Barry Nelson's Blog
About
- Bio:
During the week, I’m the director of the California Vision Project for NRDC’s Water Program, where we work to protect rivers, lakes, estuaries and fisheries, and to promote improved water management practices that can meet human needs and adapt to the likely impacts of global warming. On the weekend, my connection to rivers runs deeper. My wife and I have lived in California most of our lives, where both of our families have lived for a century and a half. Every weekend and vacation, my parents took my brother, sister and me hiking in parks across California and the West. Now, it’s my turn to protect this natural legacy and help others explore it. For their 50th wedding anniversary, my sister and I rowed our parents down the Wild and Scenic Rogue River in Oregon. Every Fall, we take our nieces and nephew canoeing to watch wild salmon spawn in Northern California. For me, rivers are both my job and my hobby.
- Roots in:
- Northern California
- Favorite place:
- The little cabin my grandfather built on the Russian River.
- Why "environmentalism" matters:
- Because the entire world economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment. Simply put, we cannot successfully meet human needs without also maintaining healthy natural resources. In particular, water issues represent an opportunity to show how we can provide water for cities and farms while restoring our rivers, lakes and estuaries. Water is essential to healthy rivers, to commercial and recreational fishermen, to our economy, and to my vegetable garden and tiny urban orchard. Global warming is going to increase the challenges we face in meeting all of these needs. It’s the ultimate modern resource. There’s a Scottish proverb that states --“We'll never know the worth of water until the well goes dry.” The core challenge we face is learning the true value of the environment before the well runs dry.
Recent Blog Posts
- The Whole Enchilada - A Summary of the Water Bills (November 6, 2009)
- On Leadership and the Water Package (November 6, 2009)
- Why do some water users object to the state constitution? (October 28, 2009)
- The Growing Middle on California Water Legislation (October 28, 2009)
- Small Fry and Salmon Runs (October 20, 2009)
- California Hits Peak Water, But Virtual River Offers Solution (October 15, 2009)
- Hope is a Thing with Fins (October 15, 2009)
- Horseshoes, Hand Grenades and California Water Policy (September 14, 2009)
- The Delta, California Water Policy and the Legislative Art of Hostage Taking (August 19, 2009)
- The California Water Bills: How to Make the Delta More Like the Netherlands than New Orleans (August 14, 2009)
Read more in Barry Nelson's Archives→
- Barry Nelson
- Senior Policy Analyst, Water Program
- San Francisco