Copyright 2009, John Cronin
It was said often, at a recent conference on New York State Water Resources, held at Pace University, that comprehensive protection and management of New York's waters would finally come when a crisis forced the issue. The daylong event was sponsored by Pace Academy for Applied Environmental Studies, Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries, and the Center for Environmental Legal Studies at Pace Law School.
The path to a crisis is a greater mystery than a crisis that has already been proclaimed. Hindsight is like that. Drought, decaying infrastructure, declining fish populations, and shortages in future water supply are slow-motion crises. Their eventual, official recognition, usually comes in the form of a declaration of emergency or, worse, a court order. It is spurred by some formula of public opinion, media attention, dire circumstances and government findings -- a long process that nonetheless leaves policymakers playing a panicky game of catch-up.
But the conference proceedings begged a question familiar to all those who deal in national security and preparedness -- aren't we already in a crisis if we are unprepared for an impending emergency? The OED tells us that a crisis is "a time of intense difficulty or danger." The word finds its origins in the Greek keinein, which means to separate or decide, and which is also the source of the word "critic," or kritikos -- able to make judgments. Noah's crisis, for example, came when he was charged with building an ark and gathering his passengers . . . before the flood arrived.



















Recent Comments