CLIMATE CHANGE RISKS NEW MEXICO'S WATERWAYS: ITS BYWAYS AND ITS FLYWAYS

摘要

The sentiment of this traditional proverb still echoes soundly throughout the desert communities of the Southwest, not withstanding a few tracts where minerals and oil are found. As much as it has for a thousand or more years, water continues to define and condition patterns of settlement and economic development throughout the Southwest, including where and how land is used, how communities prosper, and together interact and integrate within the larger environment. However, unlike years long past, many of the desert dwellers of today rely heavily on reservoirs and aquifers, which have seemingly raised the capacity of these arid environs to attract and support continuingly growing populations and their economies. But for how long and to what extent can these trends continue, especially in the face of climatic changes that will likely alter streamfiow patterns and hy-drographs that may follow? New Mexico has a unique blend of cultures and landscapes, of agrarian values and high-tech economies, of rare ecosystems, fertile valleys, and expansive desert rangelands.