The future is drying up - Assignment Example

as cities and states continue to grow and they have to find new sources which in some cases are no longer existent. The primary cause of decrease in the water supply is the melting of the mountain snow packs from the Rocky Mountains range due to global warming. This is the main freshwater source as it flows in the huge Colorado River. Warmer temperatures had led to shorter winters in which snow failed to form sufficiently and it is compounded by increased demands for water by growing populations in the region. Lake Mead which is the main reservoir in the South-West area is now half-empty. The second main issue is mainly political in nature. The big question for the region to confront is how to divide up the waters in the Colorado River which is fast declining. There is a growing consensus among the stakeholders to re-negotiate the main features of the older water contract (signed in the 1920s) among the seven states directly affected due to changed circumstances. The problem with water is that it is a vital commodity but also defies ordinary pricing mechanisms. A new way of dealing with the problem (a paradigm shift) is needed to connect all disparate members of the water economy to come together and agree on solutions right now as its water problem is bound to get worse with unavoidable shortages (Gertner 71). The third main issue is largely economic and financial in nature. Older cities that had discovered the water sources got the rights to those sources back in an earlier era. The newer towns and cities of today have to rely mostly on groundwater (pumped from the ground up). The older cities by virtue of their water rights have easier access to surface water, which also is cheaper to obtain. In other words, there are areas which can afford to have their water while other areas are disadvantaged by the costs of bringing or piping water from faraway sources. The fourth and last main issue in this article is the question of