The extinction of the polar bears, the sea levels rising, the severe weather threats; everyone has their own motive for wanting to fight climate change. For me it's the bleaching of the coral reefs; as a marine life and SCUBA enthusiast the thought of the reefs vanishing is unacceptable. Scripps Institution of Oceanography has just added another reason to the persistently growing list. There is a 50% chance that Lake Mead, a key water source for millions of people in the Southwestern US, will be completely dry by 2021.
Tim Barnett and David Pierce, scientists for Scripps say that if the climate continues on its expected path of change and water usage is not reduced, millions of people may experience severe water shortages. Without Lake Mead and neighboring Lake Powell, the Colorado River system will not be able to uphold the population of the Southwest through a dry year, or worse, a sustained drought.
Both Lake Mead and Lake Powell are currently standing only half full. What is causing this dry up? Human demand, evaporation, and human-induced climate change are creating a loss of 1 million acre-feet of water per year from the Colorado River system. The scientists have also concluded that even if the scheduled mitigations and water allocation measures are implemented, they're not going to be enough. They say that with the projected climate conditions, the system could still run dry. “We were stunned at the magnitude of the problem and how fast it was coming at us,” said Barnett. “Make no mistake, this water problem is not a scientific abstraction, but rather one that will impact each and every one of us that live in the Southwest.”
What makes this all the more frightening is that Barnett and Pierce used very conservative estimates in their report, and the water shortage is likely to be more grim in reality (the team based its findings on the premise that climate change effects only started in 2007, though most researchers consider human-caused changes in climate to have started decades earlier).
These two lakes supply water to some favorite US travel destinations including San Diego, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. After hearing this news, I'm sure everyone in the Southwestern states (if not the entire country) has a new motive to add to their list for fighting climate change. Remember, the most important thing that everyone can do to fight climate change is think about our actions and make small changes in our everyday lives. This one hits very close to home.
Article Originally Written By: Melissa Evans
