Through the stakeholder process the public can express their concern for future generations, and question the impact of proposed projects on the long-term health of the environment and our community. Only by acknowledging our values, our hopes and our fears can we plan effectively for both present and future needs. They are also testaments to our concern for those we leave behind. In summary, from the perspective of intergenerational equity, water supply plans are not merely maps that show us where to find more water. They are also testaments to our concern for those we leave behind, and the ultimate test of our success as water resource professionals.
Obligations simply lose their meaning across centuries.
If human existence has any verifiable meaning, it is that our passions and toil are enabling mechanisms to continue that existence unbroken, unsullied, and progressively secure. It is for ourselves, and not for them or any abstract morality, that we think into the distant future. For More Detailed Information 1. Sheikh, Bahman et al. Foster, John ed.