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People don't want to hear this, but the south western united states will have to largely be abandoned in the long term. There simply isn't enough water availab
by wing-_-nuts 6y ago
People don't want to hear this, but the south western united states will have to largely be abandoned in the long term. There simply isn't enough water available barring some huge technological advance like fusion power and mass desalinization. In the shorter term, cities in the south west are going to deal with increasing heat waves and their very own 'day zero' as they don't have enough water for everyone.
- allturtles 6y agoMost of the water in the southwest is used for agriculture. (e.g. per http://www.arizonawaterfacts.com/water-your-facts http://www.arizonawaterfacts.com/water-your-facts, in Arizona it's 73%). In case of severe water shortage, water will obviously be reallocated to human needs, leading farms to be abandoned, but not cities. This may cause increased food prices, but I don't see a reason to believe it will cause the mass depopulation of the southwest.
- wing-_-nuts 6y agoMany places in the south west are deeply dependent on aquifers that are being depleted way faster than they can be replenished. That can only go on for so long. If water use is greater than rainfall, eventually you're going to have a bad time. Maybe not by 2050, or even 2100, but long term, the population in the south west is not sustainable.