The first time I looked down from the airplane at Phoenix, Arizona several years ago, I noticed a collection of blue dots covering the dry desert landscape. Later I learned they were swimming pools, considered an "absolute" necessity for the Phoenix residents. After all, it gets hot, don't you know. How do you like my lawn?
One of my favorite movies is Chinatown starring Jack Nicholson. It takes place in the 1930s, and ultimately the character Jake Gittes, played by Nicholson, uncovers a deadly conspiracy about land use and development, and about diverting water to Los Angeles.
It wasn't about oil in the 1920s when the Western states sat down and decided on a policy for the region. It was about water. Today we've got a problem in the West and it's not cattle rustlers. It is about water and maybe the canary in the coal mine is a visitor from Kansas City taking a seat at the roulette table in Vegas.
John Wesley Powell, the famous explorer who traveled down the Colorado River in the 1860s, doubted the area could support a large population. It was too dry and arid he believed. But what could he possibly have known about American ingenuity in the 20th century?
The reservoirs at the moment are getting low on water, while temperatures are slowing increasing and mountain snow packs are decreasing. The anticipated rush of mountain water in the spring could eventually become a trickle. But there's also another slight problem.
According to Jon Gertner, the writer of a New York Times article "The Future Is Drying Up," population is increasing in the West: The California Department of Finance is predicting some 60 million people will be living in the state by 2050, an increase of 20 million from the 2007 population.
The Lake Meade Reservoir in Arizona and Nevada supplies one-half of the water to Las Vegas. It's now half-empty. The population of Nevada is growing and no one so far is talking about limiting growth in any way.
For a number of years many people involved in international development have thought that water scarcity is the real issue that will trigger more boundary disputes and wars in the developing world. But is there any reason to think it wouldn't happen in the developed world? Could it happen in the United States?
How's that shrinking reservoir in Atlanta doing? And yes, the water New Mexico wants to obtain from the Great Lakes in Michigan? Do you know how much water is needed to grow corn for ethanol?
The character Noah Cross, played by John Huston, said, "The future, Mr. Gittes, the future."
The Nicholson character's name actually was Jake Gittes.
Hertner's story in the New York Times Sunday Magazine was interesting, especially the part how Aurora, Col., is investing in what essentially is a water recycling system. That's the kind of technology application and thinking out of the box we need to cope with these kinds of problems.