来源：《基督科学箴言报》
原文刊登日期：2022年7月14日
If it continues another year, a 22-year-long drought in America’s Southwest could lead to, among other things, the end of hydropower on the Colorado River. Yet such predictions also have an upside. Many desert cities built on distant water sources are learning to harness their resources more efficiently even as their population grows.
如果这样的气候再持续一年，美国西南部长达22年的干旱可能会导致科罗拉多河水力发电的终结。然而，这样的预期也有好处。许多建立在遥远水源上的沙漠城市正在学习更有效地利用资源，尽管它们的人口在增长。
The dryness of the Southwest is “not all doom and gloom,” Andrew Erdmann, New Mexico’s chief water planner, told the Albuquerque Journal. The state’s new 50-year water plan due to be released this month, he said, reflects “optimism and reason to be hopeful that we’re adapting effectively to the changes expected.”
新墨西哥州首席水资源规划师安德鲁·厄德曼在接受《阿尔伯克基日报》采访时表示，西南部的干旱“并不完全是厄运和阴郁”。他说，该州将于本月发布的新的50年供水计划反映出“乐观和有理由抱有希望，我们正在有效地适应预期的变化。”
The crisis in water security is tapping new reservoirs of human cooperation and innovation. Last year, for example, federal officials cut water allocations from the Colorado River to users across seven states; that might once have been disastrous, but several cities that have long depended on the watershed hardly shrunk back. In June, Los Angeles posted its lowest water consumption ever recorded during the first month of summer. In San Diego, where water use per resident has dropped 43% from 1990 levels, water officials say the city has enough water capacity to grow comfortably at 1% a year through 2045. In Las Vegas; Phoenix; and Albuquerque, New Mexico, water planners express similar confidence.
水安全危机正在挖掘人类合作与创新的新水库。例如，去年联邦官员削减了科罗拉多河对七个州用户的用水配额；这曾经可能是灾难性的，但一些长期依赖该流域的城市几乎没有退缩。今年6月，洛杉矶公布了有记录以来夏季第一个月的最低用水量。在圣迭戈，人均用水量较1990年水平下降了43%，水务官员说，该市有足够的水资源生产能力，可以在2045年前以每年1%的速度舒适地增长。在拉斯维加斯、凤凰城、以及新墨西哥州阿尔伯克基的水资源规划人员也表达了类似的信心。
These cities are embracing a mix of conservation strategies, including recycling, desalination, new technologies to detect leaks, and stormwater catchment. Los Angeles and San Diego pay their residents to replace thirsty front lawns with rock and cactus gardens. So does Las Vegas, which draws 90% of its water from the Colorado River. The city has seen daily water consumption per resident drop from 314 gallons to 222 gallons in recent years. All indoor water is recycled throughout the city.
这些城市采取了多种保护策略，包括回收利用、海水淡化、检测泄漏的新技术以及雨水收集。洛杉矶和圣迭戈付钱给它们的居民，把干渴的前草坪换成岩石和仙人掌花园。拉斯维加斯也是如此，该市90%的水都来自科罗拉多河。近年来，该市人均每日用水量从314加仑下降到222加仑。整个城市的所有室内水都是循环利用的。
One important element in changing water-use habits among urban residents may be encouragement rather than punishment. In California, for example, Gov. Gavin Newsom has urged residents voluntarily to cut their water use 15% below what they consumed in 2020. Statewide, Californians have yet to meet that goal. But as the state has shown in the past, mandatory rationing tends not to produce long-term change.
改变城市居民用水习惯的一个重要因素可能是鼓励而不是惩罚。以加州为例，州长加文·纽森敦促居民自愿将用水量比2020年减少15%。全州范围内，加州人还没有达到这一目标。但正如加州过去所显示的那样，强制配额制往往不会产生长期的变化。
“If I have the opportunity to educate, that’s always the first option for me, always,” Damon Ayala, a Los Angeles water controller, told the LA Times. “We obviously can issue a warning citation or a monetary citation, but what we’re really looking for is behavior change.”
“如果我有机会去教育，那永远是我的第一选择，永远是，”洛杉矶水资源指挥官达蒙·阿亚拉在接受《洛杉矶时报》采访时表示。“我们显然可以发出警告传票或罚款传票，但我们真正想要的是行为改变。”
In her groundbreaking studies on how people work through resource problems, the late political economist Elinor Ostrom noted that sustainable outcomes result from “innovativeness, learning, adapting, trustworthiness, and levels of cooperation.” In the Southwest, city residents may be showing how those qualities can often turn scarcities into shared security.
已故政治经济学家埃莉诺·奥斯特罗姆在她关于人们如何解决资源问题的开创性研究中指出，可持续的效果来自“创新、学习、适应、信任和合作水平”。在美国西南部，城市居民可能正在展示这些品质如何经常将稀缺转化为共同的安全。