It’s been a busy period with an assassination attempt, an abdication, a national election victory of crazy clowns over Kamala kumbaya, the collapse of the New York Yankees, huge hurricanes and fires worldwide, a comet too close for comfort and even Daylight Saving Time. Not only are these changes a surprise, but it’s the change in the changes that are unpredictable, the acceleration of change with respect to time. Where is the solace of science in all of this, the convenience of truth and time?   Science, engineering and hydrology are under attack these days with conspiracy theories and climate deniers because some of the men at the top are not very good at science or don’t believe in it.  Science is not a matter of faith but a matter of fact and that much is not open to debate. Science is typically rigid and predictable. Science is run by the unequivocal rules and laws of the universe that make the legal and political system seem whimsical and capricious. Science is our best explanation of how things really work at this point in time.   I’m a scientist, a civil engineer, a hydrologist, dam it. I am a hobby economist, part-time geologist and amateur cosmologist. It’s who I am and what I do. I consider it my obligation to share what I know, learn and love with others in a format that is fun and fathomable.  I believe we need science now more than ever, for us and for our children. It’s about time, and time is not a constant in this ever-changing world but a commodity that cannot be bought or sold, and we are running out of it. Objective scientists like Hawkings and Feynman say that our biggest issues today are that our population growth is unsustainable for food, water, natural resources and human industry — the basics of our market economy. The Earth is already over capacity. Our climate is on a downhill trend that could accelerate and make the Earth hotter than Venus (451° F). Our technology is becoming so advanced that soon computers will be smarter than we are and may take over. We can’t even turn off our smart phones, let alone artificial intelligence.  The rich and smart guys are trying to find other planets and a way to relocate or time travel amongst our 11M dimensional universes, some of which are imaginary, and that’s not a good sign. Water is a good, visible metaphor for our climate and natural resources and how we conserve and distribute them or use them up until they are gone, knowing that they are limited but squandering them nonetheless.  The Tragedy of the Commons and human nature dictate that we take more than our share for fear of getting cheated. The devil may take the rest. We divide and distribute our lakes and rivers perpetually on paper and wonder why there is no wet water remaining. We pump our groundwater until it is gone and wonder why the aquifers collapse and the ground subsides. Out of sight out of mind.  We shut down farms and golf courses for cooling water for Amazon and AI computer centers.  We subsidize waste and encourage overuse that does not support the general welfare and the public good. This is not conservation or communism, but historic and accepted Western water law and economics in practice. Use it or lose it, waste it or taste it. First in time, first in right, first at the bank.There is our infinite thirst and exponential growth spurring boundless water demand, as opposed to our diminishing supply, exacerbated by climate change and long-term drought. Our answers are technologically bent, resorting to apps and accounting, metering and monitoring, smoke and mirrors, deeper wells and longer diversions, water banks and bigger dams.  Or we look for other places to steal water from, like the oceans and icebergs, the moon and Mars, exoplanets and an alternative universe. The first thing we always look for is water, in the name of life, and in the name of time. But if something is free, like water and pollution, inner climate and outer space, free time or spare change, people will not value it.  Is it ironic to rely on the fair market to conserve water and clean air, save our climate and preserve outer space, or is it our last, best chance?  People don’t do anything without incentives or disincentives, the carrot and the stick, market forces. So how do we make wasting water economically expensive, clean air truly valuable, climate and outer space the dominion and responsibility of the masses? Ask a politician, a businessman or an economist in these crazy times where it is money that changes everything, and change is the only thing that matters. Just don’t ask a scientist. You might not like the inconvenient truth or urgent timing. Matt Lindon is a resident of Snyderville Basin.The post Inconvenient science, politics, economics and time running out appeared first on Park Record.