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Horseshoe Bend, Colorado River (Wikimedia Commons) The fantasy of market-based economics for water continues to intrude on the Colorado River, the most litigated river on the planet. The Colorado provides crucial water to seven states and Mexico. But the area is in a major drought and there isn’t enough water to go around. Some [...] Power generation accounts for 39% of water usage in the US. Coal, natural gas, and nuclear power plants use the most amount of water while renewable energy like wind and solar photovoltaic use the least. Increasing competition for water coupled with current droughts make it all the more important to devise new ways to create [...] Lake Mead bathtub ring The Salt Lake Tribune states the obvious that many overlook. The Colorado River is crucial for the entire economy of the American West, generating $26 billion in recreation income as well as water for millions.. The largest employer in the American Southwest isn’t a company, a military base, a government. [...] If water is needed [in the Lower Colorado Basin] a “call” is made to upstream entities, like the headwaters, to demand water downstream. It’s called a Colorado River Compact call. A call may be imminent as the continuing drought is mightily affecting all of the Colorado Basin. If so, then there will be battalions of [...] I killed my lawn. Ask me how. (bumper sticker from Tree of Life Nursery, San Juan Capistrano, California) My good friend Bonnie (who has since moved to France where she doesn’t have a lawn to kill) had this on her bumper for years. She transformed her front yard and as soon as you got [...] San Diego has launched heat-seeking missles at the 800 lb. gorilla of California water, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, claiming it is conspiring to charge San Diego more for water than everyone else. The anomosity here is far more pronounced that in previous water wars. San Diego has a website with hundreds of [...] Lake Mead bathtub ring 2010. (Credit: commons.wikimedia.org) Southern Nevada gets almost 90% of its water from the Colorado River. Southern California also gets substantial water from the Colorado, which has the unenviable status of being the most litigated river in the world. The problem for Nevada is that it agreed to a small apportionment [...] Out here on the Oregon High Desert local businesses and environmental conservation groups are partnering to conserve water, improve the fish and wildlife habitat and make the heart of the region’s Deschutes River more attractive to recreation and tourism. Read more at the Independent Voter Network – Putting Water Back Into the Deschutes River. The Great Salt Lake of Utah, c. 1874. Thomas Moran, American (L.Prang & Co., Library of Congress, Washington DC) Recognizing that most people don’t know where their water comes from when they turn on the faucet, two professors from the University of Utah, Craig Denton, professor of communication, and Peter Goss, professor emeritus of architecture, have [...] Imperial Dam (Credit: commons.wikimedia.org) The Imperial Valley gets 20% of *all* the water from the Colorado River – more than Nevada and Colorado combined – and produces substantial amounts of the country’s winter vegetables. If you’re wondering why the Imperial Valley gets so much water from the Colorado, it’s because their claim to the [...] |  | ||||
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