The Arid West
The Western US is getting drier and drier…or is it?
The West is dry because it’s a desert. And it’s a desert because
it’s…dry. It has been for a very long time, since well before
people have been around. Humans, and particularly agriculture, require an
enormous amount of water. And water is scarce in the desert. Remember? It’s
dry.
The mighty Colorado River travels from the Rocky Mountains, and flows right
through the middle of the deserts down to the Sea of Cortez. Sometimes. For
several generations we have been ‘borrowing’ water from that river
to supply drinking water, and water for irrigation, electricity and recreation
for 40 million people in 7 states and Mexico. We have built huge dams to store
water, while depriving the lower river of the water it needs for Mother Nature’s
uses. And the desert itself is suffering. Even before the current lingering
drought there was rarely enough water left in the river to trickle through
Mexico into the Sea of Cortez.
There is plenty of water, even in severe drought conditions, for the desert
to be a desert. The plants and animals there have evolved to tolerate those
natural cycles.
But when there is an unusually long period of drought, exacerbated by human-caused
climate change and increased human demands, the reservoirs behind the dams
start to dry up, leaving a shortfall for electricity generation, drinking,
agriculture, and the needs of the desert itself. And the natural aquifer—underground
water—is also being depleted by civilization, and is not being replaced.
There is simply not enough water to support man’s arrogance, thinking
he can build a paradise to his liking, out of what was already a natural paradise,
albeit a dry one. Removing water from one area to use somewhere else is not
sustainable in the long run. We are seeing that now.
Only humans are capable of killing a desert.
So, people of the American Southwest, be thankful there is still enough water
to ration. For now.
And a heads up for the rest of the country, most of that water goes not for
lavish lifestyles, golf courses and swimming pools. The vast majority goes
to agriculture. They are growing food for YOU!
Remember that little tidbit when you are being thankful that you don’t
live there and have to ration.
For now.
© 2022 Scott Wright
