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The circus continues - Gaia will in the end cause the changes that we refuse to accept.  To really impact change, we must ignore the rest of the world and start over from first principles.  One assumption that we can make is that we will need to remain hydrated.  Since our chemical composition is roughly the same as the ocean, i think that we can be fairly certain that we will have a constant relationship with water.

Water is very simple and very complex.  Each water molecule consists of one central oxygen atom attached to two peripheral hydrogen atoms.  The hydrogen atoms of one water molecule attract the oxygen atom of the next water molecule, so much so that the concept of an individual water atom is not a real concept.  ( But then again, is any of this real? )

We are used to seeing water in rivers and lakes.  Most of us know where the ocean is, but we rarely ever go to visit unless we live right nearby.  The Pacific Ocean is much colder on the west coast than the Atlantic Ocean is on the east coast - I have sand and water from both oceans.  The key feature is the salinity - there are many dissolved salts in sea water.  Salt is a lot more than sodium chloride - table salt is just the common misconception of what we know.

Life is organic, but water is inorganic. No carbon. Water is the seat of sentience.  Water is the solvent of life. It is all about modes of alignment and degrees of freedom.  Bio-chemistry works for nature - we need to watch and learn rather than force our way through.  Pollution - as measured by water quality monitoring is an indicator of how well we are doing.

Water is easy to monitor.  You can look at parameters like pH, temperature, turbidity, salinity, coliform count and macro-invertebrates to tell how you are doing.  The macros - bugs to most of us - are great to tell us how the water is doing - the more diversity of stoneflys, mayflies and caddis flies, the purer our watershed. 

Watershed - earth, the ground.  Where the rain runs into creeks and valleys - from mountaintop to mountaintop and all in between.  The watershed council in Douglas County is about fish passage - we opened up barriers that prevented salmon from laying eggs in redds.  Aquatic life is more versatile that air life - ask the cetaceans.  It all is a big food chain - the time to follow the flow is now.

So look at the photos of water in the gallery - from waterfalls to hydro-electric power - there are many ways where our water is us.  Dr. Lenny Thyme will be speaking in Lithia Park on Friday, October 7th at 3:00 pm as part of a rally for change.  Occupy every street!  Let's fix these problems from a different perspective than they were created.  Look into more learning opportunities at nweti.com .