Musing on Magic Pills and End-of-Ditch Stewardship

My company has spent the better part of a million dollars experimenting with magic pills. These take several forms in connection with water. But they are truly just experiments. They aren’t magic at all. They are like shooting at clay pigeons… in the dark.

There is a real, and simple, explanation for this. It explains why results are never exactly replicable in natural systems. Put very plainly, there are too many variables in natural systems. From our human perspective this is a problem. From nature’s perspective, this is biocomplexity. It’s a wonder!

How many species of microbes are present in a waterway? More than you could count in an hour. In fact, more than you could count in a day. The biocomplexity of waterways is vast. When a salesman represents that their “magic pill” will accomplish your goal, know that the goal may indeed be accomplished, but that the accurate explanation for the “fix” is probably quite different than the salesperson's explanation.
Nature is wonderful, and nature does not abide with the human vision of a “fix”. You don’t just add your magic elixir to a waterway, and say “Abracadabra”, and collect your fee, and walk away. Not from nature.

Nature does not abide with human comfort goals. Nature doesn’t really care about humans. It just is.

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