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Arizona Limits Construction Around Phoenix as Its Water Supply Dwindles
June 1st, 2023
Courtesy of The New York Times, a glimpse of the future as climate change batters the West, with Arizona limiting construction around Phoenix as its water supply dwindles: Arizona has determined that there is not enough groundwater for all of the housing construction that has already been approved in the Phoenix area, and will stop […]
Read more »Colorado River Basin: Hay, Cheeseburgers, and Feed-Driven Water Inefficiency
May 30th, 2023
Courtesy of The Land Desk, an insightful look at the water/food nexus as it revolves around alfalfa: Alfalfa fields in La Paz County, Arizona. Many of the fields pictured are owned by Fondomonte Farms, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabian food and beverage giant Almarai, which touts itself as the world’s largest vertically integrated […]
Read more »Will Colorado River Cuts Create A New Dust Bowl?
May 30th, 2023
Courtesy of The Land Desk, commentary on the impact that the recently agreed upon Colorado River cuts may have: What effect will fallowing thousands of acres of fields have? Will it lead to another Dust Bowl? Is the electricity from the dams used to deliver water (e.g. to power the pumps for the Central Arizona […]
Read more »Colorado River States: Bought Time But Need To Think Bigger
May 27th, 2023
Via Coyote Gulch, commentary on how Colorado River states bought time with a 3-year water conservation deal, but now they need to think bigger: Arizona, California and Nevada have narrowly averted a regional water crisis by agreeing to reduce their use of Colorado River water over the next three years. This deal represents a temporary solution to a […]
Read more »Once ‘Paradise,’ Parched Colorado Valley Grapples With Arsenic In Water
May 25th, 2023
Via NPR, a report on the link between climate change-driven drought and intensifying levels of heavy metals in drinking water: When John Mestas’ ancestors moved to Colorado over 100 years ago to raise sheep in the San Luis Valley, they “hit paradise,” he says. “There was so much water, they thought it would never end,” […]
Read more »Celebrating The Colorado River Deal, But Focusing On The Future
May 25th, 2023
Courtesy of The Washington Post, commentary on recent Colorado River deal and the need to build upon it going foward: Millions of people across the American West can breathe a sigh of relief this week. On Monday, after months of negotiations, the seven states in the Colorado River Basin announced a deal with the Biden administration on […]
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