On Dec. 30, the Herald published a story about the seven most interesting environmental findings of the year. While reading, I noticed that a large portion of the story was about the effects of global warming on the United States’ water supply. It excited me to see such a passionately written piece on an issue so prominent in the Southwest because it is a crisis that everyone has to deal with, but few seem to notice. In October 2015, I was fortunate enough to take part in EcoFlight’s Flight Across America, an annual program with a new focus every year. This year it was the mega-drought sweeping across our part of the nation that I and seven other undergraduate and graduate students got to see first-hand.
We flew over the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam among other places. Every stop we made and every guest speaker we heard emphasized the severity of the issue this country is facing and all eight of us were inspired to teach and inform others about what our water supply truly looks like.
Seeing the dry tributaries and low levels of the Southwest’s reservoirs from above was enough to kick us students into the water-saving mindset. The goal of the program and its participants has turned to educating those affected the most because they are the ones who can do the most. I was extremely happy to read a story article in the Herald about environmental concerns and findings of 2015, especially those of our water supply. I am glad there are resources out there for the people of Durango to get the information they need to stay up-to-date on the world they are living in and what is going on with it.
Josey Burkett
Durango
