Pueblo Water Rights

11/17/22

“What water rights legal framework did California carry over from its Mexican colonial days?”

Before the United States invaded and annexed California, the territory was under Mexican settler-colonial domain. When California was thrust into the U.S, the Pueblo Water Rights system was carried over. This entitles cities to the right to use all necessary naturally occurring surface and subsurface water from the whole of the watershed of a stream that goes through the pueblo (settler cities set up by the Spanish and Mexican governments). The geography extends to modern-day borders of cities and towns. This system only applies to towns and cities that were founded as pueblos before California became a U.S state and exists in tandem with riparian water rights and appropriative water rights.

Why Adjacent Riparian Water Right-Holders Have Co-equal Rights

11/16/22

“Why do adjacent riparian right-holders have co-equal rights?”

Riparian rights allow owners of land adjacent to water to use the resource as they wish (within reasonable limits). But what happens if multiple properties intersect the same body of water? It turns out they would have equal rights since they both have adjacent land! This is Why Adjacent Riparian Water Right-Holders Have Co-equal Rights.

Appropriative Water Rights

11/15/22

“What is the driving force behind most water rights in the Western U.S?”

Water is much more scarce in the Western U.S than in the East. Many times water has to be taken from a source to be applied somewhere far away. This leads to conflict about who gets to divert the water and when. Before 1914, all one had to do was physically divert the water to use it! To regulate this, the U.S has established the concept of Appropriative Water Rights. Here, a potential water diverter has to apply to a state water resource control board to divert the water. The application must include where the water will be used, the time length of diversion, what purpose the water is being used for, and the type and point of diversion. People with older riparian rights trump those with newer ones. 

Riparian Water Rights

11/14/22

“What is the most common form of water rights in the Eastern U.S?”

The right to use water is always a vexing legal question. In the Eastern United States, the most common approach is Riparian Water Rights. If a landowner holds property adjacent to a body of water, then they are allowed to make reasonable use of it. The right to this water cannot be transferred independently of the land. The rights travel with the land when it is bought and sold.

Showing People in the Global North That a Lower-Carbon Lifestyle May Be a Better Choice

11/13/22

“How can convincing people in the global north that a lower carbon lifestyle is more fulfilling benefit the world?”

Many people in the global north believe that a lower-carbon lifestyle is inherently a worse one. However, many choices that provide benefits such as using public transportation, eating healthier, and watching less television actually lead to a more fulfilling life. If more people in the Global North are convinced of this, then the world’s carbon levels will go down. This is why Showing People in the Global North That a Lower-Carbon Lifestyle May Be a Better Choice.