Climate politics, resilience, and stale appropriation

As the world's leading politicians are meeting, hoping to hammer out some piddling gesture towards solving climate change (as a contruct) by reducing emissions, this is simply a brief "poke in the eye" at prior appropriation. Happy Thanksgiving New Mexico! That we have the "first in time, first in right" attitude towards water, and apparently not much else, is simply ludicrous. And if the Western States hope to really enforce future "calls on water" by senior water rights holders, they're dreaming at this point. Even in Colorado, the state engineer...excuse me, State Engineer, can issue a "futile call" (scroll down to 'f') if trying to enforce a senior right will result in no water. Remember 2002? You would if you were in Colorado or New Mexico at the time; depending on the data you consult or the model you believe in, it may have been the dryest year in 300+ years. It made the early 1950s drought look cuddly for these two states, at least.

And a simple toast to the most flexible, humane, institution we have in New Mexico (and Colorado!): the acequia! Salud! If climate change does occur, who has the right-scaled institution to dole out water? Who will have the social capital to make logical choices about who gets water, when, and how much? That's right, acequias and their mayordomos. Unless some local OSE proxy, a water master, is in place. Then all bets are off if the mayordomo of mayordomos cannot clear up the mess. But maybe I'm being hasty. Still, today, I lift my glass to that resilient institution, the acequia. Prost!