. This rule is widely understood for climate mitigation issues (regulation of greenhouse gas concentrations), but it’s also true for climate adaptation costs as well, which will also become an increasingly major element of economic spending. Finally, U.S. policymakers are going to have this debate, probably as a result of the climate change bill introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives last fall.
Read More...

Tags: climate adaptation, policy, climate mitigation, north america, united states, united states

Climate adaptation is finally entering the consciousness of important policymakers, trickling up and through organizations. But these shifts are not occurring smoothly or without controversy and a lot of injured fingers and toes. And we seem to be moving towards two views of how to adjust to our emerging climate: “adaptation” and “Adaptation.” The state of conflict between these two views in the U.S. is globally important right now because the U.S. has been the silent watcher on climate issues for the last decade. The U.S. government has not substantively participated in climate talks, and because the U.S. economy is so large, competing economies must keep par — for good or ill. This rule is widely understood for climate mitigation issues (regulation of greenhouse gas concentrations), but it’s also true for climate adaptation costs as well, which will also become an increasingly major element of economic spending. Finally, U.S. policymakers are going to have this debate, probably as a result of the climate change bill introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives last fall.
Read More...

Tags: climate adaptation, policy, climate mitigation, north america, united states, united states