4 ms·
Most 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-y
by allturtles 6y ago
Most 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.