Surprise! This Was World Water Week

I have to admit that World Water Week slipped by me unnoticed. (I guess I “didn’t get the memo.”) But it’s not too soon to start thinking about next year:

The 2010 World Water Week theme will deal with the consequences of water use on the status of the resource itself. Water quality and water quantity are affected by how water and land are used in different sectors. Pollution and water scarcity are two examples of consequences having wide ramifications for society as a whole and downstream users in particular.

Water issues haven’t loomed large for me until the past couple of years, partly because water is a bigger issue here in California than in my previous residence, the Land of 10,000 Lakes.  The more I learn about climate change, however, the clearer it is to me that water is the key nexus, both in its effects on climate and in its responsiveness to climate.  Water resources are overstressed in many places to begin with, of course.  Maybe someday Water Law will get the respect it deserves as a part of the curriculum!