Water Wars
The fight over water has finally begun. Arizona has decided to limit construction (in Phoenix at least) based on ground water availability. Recipients of water from the Colorado River have begun to carve out new deals for use and delivery systems.
Is this too little, too late?
What really galls me (besides the housing sprawl in deserts that can't be sustained) is how much Agricultural water users have exploited the lack of Regulation. Whether it's US-owned companies growing high-water-use crops in the desert (like almonds or rice), or farmers using flood irrigation for crops (like corn), or Saudi-owned companies using water here to grow alfalfa and send there to feed their cattle.....it's just all a crazy mish-mash of "Capitalism" that doesn't really work.
Will Protectionism still be the big bad bogeyman when growing food becomes an existential crisis? Aren't we already on the precipice of disaster, with millions of climate/economic refugees migrating into the US for this very reason? And what happens when the 'Bread Basket' of the US (California) runs out of water, and our grocery store aisles empty out? Or places like Florida gets flooded out, year after year, and can't sustain life, let alone growing crops?
The Water Wars aren't just a future problem; it's already here. Even tho we've had years to prepare, we are NOT prepared for the coming catastrophes. If anyone is still wondering why there's a national mental health crisis, might this be one big fat reason?
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Originally Posted by Nessus
