Overview

The Downstream Neighbor calls forth the value of water as a commons, an intrinsic right, and a public trust. We know that past customs and laws in Colorado have not always reinforced this natural value. Yet human awareness has been shifting since mining gold “in them thar hills” funded a civil war and paved our current structures for managing water.

It is the 21st century, more than half way through the UN-designated decade of water. And we are at the precipice of a water crisis. At the beginning of a new year, we pause to acknowledge the interdependence of all humans with one another and with the rest of nature. We celebrate water’s integral role in the whole living biosphere and the immense creativity and fecundity of Earth’s hydrologic cycle. As we prepare to participate in Colorado’s Water 2012, we consider how a holistic, eco-centric focus can foster the well-being of all whose reciprocal relationship with water is critical to our shared future.

It is natural and desirable for customs and values to evolve as we integrate emerging insights from past experience and approaching crisis. We come together to acknowledge, express and help energize this emergence.