Water Wednesday – Do You Feel Rich?
texas fly fishing water conservation coalition
Well Texans, we have $2-billion in the bank now. How does it feel? You know a billion isn’t what it used to be, especially when the Federal Government debit is, what $17-trillion? Makes you long for the last Bush days at $400-billion doesn’t it?
In all the discussion, interviews and Proposition 6 talk last week, over and over again I failed to hear one word – the word “conservation.” I will admit my attentions were widespread, so I may have missed someone’s voice of reason, but I don’t think so. “We’re on the road to nowhere.”
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
I wonder what will happen next with the Texas Water Board, and all that money. As I stated, I am learning on this job, and what I’ve read tells me that having this money in the banks allows Texas to secure lower interest loans for these projects – kind of like having a line of credit (in english I understand). It seems it’s less about spending this money than leveraging loans for more money, and that makes more sense because if we’re to increase water supplies, keep prices insanely low, and ignore conservation, then $2-billion won’t come close to doing the job. Try 10 or 15 billion.
Gosh, what good I could do with just a million of that!
THE NEXT FRONT – UNITY
If there are to be sober voices of conservation reason here in Texas, they will have to join together with a unified vision and voice. What I am talking about is joining across organizations, like the Sierra Club, Trout Unlimited, Coastal Conservation Association and the Federation of Fly Fishers – as well as any other organizations interested in forming a powerful singular coalition. Texas isn’t unique in the fact that all the State’s water is interrelated, but it’s unique size and varied climates, and fresh to saltwater reach, will make the coalition difficult. If each organization works independently, numbers (of voters) are diminished, and there will be a lot of little annoying voices instead of one powerful voice.
In future Water Wednesdays, we will see if we can take this battle, that will most assuredly outlive me, one step at a time. Next Wednesday we will go back and take a look at the Water Board, dig up some more links, and see if we can find more from “conservation” organization’s reactions to the overwhelming passage of Texas Proposition 6.
Category: Science and Environmental
