The local councils of governments in the eight counties of the San Joaquin Valley have begun an ambitious, yet promising, effort to map a better future for Valley residents. The goal is to draw up a "San Joaquin Valley Blueprint" that will then be adopted — and followed — by all the counties: San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern.

The county COGs are working with the Great Valley Center in Modesto on the project.

The process began earlier this year and won't be completed until early in 2008. It involves drawing together a host of interests, from agriculture and business to environmental, government and civic groups and individuals. The task at hand is to define the values that Valley residents share, the vision they have for the future they want for themselves and their children.

The most encouraging thing about this effort is that the groups and agencies involved have recognized that only a regional effort will work if we are to build a brighter future and create a better quality of life for ourselves.

The areas in which we face face challenges — air quality, water supplies, transportation, land use planning — are not confined by the artificial boundaries of cities and counties. Yet we usually make crucial decisions about these issues in a local context, ignoring the fact that their implications are much broader than the parochial limits we impose on ourselves.

Local control is something to be cherished, but it can't address all the problems we face. And "local control" all too often is less a civic virtue than a euphemism for "business as usual," and that's what has created much of the mess we face.

And that's why local governments must work together on a regional basis to find the answers we need.

And new answers are crucial. The eight counties that make up this effort currently have a population of about 3.3 million. That's expected to rise to around 7 million in the next 40 years. We're often unable to handle the problems we have now. If we don't find ways to do better — and soon — we will face catastrophe in the near future: gridlocked roads and highways, foul air, dwindling water supplies, a stagnant economy, increased unemployment, rising crime, growing poverty and a pall of hopelessness draped tightly over the physical and social landscape.

We can do better. We must. The San Joaquin Valley Blueprint is an effort that has the promise of great things. It deserves the support of everyone in the Valley.