Rio Grande Basin and the modern world: Understanding scale and context

Abstract

Environmental problems are social issues, embedded in economic and political contexts at the local, regional, national, and global levels. Placing environmental issues on the scale from local to global clarifies conflicts between the level at which problems originate and the level at which they must be addressed. Local issues today often originate in sources distant in time and space, increasing the difficulty of discerning and addressing them. Conflicts in environmental management can be approached by understanding their broader context and the appropriate level at which to manage them.

Parent Publication

• Rio Grande ecosystems: linking land, water, and people: Toward a sustainable future for the Middle Rio Grande Basin

Citation

Tainter, Joseph A. 1999. Rio Grande Basin and the modern world: Understanding scale and context. In: Finch, Deborah M.; Whitney, Jeffrey C.; Kelly, Jeffrey, F.; Loftin, Samuel R. Rio Grande ecosystems: linking land, water, and people: Toward a sustainable future for the Middle Rio Grande Basin. 1998 June 2-5; Albuquerque, NM. Proc. RMRS-P-7. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 7-11.