I recently returned from a whirlwind trip: one brief week in the Navajo Nation. โWhirlwindโ is an entirely appropriate metaphor, as strong and gusty winds were the daily weather characteristic. One evening, pumping gas into my borrowed SUV, I was amazed to see the gas pump rocking on the lee side of the vehicle: thatโs a serious wind that we rarely see in Kentucky. โYep, itโs windy todayโ was the casual observation of the Navajo at the next pump.
As we are so aware at Water With Blessings, even in the desert, no; most especially in the desert, everything comes down to water. Climate change has created a drought of many decades that has torn into the Navajo way of life in multiple ways...and the damage continues unrelenting, like that strong desert wind. In fact, the wind is a manifestation of the drought: the loss of many trees and other plant cover adds to higher temperatures, drier air and less windbreak... so, stronger, more damaging winds result. And then, inevitably... less water.