American Southwest: Are We Running Dry?

Every morning many Americans wake up, take a shower, brush their teeth, and continue their day with a steaming hot cup of coffee. There is no doubt we are dependent upon water, it is essential for everyday life. A few decades ago, water was only used to support life. Now with our advanced technology, we are able to use water for entertainment, generating power, producing crops, and virtually anything we wish to do with it. However, being able to do all this comes at a price. Water shortage has been a concern especially in the Southwest for many years. We have experienced droughts and shortages throughout American history but, what is causing it and how can we make it better? According to the video “American Southwest: Are We Running Dry?” the main reason for the droughts is that the subtropical dry zone is enlarging and moving towards the north (Thebaut, J. 2008). This is a dramatic change in climate and hydrological cycle moving already dry regions into areas with some moisture. Essentially, the subtropics are dry because the airflow pushes moisture out and the areas with higher elevation combine moisture making it wetter (Seager, R. 2011). Warm air holds more moisture but the less airflow the drier it will get.
The Hadley Cell, the area where sinking air in the subtropics and …show more content…
Sadly, each year the mountain snowfall in Colorado decreases and the summer temperatures get higher evaporating the water. (Thebaut, J. 2008). The stress of losing this much water at a time will change energy and agricultural productions. Nevertheless, this is not the first time a drought has affected people in the southwest. About 800 years ago, tens of thousands of Native people were forced to leave their homes because of the lack of water. At this rate, if people keep using this much water at a time and less snowfall and precipitation occur, we may see this happen