Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
no mistake, this water problem is not a scientifi c abstraction, but
rather one that will impact each and every one of us who live in the
Southwest.”
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Various scenarios consider the possibility that the lake will end
up little more than what Pat Mulroy calls a “mud puddle” at dif-
ferent times in the future. Researchers offer different estimates—
5 percent to 50 percent—on the chance of the dried-up scenario
occurring in the next few years and beyond, says Mulroy, of the
Southern Nevada Water Authority. “It's not a question of
if
it's
going to happen; it's
when
it's going to happen. So what does that
mean?” she asks.
“In the western United States, if you take the Colorado River out
of commission, you are threatening all of Southern California, all
the cities in Arizona, all of southern Nevada's economy, all of south-
ern Nevada, and you're threatening some signifi cant agricultural
areas in California and New Mexico. So to have a better understand-
ing of how climate change is going to manifest itself is of critical
importance,” says Mulroy. “Everything we've ever known, everything
we've ever taken for granted or premises upon which we've calcu-
lated probability are meaningless. There is no rearview mirror.”
Acting on climate change.
People seem to agree that the climate is
changing even if they don't agree on who is changing it or why, says
Steve Fleischli, an attorney and former president of Waterkeeper
Alliance, a New York-based international nonprofi t activist group
that concentrates on preserving and protecting the nation's water-
ways. “We need to understand the impact on water availability
and supply. Then we have to look at how we use water and make
sure we are managing it effectively and treating it as precious as it
really is. Unfortunately, in some places we simply take it for granted
and think that it will always be there,” says Fleischli, who has been
involved in water issues for more than a dozen years. He warns
of inevitable problems if we continue to mismanage water, given
increasing populations that take the resource for granted.
Water Scarcity and National Security
Beyond U.S. borders, water is emerging as a national security issue,
too. “Water stress leads to confl icts, and confl icts lead to wars,” says
