\n
\n![\"Gary](\"https:\/\/s.huffpost.com\/contributors\/gary-wockner\/headshot.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n\nGary Wockner<\/a><\/h2>\n
Gary Wockner<\/a><\/h2>\nEnvironmental writer and advocate<\/p>\n
\u00a0Fixing the Perfect Storm on the Colorado River<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\nPosted: 01\/31\/2012 11:00 am<\/div>\n“Fix your eyes on perfection and you can make almost everything speed towards it.” — William Ellery Channing<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\nOver\u00a0five trillion gallons<\/a>\u00a0— that’s how much water is drained out of the Colorado River every year leaving it bone stinkin’ dry.
\nI know, I was there.
\nA couple months ago I stood in the sand about 75 miles south of Mexicali, Mexico and scanned the horizon — sand and\u00a0barren dirt<\/a>\u00a0as far as the eye could see. It’s a startling sight, not so much for what you see, but for what you don’t. Many\u00a0decades ago<\/a>\u00a0that scene was one of the largest wetlands in North America, nearly\u00a0two million acres<\/a>\u00a0of water and grass and one of the largest desert migratory bird oases on the planet.
\nWe humans, busy as beavers, have dammed, diverted, and drained the Colorado River until there ain’t nothing left. The river starts high in the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming, but just feet away from its headwaters also starts the dams and diversions. Of the five trillion gallons, cities and farms in the U.S. take the vast majority of it. A small portion,\u00a010 percent<\/a>, still flows into Mexico, but then is quickly diverted for cities and farms south of the border.
\nPlease look at this\u00a0photo<\/a>. It’s real. That’s what the majestic Colorado River looks like right now, today, where it used to meet the Gulf of California.
\n![\"2012-01-29-dry_colorado_newhuffpo.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/images.huffingtonpost.com\/2012-01-29-dry_colorado_newhuffpo.jpg\")
<\/center>Okay, enough of the doom and gloom, now what can we do about it?
\nGood news: We can begin to fix this massive ecological problem and your voice will make a difference.
\nOver the next few months, the United States and Mexico are negotiating a shared agreement so that a very small amount of Colorado River water may once again reach the Gulf of California and help restore the wildlife and economy of this important region. This agreement will respect the rights of all water users, respect the heritage of U.S.-Mexico border relations, and create an extraordinary opportunity to restore the ecology of the Colorado River Delta.
\nThe agreement between the U.S. and Mexico is being negotiated by the\u00a0International Boundary Waters Commission<\/a>\u00a0(which is under the U.S. State Department) and will be administered by the U.S. Department of Interior. Therefore, Secretary Hillary Clinton (State Department) and Secretary Ken Salazar (Interior Department) need to hear from you soon.
\nI have been working with 25 regional, national, and international conservation organizations up and down the Colorado River basin and put together an online petition we have all signed on to where the public can take action. The petition, hosted by\u00a0Change.org is here<\/a>. Please read and sign it today\u00a0by clicking here<\/a>.
\nThe bone dry river is real. The potential agreement between the U.S. and Mexico is also real. And the petition will really make a difference — I have been in contact with the International Boundary Waters Commission, they are aware of the petition, and we will deliver the petition signatures to the commission and respectfully request that they also take action.
\nWith your help, we may all soon be able to stand in the sand 75 miles south of Mexicali and see something different — a thin line of water, alive and real, racing towards the sea with perfection in its eyes.
\nLet’s begin to fix it.\u00a0Please sign the petition today — Click Here.<\/strong><\/a>
\nThe following conservation organizations ask for your signature and support:\u00a0Save the Colorado River<\/a>,Sierra Club – Rocky Mountain Chapter<\/a>,\u00a0Biodiversity Conservation Alliance<\/a>,\u00a0Living Rivers: Colorado Riverkeeper<\/a>,\u00a0The Environmental Group<\/a>,\u00a0Western Rivers Institute<\/a>,\u00a0Alexandra Cousteau: Blue Legacy<\/a>,\u00a0The Ocean Foundation<\/a>,\u00a0Clean Water Fund<\/a>,\u00a0San Diego Coastkeeper<\/a>,\u00a0Save the Poudre: Poudre Waterkeeper<\/a>,American Whitewater<\/a>,\u00a0Waterkeeper Alliance<\/a>,\u00a0Food and Water Watch<\/a>,\u00a0Colorado Ocean Coalition<\/a>,\u00a0Glen Canyon Institute<\/a>,\u00a0Save the Colorado River Delta: Sonoran Institute<\/a>,\u00a0Sheep Mountain Alliance<\/a>,\u00a0Grand Canyon Trust<\/a>,\u00a0American Rivers<\/a>,\u00a0Citizens for Dixie’s Future<\/a>,\u00a0Great Basin Water Network<\/a>,\u00a0Redford Center: Red River Film<\/a>,\u00a0Planning and Conservation League of California<\/a>, and\u00a0Defenders of Wildlife<\/a>.
\nGary Wockner, Ph.D., is the campaign coordinator for the\u00a0Save the Colorado River<\/a>\u00a0campaign. Contact:gary@savethecolorado.org<\/a>.<\/em>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/gary-wockner\/colorado-river-restoration_b_1240221.html Gary Wockner Environmental writer and advocate \u00a0Fixing the Perfect Storm on the Colorado River Posted: 01\/31\/2012 11:00 am “Fix your eyes on perfection and you can make almost everything speed towards it.” — William Ellery Channing Over\u00a0five trillion gallons\u00a0— that’s how much water is drained out of the Colorado River every year leaving…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Sign petition to save CO River - Alex Prud'homme<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alexprudhomme.com\/2012\/02\/01\/sign-petition-to-save-co-river\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sign petition to save CO River - Alex Prud'homme\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/gary-wockner\/colorado-river-restoration_b_1240221.html Gary Wockner Environmental writer and advocate \u00a0Fixing the Perfect Storm on the Colorado River Posted: 01\/31\/2012 11:00 am “Fix your eyes on perfection and you can make almost everything speed towards it.” — William Ellery Channing Over\u00a0five trillion gallons\u00a0— that’s how much water is drained out of the Colorado River every year leaving…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/alexprudhomme.com\/2012\/02\/01\/sign-petition-to-save-co-river\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Alex Prud'homme\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AlexPrudhommeWords\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-02-01T17:17:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s.huffpost.com\/contributors\/gary-wockner\/headshot.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alex\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/APrudhommeWords\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alex\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alexprudhomme.com\/2012\/02\/01\/sign-petition-to-save-co-river\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/alexprudhomme.com\/2012\/02\/01\/sign-petition-to-save-co-river\/\",\"name\":\"Sign petition to save CO River - 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\n
Posted: 01\/31\/2012 11:00 am<\/div>\n
“Fix your eyes on perfection and you can make almost everything speed towards it.” — William Ellery Channing<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\nOver\u00a0five trillion gallons<\/a>\u00a0— that’s how much water is drained out of the Colorado River every year leaving it bone stinkin’ dry.
\nI know, I was there.
\nA couple months ago I stood in the sand about 75 miles south of Mexicali, Mexico and scanned the horizon — sand and\u00a0barren dirt<\/a>\u00a0as far as the eye could see. It’s a startling sight, not so much for what you see, but for what you don’t. Many\u00a0decades ago<\/a>\u00a0that scene was one of the largest wetlands in North America, nearly\u00a0two million acres<\/a>\u00a0of water and grass and one of the largest desert migratory bird oases on the planet.
\nWe humans, busy as beavers, have dammed, diverted, and drained the Colorado River until there ain’t nothing left. The river starts high in the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming, but just feet away from its headwaters also starts the dams and diversions. Of the five trillion gallons, cities and farms in the U.S. take the vast majority of it. A small portion,\u00a010 percent<\/a>, still flows into Mexico, but then is quickly diverted for cities and farms south of the border.
\nPlease look at this\u00a0photo<\/a>. It’s real. That’s what the majestic Colorado River looks like right now, today, where it used to meet the Gulf of California.
\n<\/center>Okay, enough of the doom and gloom, now what can we do about it?
\nGood news: We can begin to fix this massive ecological problem and your voice will make a difference.
\nOver the next few months, the United States and Mexico are negotiating a shared agreement so that a very small amount of Colorado River water may once again reach the Gulf of California and help restore the wildlife and economy of this important region. This agreement will respect the rights of all water users, respect the heritage of U.S.-Mexico border relations, and create an extraordinary opportunity to restore the ecology of the Colorado River Delta.
\nThe agreement between the U.S. and Mexico is being negotiated by the\u00a0International Boundary Waters Commission<\/a>\u00a0(which is under the U.S. State Department) and will be administered by the U.S. Department of Interior. Therefore, Secretary Hillary Clinton (State Department) and Secretary Ken Salazar (Interior Department) need to hear from you soon.
\nI have been working with 25 regional, national, and international conservation organizations up and down the Colorado River basin and put together an online petition we have all signed on to where the public can take action. The petition, hosted by\u00a0Change.org is here<\/a>. Please read and sign it today\u00a0by clicking here<\/a>.
\nThe bone dry river is real. The potential agreement between the U.S. and Mexico is also real. And the petition will really make a difference — I have been in contact with the International Boundary Waters Commission, they are aware of the petition, and we will deliver the petition signatures to the commission and respectfully request that they also take action.
\nWith your help, we may all soon be able to stand in the sand 75 miles south of Mexicali and see something different — a thin line of water, alive and real, racing towards the sea with perfection in its eyes.
\nLet’s begin to fix it.\u00a0Please sign the petition today — Click Here.<\/strong><\/a>
\nThe following conservation organizations ask for your signature and support:\u00a0Save the Colorado River<\/a>,Sierra Club – Rocky Mountain Chapter<\/a>,\u00a0Biodiversity Conservation Alliance<\/a>,\u00a0Living Rivers: Colorado Riverkeeper<\/a>,\u00a0The Environmental Group<\/a>,\u00a0Western Rivers Institute<\/a>,\u00a0Alexandra Cousteau: Blue Legacy<\/a>,\u00a0The Ocean Foundation<\/a>,\u00a0Clean Water Fund<\/a>,\u00a0San Diego Coastkeeper<\/a>,\u00a0Save the Poudre: Poudre Waterkeeper<\/a>,American Whitewater<\/a>,\u00a0Waterkeeper Alliance<\/a>,\u00a0Food and Water Watch<\/a>,\u00a0Colorado Ocean Coalition<\/a>,\u00a0Glen Canyon Institute<\/a>,\u00a0Save the Colorado River Delta: Sonoran Institute<\/a>,\u00a0Sheep Mountain Alliance<\/a>,\u00a0Grand Canyon Trust<\/a>,\u00a0American Rivers<\/a>,\u00a0Citizens for Dixie’s Future<\/a>,\u00a0Great Basin Water Network<\/a>,\u00a0Redford Center: Red River Film<\/a>,\u00a0Planning and Conservation League of California<\/a>, and\u00a0Defenders of Wildlife<\/a>.
\nGary Wockner, Ph.D., is the campaign coordinator for the\u00a0Save the Colorado River<\/a>\u00a0campaign. Contact:gary@savethecolorado.org<\/a>.<\/em>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sign petition to save CO River - Alex Prud'homme<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alexprudhomme.com\/2012\/02\/01\/sign-petition-to-save-co-river\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sign petition to save CO River - Alex Prud'homme\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/gary-wockner\/colorado-river-restoration_b_1240221.html Gary Wockner Environmental writer and advocate \u00a0Fixing the Perfect Storm on the Colorado River Posted: 01\/31\/2012 11:00 am “Fix your eyes on perfection and you can make almost everything speed towards it.” — William Ellery Channing Over\u00a0five trillion gallons\u00a0— that’s how much water is drained out of the Colorado River every year leaving…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/alexprudhomme.com\/2012\/02\/01\/sign-petition-to-save-co-river\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Alex Prud'homme\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AlexPrudhommeWords\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-02-01T17:17:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s.huffpost.com\/contributors\/gary-wockner\/headshot.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alex\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/APrudhommeWords\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alex\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alexprudhomme.com\/2012\/02\/01\/sign-petition-to-save-co-river\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/alexprudhomme.com\/2012\/02\/01\/sign-petition-to-save-co-river\/\",\"name\":\"Sign petition to save CO River - 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\nI know, I was there.
\nA couple months ago I stood in the sand about 75 miles south of Mexicali, Mexico and scanned the horizon — sand and\u00a0barren dirt<\/a>\u00a0as far as the eye could see. It’s a startling sight, not so much for what you see, but for what you don’t. Many\u00a0decades ago<\/a>\u00a0that scene was one of the largest wetlands in North America, nearly\u00a0two million acres<\/a>\u00a0of water and grass and one of the largest desert migratory bird oases on the planet.
\nWe humans, busy as beavers, have dammed, diverted, and drained the Colorado River until there ain’t nothing left. The river starts high in the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming, but just feet away from its headwaters also starts the dams and diversions. Of the five trillion gallons, cities and farms in the U.S. take the vast majority of it. A small portion,\u00a010 percent<\/a>, still flows into Mexico, but then is quickly diverted for cities and farms south of the border.
\nPlease look at this\u00a0photo<\/a>. It’s real. That’s what the majestic Colorado River looks like right now, today, where it used to meet the Gulf of California.
\n
<\/center>Okay, enough of the doom and gloom, now what can we do about it?\nGood news: We can begin to fix this massive ecological problem and your voice will make a difference.
\nOver the next few months, the United States and Mexico are negotiating a shared agreement so that a very small amount of Colorado River water may once again reach the Gulf of California and help restore the wildlife and economy of this important region. This agreement will respect the rights of all water users, respect the heritage of U.S.-Mexico border relations, and create an extraordinary opportunity to restore the ecology of the Colorado River Delta.
\nThe agreement between the U.S. and Mexico is being negotiated by the\u00a0International Boundary Waters Commission<\/a>\u00a0(which is under the U.S. State Department) and will be administered by the U.S. Department of Interior. Therefore, Secretary Hillary Clinton (State Department) and Secretary Ken Salazar (Interior Department) need to hear from you soon.
\nI have been working with 25 regional, national, and international conservation organizations up and down the Colorado River basin and put together an online petition we have all signed on to where the public can take action. The petition, hosted by\u00a0Change.org is here<\/a>. Please read and sign it today\u00a0by clicking here<\/a>.
\nThe bone dry river is real. The potential agreement between the U.S. and Mexico is also real. And the petition will really make a difference — I have been in contact with the International Boundary Waters Commission, they are aware of the petition, and we will deliver the petition signatures to the commission and respectfully request that they also take action.
\nWith your help, we may all soon be able to stand in the sand 75 miles south of Mexicali and see something different — a thin line of water, alive and real, racing towards the sea with perfection in its eyes.
\nLet’s begin to fix it.\u00a0Please sign the petition today — Click Here.<\/strong><\/a>
\nThe following conservation organizations ask for your signature and support:\u00a0Save the Colorado River<\/a>,Sierra Club – Rocky Mountain Chapter<\/a>,\u00a0Biodiversity Conservation Alliance<\/a>,\u00a0Living Rivers: Colorado Riverkeeper<\/a>,\u00a0The Environmental Group<\/a>,\u00a0Western Rivers Institute<\/a>,\u00a0Alexandra Cousteau: Blue Legacy<\/a>,\u00a0The Ocean Foundation<\/a>,\u00a0Clean Water Fund<\/a>,\u00a0San Diego Coastkeeper<\/a>,\u00a0Save the Poudre: Poudre Waterkeeper<\/a>,American Whitewater<\/a>,\u00a0Waterkeeper Alliance<\/a>,\u00a0Food and Water Watch<\/a>,\u00a0Colorado Ocean Coalition<\/a>,\u00a0Glen Canyon Institute<\/a>,\u00a0Save the Colorado River Delta: Sonoran Institute<\/a>,\u00a0Sheep Mountain Alliance<\/a>,\u00a0Grand Canyon Trust<\/a>,\u00a0American Rivers<\/a>,\u00a0Citizens for Dixie’s Future<\/a>,\u00a0Great Basin Water Network<\/a>,\u00a0Redford Center: Red River Film<\/a>,\u00a0Planning and Conservation League of California<\/a>, and\u00a0Defenders of Wildlife<\/a>.
\nGary Wockner, Ph.D., is the campaign coordinator for the\u00a0Save the Colorado River<\/a>\u00a0campaign. Contact:gary@savethecolorado.org<\/a>.<\/em>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/gary-wockner\/colorado-river-restoration_b_1240221.html Gary Wockner Environmental writer and advocate \u00a0Fixing the Perfect Storm on the Colorado River Posted: 01\/31\/2012 11:00 am “Fix your eyes on perfection and you can make almost everything speed towards it.” — William Ellery Channing Over\u00a0five trillion gallons\u00a0— that’s how much water is drained out of the Colorado River every year leaving…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n