My last post, See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, or How We Learned to Turn a Blind Eye to Avoid Responsibility & Consequences, talked about the dangers and futility of eliminating mention of history as well as climate change and environmental programs designed to assist farmers, water planners, and weather forecasters. This has been a week that has defied the boundaries of rational thought on the subject. And the dangers are real, in my instance, visible from my house.
I sat down to write this substack after the odd week of the firing of the head of the non-partisan Bureau of Labor Statistics, because the numbers weren’t acceptable to the administration (the proverbial shoot the messenger), when a wildfire erupted within sight of my land. Perched 7,100’ atop a pinion and sage brush covered plateau overlooking 14,000’ mountains, I’ve lived in the area for over 40 years. Only in the past ten years or so have we feared wildfire after back to back epic droughts. Since 2000, Colorado has suffered severe droughts in 2002, 2012, 2018, and now 2025. As a water attorney, I pay attention, it’s my job. It used to be a drought every decade or two (1954, 1977, etc.). The frequency and severity of drought is increasing, portrayed graphically below.
Colorado State University “2024 Climate Change in Colorado”
Colorado’s annual average temperature has raised by 2.3˚F since 1980. Models now predict a loss of up to 30% of annual precipitation by 2050. That would be staggering, and not just for Colorado. Colorado is the mother of 158 rivers, including half a dozen that flow through and into the nation’s great Rivers, all originating in and fed by Colorado runoff (Platte, Arkansas, Rio Grande, Colorado, Yampa, San Juan), These rivers support over 80 million people contributing to more than a dozen states, Mexico, and the Mississippi River.
Colorado’s watersheds are unique, capturing most water content in the form of snow and slowly melting off throughout the year to stabilize flows when they are needed in summer months. With less precipitation, and rising temperatures, less water will be captured and more will fall in the form of rain that cannot be stored and may run off as flood waters.
So, as I watch the brave first responders and air tankers hit the flames from my window, the mere thought that anyone would deny science, deny facts, and fire the messenger doesn’t sit well. Not having the science, the data, stands to place everyone in danger.
