BLOG
Will Arizona Close a Loophole That Kets Developers Build Without Water?
January 9th, 2024
Via Grist, an article on Arizona where – despite water woes in “wildcat” neighborhoods – lawmakers may not act to close loopholes exploited by developers: When a small Arizona community called Rio Verde Foothills lost its water supply one year ago, forcing locals to skip showers and eat off paper plates, it became a poster child for unwise desert development. […]
Read more »A Stanford Economist Says We Should Think of Water Like Radio Waves
January 8th, 2024
Via Quartz, an article on a Stanford economist’s suggestions that it’s in our best interests to let farmers cash out like broadcast stations did in 2017: Water, water everywhere. And increasingly, not a drop a drink. As tensions over the future of water consumption hit their boiling point, a new working paper published through the […]
Read more »Colorado River States Are Racing to Agree on Cuts Before Inauguration Day
January 8th, 2024
Via The New York Times, a report that California, Arizona and others – fearing a political shake-up of negotiating teams after the November election – are aiming to wrap up work this year: The states that rely on the Colorado River, which is shrinking because of climate change and overuse, are rushing to agree on […]
Read more »Water’s Worth: In Nebraska, It Has Serious Value, But Who Owns It?
January 5th, 2024
Via Star Herald, an article on the value of water in America’s midwest: The land John Childears farms near North Platte is sandy, not particularly fertile, less than ideal. But the value of his land largely lies beneath his feet: the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest in the world. Childears recently harvested corn at […]
Read more »In the Drought-Stricken West, $25 Million Worth of Water Went Missing
January 5th, 2024
Via Popular Mechanics, a shocking story on how one man allegedly spent decades orchestrating a scheme to siphon water away from California’s prized canal system: The job was easier to pull off at odd hours. Early in the morning, before sunrise; or 7 in the evening, after everyone else had left work. There weren’t many prying […]
Read more »Don’t Flee the American Southwest Just Yet
January 2nd, 2024
Via the New York Times, commentary on the U.S. southwest and water scarcity: This summer, when the temperature hit 110 degrees Fahrenheit or above in Phoenix for 31 straight days, many were fretting about the Southwest’s prospects in the age of climate change. A writer for The Atlantic asked, “When Will the Southwest Become Unlivable?” Bloomberg wondered, “How […]
Read more »