I'm with you, Vegas was never my kind of place. Give me an Adirondack trail, please.
Blissfully unaware describes people everywhere. Most people don't understand how anything works and have a sketchy knowledge of science and history at best.
By the time I was eleven I was reading the newspaper. I remember watching Nixon resign on a B&W TV. My father had a wonderful library of books of important authors. I was lucky, but can't remember "blissfully unaware." Maybe when I was three?
There's irony in Nixon bringing the EPA into existence, but then again the Cuyahoga River was busy catching on fire. Another benefit of that non-algorithmic feed, a slower pace. I remember those encyclopedias and a library full of post WWII writers as well as depression era authors, lessons in every one. Giving children a love of reading and fundamental tools to parse the world seems to have been lost.
Yes, the open parade of criminals running the world is horrifying. Experiments in Democracy have been rare and fleeting. Built on genocide and slavery, perhaps this one never had a chance.
I agree. It's hard having friends and family in these states who don't recognize the peril they're in. It's also indicative of profound political and mainstream media failure.
Your questions are legitimate and deserve considered response that I can't adequately provide here, In four years of research and writing I believe it's a basic behavioral problem. What was good for survival in the "primitive" world is fatal in this technological one. Poor behavior used to be isolated. Now every misguided act shakes the planet.
The entire system leading to Colorado River collapse is in part euphoria, denial, lies and omission to keep "growth" going, We can apply this model to endless collapse behavior.
Those questions are symptomatic of the western civilization’s pathological short-term focus and inability to act (or even conceive as being) a steward of the incredible resources the Earth has provided.
It's an interesting question why white Nordic types tend to run over the environment while Indigenous people in warmer climes tend to live simply and harmoniously with the environment. Certainly, the Earth shapes us by different physical conditions.
Yet Eskimos who had to endure brutal cold as did white Europeans, didn't arrive at brutalizing the planet.
Why we behave as we do is often a question in my writing. I can't claim to have it figured out.
Excellent article! Except, plenty of cultures brutalize the planet, unfortunately, either through their own cultural initiatives, or adoption of exogenous ideas when introduced.
Look at the repeated environmental disasters imposed throughout history by the Chinese, for example. Another good lesson comes from ancient times, when major empires all around the Mediterranean and North Africa turned to Egypt to beg for grain during major droughts because Egypt was the one kingdom with food to spare. Why? Because the Egyptian masses ate a primarily vegetarian diet, which minimized water usage and maximized calories going directly to the human mouth. Giving up meat as a mainstay of the peoples’ diet was unthinkable to most Middle Eastern societies, even as they watched their water and grasslands disappear and their gran-fattened animals go with it.
History is replete with examples of peoples all over the globe doing horribly stupid things to the environment. At the same time, some of the Nordic peoples kept a reverence for nature that Christians from further south found repugnant and worthy only of repudiation and brutal extermination when less coercive methods failed to convert.
No need to engage in the “Hey, let’s blame Caucasian people for everything and paint brown people as saints” game. Genuine respect and responsibility towards nature can be found in most cultures, as can devastatingly selfish and short-sighted policy and behavior. Few cultures are seriously monolithic.
it seems that the south west of the US is about to get a savage awakening, to all the dumb mo-fos who deny climate change as the Colorado river basin dries up. From these articles it appears that there is no good news for them, no white knight riding in to save them in the shape of a decade of deluge style rain/snow, instead only less snowpack, more evaporation, and one dam after another hitting the red line as it dead pools. I feel deeply sorry for all the decent people who are going to get savagely hurt by all this, but for those who have their hands on the levers of power, I desperately hope it is the wake up call that they need.
The personal tragedies will be endless: loss of employment, loss of homes, and loss of lives. Power outages in many of these places mean wet-bulb temperature death already well-demonstrated by homeless victims in the thousands. I would expect deaths of despair as well. California alone is the fifth-biggest economy on the planet and a giant agricultural producer. We will all be affected.
Corporations and billionaires run the politicians. I'm not expecting much from the levers of power who make it a crime for the homeless who sleep in public, many of whom have jobs, but can't afford a roof.
John Wesley Powell, the 19th-century explorer who led the first expedition down the Colorado River, offered a starkly realistic prediction about the future of water in the American West, warning in 1893 that developers were creating a future of conflict.
Here are his key observations and quotes regarding the Colorado River and the West:
On Water Scarcity and Conflict: "I tell you gentlemen you are piling up a heritage of conflict and litigation over water rights, for there is not enough water to supply the land," Powell told a group of farmers and developers in October 1893.
On Limits to Development: Powell, as a visionary for the region, recognized that lands west of the 100th meridian were not suited for massive agricultural development due to the arid climate, advocating instead for organized settlements based around watershed management.
On Future Engineering: "The time is rapidly coming when the flood waters of the country will be used for this purpose on a grand scale and reservoirs will be constructed all over the land," Powell noted, anticipating the massive damming projects that would later define the Colorado River.
Context for Modern Times
Though he favored using river water for agriculture, Powell's observations are now frequently cited in the context of the current, severe drought crisis affecting Lake Powell and Lake Mead, as 1922 water agreements were built on assumptions of greater water availability.
Thanks, I hadn't researched how Lake Powell (or Mead) were named. Powell's warning so long ago add to the sad irony of the situation. As usual, unpopular warnings are ignored by the majority. Just like my work, lol!
Yes, you put your work out there and hope for the best. Adding a list of key words might help the search engine, but only slightly. Anyone can search Substack for certain words and might find your articles. Also, you can post them on your own website then google search can find them. I don't know if google crawls Substack posts.
It’s been coming for decades. They’ve nearly killed the Colorado River. Seventy-five percent of it goes to agriculture. A million gallons per well goes to fracking.
And now they want to build Ai centers, to drink up every last drop, as they tell the two percent of us who depend on the rest of it, that they want that, too.
That’s not entirely true. The vast majority of almonds are grown in the Central Valley in Central and Northern California, which water comes from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. A very small amount are grown in the Imperial Valley, which is serviced by the Colorado River.
I agree. Some farmers have gone to a no till method, but we need political leadership to reform the industry as a whole. Healthy soil is also essential for carbon sequestration and topsoil loss is another unfolding disaster.
Yes. Some landowners also grow feed corn! In fact, feed corn grows very well with rainfall only in the midwest( Illinois, Iowa, nebraska, Missouri) . The price per bushel has been in the toilet for years. Yet the greed and short sightedness of landowners stating that they can do wtf they want us stunning. Remember the dust bowl?? Also where are we all supposed to go? I would say buffalo NY but i have never lived in or driven in snow.
I think it depends on the book and the person. I find the hopeful ‘hooray we’ve found the solutions’ novels actually make me feel more hopeful, but less motivated. The challenging ones that show where we could be, but demonstrate the path that could have been taken but wasn’t - they fire me up, make me look for changes that are possible now. Not to techno optimistically avoid the inevitable entropy, but navigate a better, kinder path through it...
Novels are easier that real life! (Usually)
The Colorado was on my radar, but not aware of such a rapid time line. Thanks for this.
My awareness of the light of the Colorado was pretty high, but the harsh numbers I found in researching this article were sobering. Denial and inaction are a deadly combination. Thanks for weighing in.
"The Water Knife" is the exact opposite of Hooray we found solutions fiction. There are no solutions... the book is what the Southwest looks like with no solutions and it's a fantastic read!
It's a really good book, I highly recommend it. The audio book was a good listen too. The book shows what "fatal acceptance" looks like, and it really isn't pretty.
Thank you, Walt. Circumstances have forced me to focus on issues other than climate change. It's turned into what is the most immediate existential threat.
The reality of the southwest won't be addressed in a media owned by those who profit from disaster.
The question of tribes is a heavy one. Native Americans continue to suffer from broken treaties and oil pipelines forced across their remaining lands.
This situation is a bit different, outright environmental failure. The tribal way of life was lost or altered long ago with the Colorado River Compact.
What happens to them now is a question worth study, My hope would be they are prepared more than most from experiencing shrinkage already, and knowing basic survival skills tech civilization long ago lost.
Thank you for the reminder about this tragic SW trend! Is Washington state at risk? My stepdaughter lives there...I realize we're all at risk. I've always been fortunate to grow up and live near water. I now do little things to save water and energy, like hand-washing dishes and using a clothes drying rack. Alas, this is just a small gesture, but it makes me feel better on some level.
The situation in the southwest is dire. I'm not sure of Washington state's water sources or power generation, but it's not part of the basin states' Colorado River Compact. I do know Washington state has been suffering from significant wildfires in recent years. I met someone who lives there, and we talked about it.
I do small things, too. Even if they don't add up to the difference we need to make, living with conscience is good for our own mental health.
It appears drought in Washington is currently significant, but could be worse.
Thank You for this concise truthful article. My husband and I must figure out what to do/where to go, we are in AZ. I subscribed to you, but cannot afford to pay right now.
Here’s a link to a tweet from Alex Steffen which I found very interesting. Especially if you’re wondering about the potential for good deals on properties in geographically advantageous regions.
NY state, west northwest of the Adirondacks has some very good deals (although property directly in the St Lawrence is still pricey) and should be well situated. Find some high and dry land near a River.
Yeah, I'm aware. San Antonio appears to have problems and the Rio Grande is in trouble, too. Could be my next article or possibly what loss of the Imperial Valley in CA means in terms of produce on shelves. Disturbing stuff.
IDK. Every article is a research and learning experience. I do know as no doubt you do, aquifer pumping has been covering the drought conditions which is an unsustainable practice.
Years ago I picked up the book Cadillac Desert in a Moab bookstore and found it shocking. It was published in the 1980s. Nobody should be surprised when the west runs oit of water, but they will be. I have a feeling this summer will be really bad. Temperatures over 100 out west in March?!? I'm in the southeast and we had summer temperatures in March too. I'm planning a huge garden this year hoping to can and dehydrate a lot of food.
The most basic knowledge of the mechanism of global warming from CO2 was demonstrated by scientist Eunice Foote in 1856. The earliest evidence oil companies understood what they were doing to the atmosphere appears to be in the 1950s. You're right, nobody should be surprised, but we're not geared to take what feel like abstract threats seriously and base greed is a factor.
Good luck with your garden, growing your own food is going to become ever more important.
Actually, BuRec says Lake Powell could hit "power pool" by the end of August. I've written extensively on this issue more than once. And, given order of water rights in the Colorado River Compact, and the loss of electricity from power pool, Phoenix is in more trouble than Vegas, and for issues beyond this. https://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2026/04/colorado-river-compact-states-continue.html
Yes, dead pool status at both Powell and Mead are a question of when, not if. The profound human costs of this include an economic implosion that will roll across the country and affect the world. California alone is the fifth-biggest economy on the planet, and the loss of agriculture there will have a dire impact. Ditto with many other states significant to agriculture not mentioned in this article — multi-faceted problems are putting farmers out of business, and loss of nitrogen fertilizer as a result of the bone-headed attack on Iran is speeding a collapse.
The situation in Phoenix is scary, and a rise in wet-bulb temperature deaths seem inevitable with power generation dependent on frighteningly low water levels.
Annabelle, your situation without a doubt describes many, perhaps the majority. I have a friend in LV and a friend in TX and am concerned for them. If the grid fails in the heat it's life-threatening, as no doubt you know. If you have family or friends in states not dependent on the Colorado River you should make arrangements to stay with them in an emergency. Make sure your car is fit for travel, keep the gas tank full. Perhaps you have friends in similar circumstances who would wish to travel with you. Carry water (and non-perishable food) and don't wait until power failures happen. Wet-bulb temperature death can happen very rapidly.
I have written two articles on that subject, the first one:
It would be good to see a follow up article on the consequences if the dams run out of water. What percentage of the power generation and drinking water relies on them? How fungible is the water/power ie are their alternative sources? What's going to kill you first - hyperthermia when the A/C fails, or dehydration when the water stops?
Given the current risks of strikes on desalination plants in the Straight of Hormuz, we might soon get an abject lesson in how quickly a city becomes uninhabitable.
Hi Stephen, as I pointed out in the article the Colorado River is critical for water and power to 40 million people. There are no alternatives to replacing what the river provides. The agriculture we depend on, and the metropolises created by this system live or die by ever declining snow pack on the Rockies.
The Iran War was a foolish decision for the ages. Not only will it result in across the board inflation, but it destroys our supply chain for nitrogen fertilizer that largely comes out of the Middle East. This has serious ramifications for US farms NOW as they ready for planting season.
The ins and outs of desalination are complicated and deserving of its own article, however the process like everything is fossil fuel dependent, so more heat and more pollution.
The next article will be about the Rio Grande also drying up critical to NM, TX and Mexico.
As for hyperthermia, I have written two articles on wet bulb temperature, a condition thousands are already succumbing to on the planet. This problem will only get worse with Phoenix recording the worst numbers in the US to date.
I'm with you, Vegas was never my kind of place. Give me an Adirondack trail, please.
Blissfully unaware describes people everywhere. Most people don't understand how anything works and have a sketchy knowledge of science and history at best.
By the time I was eleven I was reading the newspaper. I remember watching Nixon resign on a B&W TV. My father had a wonderful library of books of important authors. I was lucky, but can't remember "blissfully unaware." Maybe when I was three?
So true …books, encyclopedias, almanacs, novels, reading reading reading ….we were educated.
Politically and globally aware without an algorithmic feed.
3 newspapers in my home by the end of the day growing up just 30 minutes from NYC by train.
The Watergate hearings …. Nixon we paid close attention to …now today I can’t take my eyes off the Orange Dead Man Walking an I wish I could.
We protested to protect the planet …we thought governments would finally pay attention.
Now the world is run by criminals ….
It’s criminal
There's irony in Nixon bringing the EPA into existence, but then again the Cuyahoga River was busy catching on fire. Another benefit of that non-algorithmic feed, a slower pace. I remember those encyclopedias and a library full of post WWII writers as well as depression era authors, lessons in every one. Giving children a love of reading and fundamental tools to parse the world seems to have been lost.
Yes, the open parade of criminals running the world is horrifying. Experiments in Democracy have been rare and fleeting. Built on genocide and slavery, perhaps this one never had a chance.
The best time to leave LV was 10 years ago. The next best time is today.
I agree. It's hard having friends and family in these states who don't recognize the peril they're in. It's also indicative of profound political and mainstream media failure.
I can’t even imagine the reaction when a major US city hits day zero and all the taps are dry.
“How did this happen?” “Why didn’t anyone tell us?”
Your questions are legitimate and deserve considered response that I can't adequately provide here, In four years of research and writing I believe it's a basic behavioral problem. What was good for survival in the "primitive" world is fatal in this technological one. Poor behavior used to be isolated. Now every misguided act shakes the planet.
The entire system leading to Colorado River collapse is in part euphoria, denial, lies and omission to keep "growth" going, We can apply this model to endless collapse behavior.
It's been well disguised leading to this moment.
Those questions are symptomatic of the western civilization’s pathological short-term focus and inability to act (or even conceive as being) a steward of the incredible resources the Earth has provided.
It's an interesting question why white Nordic types tend to run over the environment while Indigenous people in warmer climes tend to live simply and harmoniously with the environment. Certainly, the Earth shapes us by different physical conditions.
Yet Eskimos who had to endure brutal cold as did white Europeans, didn't arrive at brutalizing the planet.
Why we behave as we do is often a question in my writing. I can't claim to have it figured out.
Excellent article! Except, plenty of cultures brutalize the planet, unfortunately, either through their own cultural initiatives, or adoption of exogenous ideas when introduced.
Look at the repeated environmental disasters imposed throughout history by the Chinese, for example. Another good lesson comes from ancient times, when major empires all around the Mediterranean and North Africa turned to Egypt to beg for grain during major droughts because Egypt was the one kingdom with food to spare. Why? Because the Egyptian masses ate a primarily vegetarian diet, which minimized water usage and maximized calories going directly to the human mouth. Giving up meat as a mainstay of the peoples’ diet was unthinkable to most Middle Eastern societies, even as they watched their water and grasslands disappear and their gran-fattened animals go with it.
History is replete with examples of peoples all over the globe doing horribly stupid things to the environment. At the same time, some of the Nordic peoples kept a reverence for nature that Christians from further south found repugnant and worthy only of repudiation and brutal extermination when less coercive methods failed to convert.
No need to engage in the “Hey, let’s blame Caucasian people for everything and paint brown people as saints” game. Genuine respect and responsibility towards nature can be found in most cultures, as can devastatingly selfish and short-sighted policy and behavior. Few cultures are seriously monolithic.
Those who abandon the rudder will only ever learn when they hit the rocks.
A poetic and accurate assessment!
it seems that the south west of the US is about to get a savage awakening, to all the dumb mo-fos who deny climate change as the Colorado river basin dries up. From these articles it appears that there is no good news for them, no white knight riding in to save them in the shape of a decade of deluge style rain/snow, instead only less snowpack, more evaporation, and one dam after another hitting the red line as it dead pools. I feel deeply sorry for all the decent people who are going to get savagely hurt by all this, but for those who have their hands on the levers of power, I desperately hope it is the wake up call that they need.
The personal tragedies will be endless: loss of employment, loss of homes, and loss of lives. Power outages in many of these places mean wet-bulb temperature death already well-demonstrated by homeless victims in the thousands. I would expect deaths of despair as well. California alone is the fifth-biggest economy on the planet and a giant agricultural producer. We will all be affected.
Corporations and billionaires run the politicians. I'm not expecting much from the levers of power who make it a crime for the homeless who sleep in public, many of whom have jobs, but can't afford a roof.
Living simply and harmoniously with the environment doesn’t include smart phones
go-ogle says:
John Wesley Powell, the 19th-century explorer who led the first expedition down the Colorado River, offered a starkly realistic prediction about the future of water in the American West, warning in 1893 that developers were creating a future of conflict.
Here are his key observations and quotes regarding the Colorado River and the West:
On Water Scarcity and Conflict: "I tell you gentlemen you are piling up a heritage of conflict and litigation over water rights, for there is not enough water to supply the land," Powell told a group of farmers and developers in October 1893.
On Limits to Development: Powell, as a visionary for the region, recognized that lands west of the 100th meridian were not suited for massive agricultural development due to the arid climate, advocating instead for organized settlements based around watershed management.
On Future Engineering: "The time is rapidly coming when the flood waters of the country will be used for this purpose on a grand scale and reservoirs will be constructed all over the land," Powell noted, anticipating the massive damming projects that would later define the Colorado River.
Context for Modern Times
Though he favored using river water for agriculture, Powell's observations are now frequently cited in the context of the current, severe drought crisis affecting Lake Powell and Lake Mead, as 1922 water agreements were built on assumptions of greater water availability.
Thanks, I hadn't researched how Lake Powell (or Mead) were named. Powell's warning so long ago add to the sad irony of the situation. As usual, unpopular warnings are ignored by the majority. Just like my work, lol!
Yes, you put your work out there and hope for the best. Adding a list of key words might help the search engine, but only slightly. Anyone can search Substack for certain words and might find your articles. Also, you can post them on your own website then google search can find them. I don't know if google crawls Substack posts.
It’s been coming for decades. They’ve nearly killed the Colorado River. Seventy-five percent of it goes to agriculture. A million gallons per well goes to fracking.
And now they want to build Ai centers, to drink up every last drop, as they tell the two percent of us who depend on the rest of it, that they want that, too.
Apparently a lot of that agricultural water has gone to grow alfalfa, a water intensive crop sold to the Saudis to feed their cattle.
https://grist.org/agriculture/arizona-fondomonte-farm-saudi-alfalfa-groundwater-lease/
And even more goes to California almonds, a very water intensive crop.
Yes, buying oat milk is a far better choice in that regard than soy milk.
How do we get oat milk producers to reduce the added sugar content? It is sickening literally.
That’s not entirely true. The vast majority of almonds are grown in the Central Valley in Central and Northern California, which water comes from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. A very small amount are grown in the Imperial Valley, which is serviced by the Colorado River.
And Arizona pecans
A lot is lost to sloppy old fashioned farming methods. They could do a lot better with no-till drill. Tilling wastes both soil and water.
I agree. Some farmers have gone to a no till method, but we need political leadership to reform the industry as a whole. Healthy soil is also essential for carbon sequestration and topsoil loss is another unfolding disaster.
We’re headed for another Dust Bowl.
Sadly, this is also a possibility.
Yes. Some landowners also grow feed corn! In fact, feed corn grows very well with rainfall only in the midwest( Illinois, Iowa, nebraska, Missouri) . The price per bushel has been in the toilet for years. Yet the greed and short sightedness of landowners stating that they can do wtf they want us stunning. Remember the dust bowl?? Also where are we all supposed to go? I would say buffalo NY but i have never lived in or driven in snow.
If anyone needs convincing to move, get them to read the novel - the water knife by Paulo Bacigalupi
Looks like a relevant read. I wonder if dystopian fiction compels us to act or lulls us into fatal acceptance?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Water_Knife
I think it depends on the book and the person. I find the hopeful ‘hooray we’ve found the solutions’ novels actually make me feel more hopeful, but less motivated. The challenging ones that show where we could be, but demonstrate the path that could have been taken but wasn’t - they fire me up, make me look for changes that are possible now. Not to techno optimistically avoid the inevitable entropy, but navigate a better, kinder path through it...
Novels are easier that real life! (Usually)
The Colorado was on my radar, but not aware of such a rapid time line. Thanks for this.
My awareness of the light of the Colorado was pretty high, but the harsh numbers I found in researching this article were sobering. Denial and inaction are a deadly combination. Thanks for weighing in.
"The Water Knife" is the exact opposite of Hooray we found solutions fiction. There are no solutions... the book is what the Southwest looks like with no solutions and it's a fantastic read!
It's a really good book, I highly recommend it. The audio book was a good listen too. The book shows what "fatal acceptance" looks like, and it really isn't pretty.
Sounds right up my alley. Thanks for the recommendation!
Great post, Geoffrey. Welcome back to the climate change fray.
Shocking news about the Southwestern states. I knew the Colorado was dwindling, but, this drought has teeth and the prognosis is unthinkable.
What of the Tribes that depend on the river for their very lives. Where can they go? They are as bound to the land as it gets.
Thank you, Walt. Circumstances have forced me to focus on issues other than climate change. It's turned into what is the most immediate existential threat.
The reality of the southwest won't be addressed in a media owned by those who profit from disaster.
The question of tribes is a heavy one. Native Americans continue to suffer from broken treaties and oil pipelines forced across their remaining lands.
This situation is a bit different, outright environmental failure. The tribal way of life was lost or altered long ago with the Colorado River Compact.
What happens to them now is a question worth study, My hope would be they are prepared more than most from experiencing shrinkage already, and knowing basic survival skills tech civilization long ago lost.
Thank you for the reminder about this tragic SW trend! Is Washington state at risk? My stepdaughter lives there...I realize we're all at risk. I've always been fortunate to grow up and live near water. I now do little things to save water and energy, like hand-washing dishes and using a clothes drying rack. Alas, this is just a small gesture, but it makes me feel better on some level.
The situation in the southwest is dire. I'm not sure of Washington state's water sources or power generation, but it's not part of the basin states' Colorado River Compact. I do know Washington state has been suffering from significant wildfires in recent years. I met someone who lives there, and we talked about it.
I do small things, too. Even if they don't add up to the difference we need to make, living with conscience is good for our own mental health.
It appears drought in Washington is currently significant, but could be worse.
https://www.drought.gov/states/washington
Washington has plenty of water, except for the reservoir water that Trump wasted during the California fires.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/20/what-are-levees-trump-california
Thank You for this concise truthful article. My husband and I must figure out what to do/where to go, we are in AZ. I subscribed to you, but cannot afford to pay right now.
No worries, June. While we all need to pay our bills, this work isn't about money. All subscribers are equal. I wish you the best.
Thank You for your kind words. We are so stressed right now…🤷🏼♀️
I understand and hope you can sneak out in time. Most of the public is still unaware. There is still opportunity to improve your situation.
Here’s a link to a tweet from Alex Steffen which I found very interesting. Especially if you’re wondering about the potential for good deals on properties in geographically advantageous regions.
https://x.com/TheEggShen/status/2029634284881879197?s=20
NY state, west northwest of the Adirondacks has some very good deals (although property directly in the St Lawrence is still pricey) and should be well situated. Find some high and dry land near a River.
Corpus Christ—Texas’s eight-largest city and the nation’s fifth-largest port—is expected to run out of water next month.
Yeah, I'm aware. San Antonio appears to have problems and the Rio Grande is in trouble, too. Could be my next article or possibly what loss of the Imperial Valley in CA means in terms of produce on shelves. Disturbing stuff.
Do they continue to use flood irrigation in imperial valley? All irrigation where i live ( ventura county) is drip. Including orchards.
IDK. Every article is a research and learning experience. I do know as no doubt you do, aquifer pumping has been covering the drought conditions which is an unsustainable practice.
Years ago I picked up the book Cadillac Desert in a Moab bookstore and found it shocking. It was published in the 1980s. Nobody should be surprised when the west runs oit of water, but they will be. I have a feeling this summer will be really bad. Temperatures over 100 out west in March?!? I'm in the southeast and we had summer temperatures in March too. I'm planning a huge garden this year hoping to can and dehydrate a lot of food.
The most basic knowledge of the mechanism of global warming from CO2 was demonstrated by scientist Eunice Foote in 1856. The earliest evidence oil companies understood what they were doing to the atmosphere appears to be in the 1950s. You're right, nobody should be surprised, but we're not geared to take what feel like abstract threats seriously and base greed is a factor.
Good luck with your garden, growing your own food is going to become ever more important.
Cadillac Desert is a true classic.
It really is! I wish more people had read it years ago!
Brilliant
Ha. What I write should be common sense, but thank you.
Actually, BuRec says Lake Powell could hit "power pool" by the end of August. I've written extensively on this issue more than once. And, given order of water rights in the Colorado River Compact, and the loss of electricity from power pool, Phoenix is in more trouble than Vegas, and for issues beyond this. https://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2026/04/colorado-river-compact-states-continue.html
Yes, dead pool status at both Powell and Mead are a question of when, not if. The profound human costs of this include an economic implosion that will roll across the country and affect the world. California alone is the fifth-biggest economy on the planet, and the loss of agriculture there will have a dire impact. Ditto with many other states significant to agriculture not mentioned in this article — multi-faceted problems are putting farmers out of business, and loss of nitrogen fertilizer as a result of the bone-headed attack on Iran is speeding a collapse.
The situation in Phoenix is scary, and a rise in wet-bulb temperature deaths seem inevitable with power generation dependent on frighteningly low water levels.
The War is the straw that will break Americas back.
I agree. So much more is going to break, too.
LV resident here. We’ve had our A/C on since March. First time ever. I’m too old and too poor to move. At least my house is paid off…
Annabelle, your situation without a doubt describes many, perhaps the majority. I have a friend in LV and a friend in TX and am concerned for them. If the grid fails in the heat it's life-threatening, as no doubt you know. If you have family or friends in states not dependent on the Colorado River you should make arrangements to stay with them in an emergency. Make sure your car is fit for travel, keep the gas tank full. Perhaps you have friends in similar circumstances who would wish to travel with you. Carry water (and non-perishable food) and don't wait until power failures happen. Wet-bulb temperature death can happen very rapidly.
I have written two articles on that subject, the first one:
https://geoffreydeihl.substack.com/p/wet-bulb-temperature-explained
The second one shortly after an important study was published:
https://geoffreydeihl.substack.com/p/stunning-wet-bulb-temperature-update
Take precautions, stay safe.
Thank you dear!!
How come nobody frames the situation as the end of desert agriculture? Isn’t it that simple?
It would be good to see a follow up article on the consequences if the dams run out of water. What percentage of the power generation and drinking water relies on them? How fungible is the water/power ie are their alternative sources? What's going to kill you first - hyperthermia when the A/C fails, or dehydration when the water stops?
Given the current risks of strikes on desalination plants in the Straight of Hormuz, we might soon get an abject lesson in how quickly a city becomes uninhabitable.
Hi Stephen, as I pointed out in the article the Colorado River is critical for water and power to 40 million people. There are no alternatives to replacing what the river provides. The agriculture we depend on, and the metropolises created by this system live or die by ever declining snow pack on the Rockies.
The Iran War was a foolish decision for the ages. Not only will it result in across the board inflation, but it destroys our supply chain for nitrogen fertilizer that largely comes out of the Middle East. This has serious ramifications for US farms NOW as they ready for planting season.
The ins and outs of desalination are complicated and deserving of its own article, however the process like everything is fossil fuel dependent, so more heat and more pollution.
The next article will be about the Rio Grande also drying up critical to NM, TX and Mexico.
As for hyperthermia, I have written two articles on wet bulb temperature, a condition thousands are already succumbing to on the planet. This problem will only get worse with Phoenix recording the worst numbers in the US to date.
https://geoffreydeihl.substack.com/p/wet-bulb-temperature-explained
https://geoffreydeihl.substack.com/p/stunning-wet-bulb-temperature-update