Jeffrey Sachs Solves the Water Crisis

Well, maybe not. But the current issue (28 April 2008) of Newsweek features "Rivers Running Dry" and economist Jeffrey D. Sachs' latest book, Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet. In the piece, Sachs, who is head of Columbia University's Earth Institute, offers some comments on the water crisis and some solutions.

I've not read his book yet. Yes, I will post a review when I finish it.

Wonder what William Easterly would think of it? For those of you who don't know, Sachs and Easterly go back and forth about the best way to "do development". Just Google "Easterly vs. Sachs". I will post on their kerfluffle shortly.

If the article is any indication of what Sachs thinks about water and the solutions we need, then it's nothing new for us Water Wonks. Yeah, things are bad and will probably get worse. But perhaps Sachs' book will convince others - politicians, "regular people", et al. - that action is needed. If it does that, then he's done us all a service.

One thing that the USA needs is a national water policy - not a plan, but a policy.  The American Water Resources Association (AWRA) has been calling for such a policy in its Water Dialogues. [Disclosure notice: I sit on the Board of the AWRA.]The USA muddles along, going from crisis to crisis.

Here is the first paragraph from Jeneen Interlandi's Newsweek article:

Remember last fall when the city of Atlanta was said to be just weeks away from running dry? It's getting warm in the Southeast again, and Lake Lanier, which supplies water to parts of three states (Georgia, Alabama and Florida) is still down 13 feet from where it should be this time of year. Part of the fault lies with the Army Corps of Engineers, which regulates the outflow from the lake down the Chattahoochee River and sent billions of gallons into the Atlantic to protect the endangered sturgeon population, based on a plan that had not been updated since 1989. It also lost an additional 22 billion gallons, owing to a broken gauge. But the bigger problem is the lack of a coherent policy for collecting, conserving and using fresh water there, or in much of the rest of the United States, or, for that matter, the world.

Here is a recent photo of Lake Lanier, courtesy of Don Mahin.

Here's an interesting snippet from the Newsweek article:

Economists and geologists have identified one culprit in the water-management problem, a mind-set they call "stationarity"—the belief that natural systems fluctuate within a narrow, predictable range, even over long periods. "Stationarity is dead," says Chris Milly, author of a recent Science paper on the issue—done in by population growth, climate change and economic development. But the effect of the stationarity fallacy has been to leave water policy in the hands of relatively shortsighted municipal and state authorities, while the federal government has been looking the other way. [emboldening mine]

That last sentence is pretty brutal. What is meant by "shortsighted"? The few municipal water managers I know in the West are not what I call "shortsighted". In fact, a number of Western municipal water utilities - Seattle and Portland come to mind - have joined to cope with climate change and its effect on water availability. I don't always agree with Pat Mulroy, but I would not accuse her of being shortsighted. Some states are incorporating climate change into their planning efforts. 

Here is a related article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about Rep. John Linder (R-GA), one of the founders of the House Water Caucus.  He's trying to establish a National Water Commission.

One group we need to get on board is the business community. Not just the Warren Buffets and his ilk, but others as well - local/regional business leaders. If I tell some politician we need a national water policy, nothing will get done. If Buffet, Bill Gates, or Paul Otellini (Intel CEO) says that, you know the politicos will listen; the state and local politicians will respond to state/local business leaders as well as the national/international ones.

That's where we Water Wonks have failed, by not engaging the business community. Money talks - we all know that.

And business people know that they need water to make money. Sin agua, no hay dinero.

You go, Jeff!

"With great power comes great responsibility." -- Spiderman

Comments

[John Fleck]

I'm reading Sachs' book now. It's very good, but I found myself wanting, for example, to hear what a water specialist might say about the water bits (hint, hint). :-)

[Michael]

Hey, John.

Sachs' book is on my list. I want to read William Easterly's "The White Man's Burden" next. I have a trip to Azerbaijan and Armenia in two weeks, so I will have some "leisure time". Don't give away the ending!

[John Fleck]

I think you'll be well served by reading Easterly first. Sachs does discuss him now and again. :-)