Eight years ago all was right in the west; the economy was booming, there was a population explosion, and all was good. Fast forward to the present; suddenly, the population boom began to cause problems, the reservoirs started to dry up, and runoff dwindled. Today, we face a heavy drought. The western United States is simply burning up. With lower runoff from the southwest’s biggest lakes, cities like Las Vegas, Phoenix, and El Paso are using more water than they should.

It is the companies that run resorts and water parks that aim for comfort over common sense. These companies are leaving nothing for the residents and for the people who live outside of city limits. These people are being robbed blind of their water. In fact, the city of Williams, Arizona ran straight out of water in 2001 and 2002, forcing people to purchase prepaid water cards to meet their demands. Yet, the golf courses and fountains in Phoenix, 2.5 hours away continued to get water. Life continued as normal for the owners of the water parks and resorts. I don’t know about anyone else, but I feel that this is wrong. Water is being given on a priority basis to the people that use it more but need it less: big business. This is wrong. Water needs to go to the people, not to the corporations, and the corporations need to slack their water usage and accept the simple truth: in a harsh land where temperatures routinely reach 110 degrees, golf courses and water parks, though as nice as they are, cannot be. Golf courses will not work in the desert.

What causes drought? According to paleoclimatolgist Julio Betancourt, who works with the United States Geological Survey in Tucson, Arizona, the answer lies in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Warming of the North Atlantic can cause large droughts, which occurred in the 1930’s (This drought was the “dust bowl”, largely centered around the Great Plains, which are very rare.) and 1950’s (These droughts are centered in the southwest, and generally occur about every twenty or thirty years.), as well as “mega-droughts,” or combinations of 1930’s and 1950’s-style droughts, which occurred in the 1600’s. (Madeline)

How are these droughts measured? Tree-ring evidence is generally the best and most fail-safe way to measure climatic changes in an area. These records are laid out mainly about long-lived trees such as fir, bristlecone pine, redwood, and giant sequoia. To get a tree ring reading, simply drill into the core of the tree and look at the rings. Wider rings or more growth represent a year of wetter climate, while less growth or lesser-spaced rings represent drier periods. (Madeline) Recent tree-ring findings show an alarming trend: As it stands, the drought currently is the worst in 500 years. (http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special26/articles/0621lakemead21.html)
Let’s take a look at one city’s use of one the Colorado River, what some people call the heart of the desert. The Southern Nevada Water Authority says that 88% percent of all water used by Las Vegas comes from only one location: the Colorado River. According to Las Vegas’ city government (http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/108_8575.htm), 67,000,000 gallons of water were used during the first two months of 2004, the winter. Can you imagine how many gallons of water come out of Lakes Mead and Mohave? What happens when these lakes run dry? Las Vegas is a city of 500,000 people that all needs water, and the corporations and casinos will take priority on this water.

In the midst of water shortages and droughts, another related battle is waged on the Arizona-Utah state line: Lake Powell. Now, even more than ever, people all over are calling for the draining of this man-made reservoir to restore the natural environment of the region. The Glen Canyon Institute and the Sierra Club call for the draining of Lake Powell, citing the basis that “Lake Mead could handle the consumptive uses of the Colorado River Basin, even under conditions present today.”

These people are wrong. In fact, as the website Friends of Lake Powell (www.lakepowell.org) reports, the Bureau of Reclamation specifically states that “Lake Mead probably cannot handle the consumptive uses of the Colorado Basin, even for the scenario of present Upper Basin storage. Without Lake Powell storage, dependence on the Colorado River to sustain future growth and economic viability would subject such growth to great risk of drought and economic hardship.” Though I consider myself to be an environmentalist, draining of these dams can only be worse for the current situation that we are in right now.

desert ecosystem continued...