America’s Water Usage is Unsustainable. Here’s Why.

Western states of America are in the midst of a Megadrought. A water shortage was declared in the Colorado River in 2021 and it has left states that rely on the river basin in conflict with each other over water allocation. With reservoirs drying up & wildfires increasing, we spoke to Michael Cohen a researcher from the Pacific Institute to learn more about the water crisis in the western US.
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Faultline is produced by:
Executive Producer/Story Editor/Host: Andy Burgess
Story/Research: Aparna Ganesan
Editors: Andy Burgess & Ivan Veselov
Motion Graphics: Andy Burgess
Artwork: Tim Burgess of Wild Tales Illustration
Special thanks to Michael Cohen, Senior Researcher at Pacific Institute
Sources 🔗
NASA | Lake Mead Keeps Dropping - go.nasa.gov/3UFaB43
Twitter | NASAEarth 🐓 - bit.ly/3xW5cMc
University of California | Economic Impacts of the 2021 Drought on California Agriculture - bit.ly/3r85Mma
The New York Times | In a First, U.S. Declares Shortage on Colorado River, Forcing Water Cuts - nyti.ms/3DYhrf0
Bureau of Reclamation | Current Reservoir Storage as of September 25th, 2022 Major Reclamation Reservoirs - on.doi.gov/3SE7GH5
lakes Online | Lake Mead Water Level - bit.ly/3CcKjPe
National Geographic | Big changes are coming for the Colorado River soon and they could get messy - on.natgeo.com/3CfjHgQ
Bureau of Reclamation | The Law of the River - bit.ly/3LO6FcY
Colorado River Compact, 1922 - on.doi.gov/3RcMwyt
Central Arizona Project | Colorado River Shortage - bit.ly/3CcL0Il
Axios | Unprecedented shortage forces new water cuts on Colorado River - bit.ly/3Szb1Hh
The U.S. Department of the Interior | Interior Department Announces Actions to Protect Colorado River System, Sets 2023 Operating Conditions for Lake Powell and Lake Mead - on.doi.gov/3fkFtqf
ISPRS | A Strategy for mapping and modeling the ecological effects of US Lawns - bit.ly/3fmF5rn
CNN | Why the Great American Lawn is terrible for the West’s water crisis - cnn.it/3xUUd5F
PEW Trusts | Water Cuts Are Coming for the West - bit.ly/3BKq1eJ
Governing | Western Cities Begin Adapting to Life With Less Water - bit.ly/3SieESg
CNN | There’s $4B for West drought relief in the climate bill. Here’s how it could be used - cnn.it/3BMXOUC
University of Nevada, Reno | Rising temps stress water supplies in Colorado River - bit.ly/3SBNllz
The Union of Concerned Scientists - Infographic: Wildfires and Climate Change - bit.ly/3SDNAMO
Bureau of Reclamation | Addressing Drought Across the West - bit.ly/3dNbbw0
The Union of Concerned Scientists - Water, Wildfire, and Climate Change - bit.ly/3fprhw3
U.S. Drought Monitor | Comparison Slider - bit.ly/3RoX0uY
National Interagency Fire Center | Suppression Costs - bit.ly/3UIrBqc
Associated Press | Deadline looms for western states to cut Colorado River use - bit.ly/3UJQwte
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations | Progress on level of water stress. Global Status and acceleration needs for SDF indicator, 2021 - bit.ly/3RaWFMh
Pacific Institute - bit.ly/3r89fBc
Time Stamps:
00:00 - This US drought is so bad you can see it from space
1:30 - Why the US Government declared a water shortage
3:00 - The importance of the Colorado River
3:42 - The 7 Basin States
4:17 - Waters Wars: Upper vs Lower Basin States
5:44 - Why the 'Great American Lawn' sucks
6:50 - Will $4B be enough to mitigate the crisis?
7:14 - The effects of climate change in Western States
8:10 - The relationship between Wildfires and Droughts
9:22 - What does the future look like for the West?
9:49 - Is the Colorado River Compact out of date?
10:56 - Researcher address the Anonymous Chicken 🐓
#megadrought #coloradoriver #watershortage
#water #usa #drought #wildfire #westernusa #coloradoriver #lakemead #lakepowell #arizona #california #climate #megadrought #climatechange #watercrisis

[@Faultlinevideos]

Hi everyone, thank you for checking out this video. Water shortages, water scarcity and water conflicts are big topics all across the world. It’s an area we’re interested in looking at deeper in future episodes, so let us know below if you know of any stories in this field that you think we should look into.

[@DogSoldier1948]

Water is not on the radar for most people. I spoke with an engineer who was doing a survey of the city water infrastructure in my area. I was speaking to him on my water tax, which is $100, and my water bill is $20. He commented that his water bill was $1100 per month. He uses that much water to keep his yard green.😢 Most of our reservoirs are 50 to 75, plus years old, and need dredging. They are filled up with silt. The dams were installed to prevent flooding and provide a water supply to cities, but the prevention of flooding has caused the rivers to fill up with debris, thus making the rivers more shallow each year. We are heading for a major crisis with our water sources. It's just a matter of time we will be relying on the ocean for our source for water. That's scary because the ocean is a cesspool for the world and very little infrastructure to support the transfer from the reliance on ground water to Desalination.

[@BWowed]

In Arizona it doesn't matter how bad the water shortage gets, they will still be allowed to water the golf courses. Absolute stupidity

[@somethingsomething404]

Imagine buying “farmland” in the dessert and being surprised when it’s too dry to farm. If you can’t do it with rain water, you probably can’t do it sustainably

[@danielstarr8957]

All the farmers west of the Mississippi will be screwed soon

[@LincolnDWard]

Tell that to ancient Egypt

[@somethingsomething404]

@@LincolnDWard i mean, didn’t they all die?

[@alaskanbullworm5500]

@@somethingsomething404 I’m there’s 100 million people in Egypt right now so no….

[@somethingsomething404]

I meant ancient Egypt, obviously they’ve made a comeback haha But either way, they’re not subject to the Colorado river compact which somehow puts farms before peoples drinking water

[@madmachanicest9955]

Here's a fun fact for you all those water saving public lawn laws do not apply in any way to golf courses. Which consume much more water by area then in suburban lawn. Yes you'll save more water by outlawing The lawns in suburbia. But allowing these golf courses to consume huge amounts of water as well is just disgusting classism at its finest.

[@seeranos]

I love the distinction of “Non-functional” turf grass. This is a carve-out for goddamn golf courses.

[@Hobbamok]

Yep, everything has to change, except the habits of the rich

[@samiraperi467]

Front yard grass is non-functional too.

[@seeranos]

@@samiraperi467 Right, and golf courses are considered functional, so in banning "non-functional" turf grass as distinguished from all turf grass, golf courses are still allowed to suck up water

[@grahamparks1645]

The weird thing is golf courses in desert states could have astroturf by law to mitigate this.

[@aparnap4474]

Isn't it strange? the world spending so muchhh money to other developmental activities but doesn't care about the basement eroding exponentially! I always believe, more than resource scarcity, resource management scarcity always gets us in trouble!

[@forbaldo1]

i think i know what you're saying but it is cryptic. observationally you are correct, Try this Almost accidentally a wealthy woman spend a great deal of money ,To develop a fast aeroplane to win the Schneider trophy. The British military had refused to get involved saying they had better things to invest in, This aircraft became the Supermarine Spitfire. ps I wish more people knew of wealthy woman did this thing

[@aparnap4474]

@@forbaldo1 What is the name of the woman? I thought it was Reginald Mitchell who is behind the Supermarine Spitfires

[@eksbocks9438]

​@@forbaldo1 Unfortunately, that's why the British were technologically behind in WW2. Compared to the Germans. It takes a strong sense of intuition, in order to see potential. But British society at the time was way too aristocratic. In contrast to the Prussian system of meritocracy.

[@eksbocks9438]

​@@aparnap4474 The only other name I could find was Lucy Houston.

[@LeahandLevi]

Having just travelled this whole area by car… it’s shocking to see the evidence but also the apathy and normalcy of everyday life around it. I really don’t think it will change until the taps run dry… 😢

[@philipalcazar]

Great video, Andy! I'm currently working on 2 videos about the droughts and water crisis in the American West as well, coming up soon. You had some interesting angles and viewpoints in your story. Keep up the great work - your channel will blow up eventually.

[@Faultlinevideos]

Thanks for the support Philip. We're all very excited to see the videos you're producing on the droughts, the more awareness the better! - Andy

[@FrostNightVideoProductions]

This is so underrated for how well this video is made and how important this topic is. I’m a new subscriber though and I hope more find you soon enough. Great work

[@WICKEDMAN85]

Its crazy how bad the situation is becoming in the Western States since 2000, it will only get worse unless there is a massive change of lifestyle in the South Basin states, espcially in California and Nevada! How could of predicted that building cities in desert locations would eventually cause massive issues with Water droughts! A good insight is, Ordinary Things channel, that did a video on Grass and the crazy obession in the States. Even though GB, can be blamed for the Edwardin obession with lush green grass lawns, it grows naturally over here. However In the U.S it can only natural grow in 5% of the United States landmass, and hence the massive issues that is coming back with vegence in the Western basin states especially! America needs to face a harsh reality that the age of Consumering and wastefullness is all but over!

[@christianhagen183]

I still greatly enjoy watching your videos. They're on par with many much more popular youtubers. One day the youtube algorithm will recommend you more

[@Faultlinevideos]

Thanks for the ongoing support Christian, we’d love that!

[@salzach353thomas8]

Solution: move agriculture to the eastern states where they have water. California has silicon valley, surfing, nature, Hollywood( memories). It could be become a giant disneyland and maybe a part of happy Mexico.

[@dylan.t180]

Great video as always guys

[@LeeorEngelstein]

Can we get something clear. Las Vegas often times through water reclamation puts more water into lake mead than it takes out.

[@ESC_jackqulen]

I like that ending ended on the note that people are aware of the problem and are doing something about it. About the Colorado River, what's funny to me is that, while it is highlighted in the US, think of Mexico in the downstream who basically no water left after US took 99% of it. And this part is never reported. Like, that part of Mexico will never be as developed as the US because US side used up all the water before reaching to Mexico.

[@Plethorality]

That is not loving thy neighbour, is it? Give Mexico its river back!

[@SerperiorFox]

Really awesome videos

[@Faultlinevideos]

Thanks so much

[@FOURFTP]

Since we are beating high records of snow ! In CA wouldn’t that be good enough to fill up the lakes ?

[@zeke6461]

Great video, surprised you don't have more subscribers.

[@forbaldo1]

I suspected if you stop growing food for export along the Colorado River you'll have a vast amount of water , water for your own use

[@Alepfi5599]

How is this channel not way bigger

[@B4audi]

Ogulala aquafier.. in 60s you had to dig 3m to get to water , today 300m ..for growing almonds, grapes for wine, and watering lawns in the middle of desert...exc

[@VirtualVernon]

I love living in Michigan we own 4 great lakes

[@omniphoriusvcf907]

Losing the Hoover Dam is not the story. Hoover Dam provides electricity for 1.3 million, which could be replaced with solar in that region. The water from the Colorado River serves an estimated 40 million, and there is no plan that exists at the moment that could replace it. I think people continue to talk about the Hoover Dam because it is an iconic structure, but it's not the scary thing here.

[@grahamparks1645]

There is it’s desalination & aqueducts and no one wants to say the hard truth that that is what needs to happen. We need to start building them yesterday.

[@mysteriousDSF]

London has a water shortage crisis too which is funny considering people think it rains here unceasingly. In July we didn't have a drop of rain, literally zero. Using garden hoses had to be banned. London is drier than Rome and sunnier than Paris.

[@shashankkumar1450]

Why this channel is so underrated, i mean the amount of work done, brilliant. Be patient bro, you are going to get big in future.

[@Faultlinevideos]

Needed this comment today 🥹

[@zacharytuttle5618]

Too many people in the desert 🏜 😪

[@lukeshaul820]

If you are located in one of these dry or drought prone states you should be making plans to move out of them before the water runs out for the long term.

[@toddjudkins4941]

Great video! So much more to explore especially around agriculture and the types of crops grown in the southwest and the need to stop exporting crops grown in the southwest to Saudi Arabia. Urban areas can and are starting to do more with conservation with aquifer recharging, recycling water, and changing residential landscapes (every drop matters but lawn watering is 0.275% of water use by your figures). Paying farmers not to plant is a short term solution. Most crops grown in the southwest are water intensive and go to feed live stock. Maybe it's time to shift production of water intensive crops to areas in the country that are not water stressed. Inflationary, yes, but so is the on shoring an entire semiconductor industry. The big lesson however, is the Law of the River was based on convenient science and the shortages were already in place when it was signed. The Colorado River was over allocated from day one. Let this be a cautionary tale for all. Time to make the hard decisions based on what is now a thorough understanding of the hydrology of the Colorado River.

[@TheVkaz]

Nice

[@Andrea-lj4jg]

If you don't want to run out of water, simply don't build cities with millions of inhabitants in the middle of the desert. It's just that.

[@madmachanicest9955]

Fun fact the United States should have announced a water shortage in the Colorado River sometime in the 1970s. Because originally the Colorado River emptied into the Gulf of Mexico close to the us-mexico border. Then they danced it up and over water usage resulted in the Colorado River drying out hundreds of miles before which is the ocean.

[@bobthetroll]

You can kayak all the way to the gulf so nope.

[@madmachanicest9955]

@@bobthetroll this is not the documentary I was looking for but it covers the same topic. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fYHQhKaQqdhsaq8

[@drdeadred851]

Since the river is already dammed why not just stop letting it flow out as much to make up for lower rainfall? I get there will be run off areas/smaller rivers etc. but if it can hold 4 times as much then surly just blocking the river or closing the pipes it goes through to reduce flow would still have an effect? I imagine evaporation will play a role in this, dont know to what degree. Either way, as is stated in the video, 40+ million people relying on these reservoirs means the problem isnt going to just appear one day then everyone will die. If it hasnt already been looked into as a serious problem then it will be at some point at which worst case fresh water processing facilities will likely be made to replace the lack of rain fall. Farming would be harmed and there would likely be a big increase to energy prices and general utilities but it wouldn't be some apocalypse or mass exodus(tho long term the higher prices would prob put people off living there). Doesnt seem like that big of a deal, so no I definitely dont care if "the US"(the desert part in the far west of it) "runs out of water"(water prices go up and mass farming probably stops being viable there).

[@grahamparks1645]

Pump sea water, desalinate and irrigate inland with aqueducts, use Bermuda style stepped roofs & have rain capture cisterns. Yes it’s expensive but no agriculture is more expensive.

[@grahamparks1645]

As for the the urban & suburban sprawl native & desert compatible plantings need to be law.

[@PoolGyall5441]

Droughts have never been residents fault. Sure we can lay off the green grass especially in dry areas but we consume less than half of the supply. The majority of our water supply goes to unsustainable farmland in the desert. I will forever use water until they either price me out and I move elsewhere or we run out. Until they regulate what can be grown in central valley farmlands and invest in water infrastructure such as proper rainwater collection and desalination plants we will continue to see our reservoirs and rivers look like the Aral Sea.

[@LincolnDWard]

The drought itself is not the residents' fault, and neither is the fact that many people feel they have no choice but to maintain a green lawn for the sake of property values (it's the fault of an extremely broken real estate system). And yes, farmers need to adapt to the situation also. But the idea that a large fraction (10% is still a lot) of the water we need to survive is going toward something that's essentially just a status symbol is a problem, no matter how you slice it.

[@TheRagingPlatypus]

Yeah, who wants fruits and vegetables. The farms were there long before you. You can live anywhere. There's only so many places to supply us with food.

[@MatthewSobotka]

Nuclear power planets, attached to a desalinization plant might not sound like a bad idea.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

Next video: UNMASK THE CHICKEN!

[@sirgrundel]

Damn sucks for ya.. *me who lives next to the great lakes*

[@thedudeabides6273]

Start looking for plants in our oceans and on land that produce water like goop for their waste not anything that is apart of the live system of the plant that can be eaten and sustains the compounds of the human body like water does. Also test and make some models of it being applied to all plants to keep them alive as well. Then look to see if you can use it in a medical emergency or medical situation.💪😎💯

[@benmcreynolds8581]

I think Humans need to observe Nature & adapt our modern society/economy to it's structure. Imagine observing a ecosystem. Then you noticed that all the lowest members of the food chain were in terrible shape BUT the sharks, bears, whales, lions, wolf's, didn't really care at first and then the entire ecosystem fell apart around them. The global ecosystem would catastrophically fall apart because the smallest things in the food chain are key parts of the global ecosystem to function. Without them flourishing, so many things are effected, even the whales would not have any krill, zooplankton, phytoplankton, etc. to live off of. It would be a devastating chain effect to every other animal that relies on smaller things to exist in order for them to function. ~So~ (transfer this analogy over to human society/economy) (Imagine a Bank 🏦🏧 okay 👍, say it's the best Bank, well now imagine how great a bank would be if all it's clients stopped being able to bring in $. So they don't have money to hold? Then everyone would pull their money out. So how much does the bank help the people? OR does THE PEOPLE HELP THE BANK? Yet which thing gets government assistance bail outs from the government to keep them from going poor? ) I truly believe we need to invest in the lowest income people in order for our society to flourish. It's really not asking much. It's just asking for a basic right that will keep the economic system healthy, keep tons of families from going homeless. I mean governments will spend money regardless, and it will be way more expensive, way harder to fix, if we let it get so bad that tons of peoples families fall apart with no safety net and then it's so much harder to ever rebuild yourself back up from there. Plus it's not good for the economy so why not just make a system of helping (just the lowest level living people) rather then having tons of societal problems just because government politics doesn't want to help the poor but wants to invest everything in the rich... ~But the rich NEEDS THE POOR, do they not understand that? Any investment in the poor will only come back around to help other avenues in the economic ecosystem and overall health and stability of our society. (Personally, that's my idea on how I think we should approach our modern day society. Even low income people deserve basic aspects to their qualities of life.) *{It's actually pretty crazy that good people, active, working people, are struggling so much just to barely get by. It should be a sign that our system needs improving. So people can have a safe place to sleep, at least. Poor people, low income people should be able to feel like they can exist too. Instead of this current situation where society seems to just demand and assume everyone is financially well off. When in reality a huge % of the population is considered Low income.} ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a problem with ALL OF USA's MODERN SOCIETY. ~Personally, I think Ukraine is a great example. They are way more adaptive, advanced, efficient, effective than anywhere Close to what my USA could even do. (The US is so inefficient, poorly structured in our stubborn "ways that we operate & how our system operates" People would really notice if an emergency occurs here. *Oh wait: check the list of situations we've handled terribly & we so poorly didn't help our own people & cities. The US likes to say we're so advanced but we internally, in our modern day society, we are so inefficient, ineffective, nonadaptive, non advanced. *We might (have the tech, resources, power, money) but do we "use that tech, resources, power, & money to help our own people..?" No way... Not a chance. We should take influence from Ukraine. Really, We could be so much more advanced. We have tons of people who are willing to help but for some reason modern America is so bad at connecting the community in adaptive, advanced helpful ways.. I still have hope that one day that will change & our society & systems will change. (It's definitely not our people that are holding us back. It's our systems lack of adaptation to the new generationand the battle against self sabotaging capitalism trying to profit off everything until all lower income people become completely homeless) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is why we need to invest in modern advanced nuclear energy options. Small form reactors, LFTRs, Thorium Reactors, liquid reactors. Utilizing our advanced modern technology, engineering, material science, safety measures understandings and designs, computer technology, robotics, It will really allow any nation to be pretty much be energy independent. Less reliant on fossil fuels. They'll have efficient, stable electrical grids and the rest of the grid could experiment with alternative power sources, etc. We need to heal from the trauma of our past and see that it came solely from Us not understanding what we were doing, not have advanced enough technology, material science, engineering, safety measures, understanding of how to go about everything, etc. This source of energy will greatly help the world improve towards the future and lowering emissions more than anything else could while having a very stable electrical grid system. Currently we have alternative energy options but the majority of our grid is powered off of fossil fuels and emission producing sources of energy. We will be so much better going forward commiting to modern advanced nuclear energy options. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ {I truly believe, The more our surroundings flourish, the more we all flourish.} With how bad I've been seeing "water level/droughts" in the Western America lately. I really hope we reintroduce Beavers all over the place needed. It's very important to help area's that supply crops, deal with forest fires, & are running out of water. We've really messed up natural waterways with hydroelectric dams. Ecosystems rely on being able to transfer nutrients and sediment naturally. hydro dams greatly effect biodiversity, water oxygen, carbon levels, algae blooms, nutrient flow from inland location to off shore location to visa versa. In some areas like where I live in NW Oregon, rivers are a direct connection from the ocean to the inland ecosystems and how both those ecosystems can flourish which directly connects to our qualities of Life. Our natural waterways are crucial aspects of the entire overall health of every aspect of that environment and anything that environment connects too. In Oregon, we had some of the best Salmon runs on the planet and lush inland forests, wetland ecosystems, beaver's that created special habitats/fire safety and all that got totally flipped upside down from all the hydro dams they built in the early 1900s, and many other practices we once commonly did. Before we knew or understood the effects and outcomes that comes from them. So I really hope to see tons of projects that are working on rewilding areas for the sole purpose of reestablishing ecosystem's that once flourished. Because Humans inherently do better when their environment is doing better. It provides a ton of benefit to it's people and to the quality of Life as a whole for not just humans but the entire ecosystem around you which will definitely have positive impacts to so many layers to people's life's and your community as a whole. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[@leoaksil4085]

7:10 more money , more inflation

[@kingdele01]

Where did you get your numbers? The arid West does not grow 60% of the food grown in the USA.

[@maxm2494]

It's no surprise; and "global warming" is hardly a cause. The population of the American Southwest has increased dramatically over the past 20 years, well beyond the capacity of the water resources available to the region. You simply cannot have this many people living in a desert and expect the Colorado River to keep up, especially when seasonal droughts- which, despite the claims of the "Climate Chicken Littles"- are nothing new to the area, occur with such historic regularity.

[@electrosyzygy]

false dichotomy? Could rapidly growing population AND climate change be culprits?

[@syro33]

It's... well a mixture of both. As someone that lives in Utah, it seems like the weather has always been getting worse, since i've grown up. The wather's getting hotter, the great salt lake is drying up more and more every summer, and meanwhile a ton of people moved into the State and are consuming more water. It's a really multifaceted problem. I mean, we can't just kick out people for wanting to live here, but we also can't really support everyone well if the droughts get worse.

[@oliverschmidt1988]

we are doomed -.-

[@jdvlang464]

Homeboy struggles with the "Th" sound. sounds like an "F."

[@stevenboldt6489]

Other states don't want to negotiate with California. CA has senior water rights. Wall Street has been buying a lot of land related to the Colorado River and I trust Wall Street more than CA.

[@grahamparks1645]

California and Texas should pump & desalinate inland and create aqueducts to keep agriculture alive first.

[@leonardflaro6779]

Does anyone really care if the US runs out of water you ask. No, nobody cares, just ask Nestle.

[@fatcat5817]

Gov being gov. Anyone surprised? 🤔 Meh, I blame the people for trusting in gov to solve thier problems. California has a Salt water conversion plant but cries the victim? Also the wildfire thing was worsened by not caring for the fricking understudy. And Millennia of heating up, after the last mini ice age. That took out significant mammal life. The colombian mammoth couldn't be fed in the aftermath of the reduction of mega fauna.

[@elqueobserva7663]

Yo ofc I care, if US doesnt have water, northern Mexico even less

[@Deathhead68]

75% of the lakes water goes to growing food. Is that food being grown directly to feed humans or is most to feed livestock which then feed humans? Because that seems like a startling in efficiency, given how much more water the latter requires.

[@omniphoriusvcf907]

Over a third of the country’s vegetables and three-quarters of the country’s fruits and nuts are grown in California. Think lettuces, grapes, strawberries and many nuts. And a huge chunk of that is organic produce. It's human food, but it's true that nuts require a lot of water.

[@TheRagingPlatypus]

It's mostly fruits and vegetables. Next time you feel all green drinking almond milk, remember it takes five gallons of water to produce a single almond.

[@enviousscarab2762]

At least it is not libya

[@dholt21771]

We need to build a wall and build it now to keep people in California.

[@brokendownoldman9547]

Why not Blame everything & everyone, & not point the finger just at Ca? Why not blame the Alva B. Adams Tunnel that diverts the headwaters of the Colorado river too?

[@syro33]

Well, California does have a large population, so it does end up consuming most of the water. However, everyone's kinda at fault here, all of the states share the problem, and nobody's really doing too much to stop it.

[@HebrewHammerArmsCo]

Lols America.... We are running out of water.... Also America.. In the last decade we have removed a record number of dams to save the river systems.. Again, Water is important for human survival.. So again America.. You reap what you sew..

[@srdjan455]

Farmers, green yards, golf course, swimming pools and Las Vegas, all in dry desert regions. There is a part of me that wants the worse to happen to these regions and as punishment for the foolishness of man. Adapt to the region and don't force the region to adapt to us

[@madmachanicest9955]

Wow it's almost like building a Los Angeles the largest highest population city in the country right smack dab in the middle of a desert with a stupid idea. If you don't know there is no natural water source within a few hundred miles of Los Angeles California. And proper water management and common Sense should have resulted in Southern California like Anaheim and Northern California like San Francisco being the main population centers for California and no one should be living where la is now it was just a stupid idea.

[@handymanr4729]

If the US didnt waste water in industries like desert golf courses and growing xmas trees thatb are just thrown away, ie, used it more sustainably, the drought would not be such a conditon. We have such conditions here in Aus but the difference is we dont divert rivers to build houes and golf courses in the desert for profit. But american corporations have programmed people into thinking "never ending growth" is the same as "sustainable growth"

[@bemhibbits4157]

Spoiler alert...3 months after this was posted, California got a bit of rain. All good now.

[@denniss5505]

Twenty years of drought is not eliminated by one year of heavy rain and snowfall. It certainly helps but no spoiler, all is not good

[@archemides1517]

Las Vegas is one the most water efficient cities in the world hell we will be fine even if lake mead reaches Deadpool

[@onthefarside2096]

Not to worry. According to AOC, we won't be here by then.

[@fedorbutochnikow5312]

Replacing real grass with plastic grass would mitigate the problem and buy enough time to come up with new ways to conserve and perhaps even desalinate water using world's cutting edge tech that doesn't cost too much. There are ways to slow down evaporation and reduce waste via economic incentives.

[@EfraimBotondHK]

only in oho

[@IpSyCo]

60% of the food grown in the United States is in accurate. 60% of the food by value yes a lot of high value crops such as fruits and almonds are grown on the west coast. However by calorie count this is nowhere near close to being 60% of total food grown.

[@peeta9836]

If ancient history is any indicator, it appears many great civilizations feel due to droughts and famine. I like to thing we learn from history but it’s becoming increasingly evident that we do not.

[@alejandrofelixgutierrez7956]

3:15 drains into the gulf of California? KEKW. You are crealy missinform, since the construction of the Hoover damm pretty much nothing flows there, outside very few years that the damm had an excess of water and the let it flow to the Delta.

[@kingdele01]

This video didn't age too well!

[@jeffs4483]

Most of the water usage comes from farms, not residential areas.

[@edmundprice5276]

farms are economically important, lawns are not

[@stump1897]

Maybe major population centers in an arid region and living like the upper Midwest isn’t that grand of an idea. It’s not climate change,it’s a natural cycle.

[@madmachanicest9955]

Just so you know the Colorado River has not drained into the Gulf of Mexico since at least the 1970s.

[@rory-red]

Its Flooding in California now LOL

[@madmachanicest9955]

I would also just like to point out that large-scale agriculture and huge populations in the southwestern United States in the long run would have been unsustainable with or without climate change. So even if you ignore man-made climate change like a moron this problem still would have occurred eventually anyway. And people were supporting this out around the time the city of la was being founded.

[@madmachanicest9955]

It's not rocket science we have to come up with better water management for our crops and start moving people the hell out of the southwestern United States. Overpopulation in these water poor regions going to result in obvious disaster.

[@paulhester1904]

Just the cycle of life, get use to it!

[@535Salomon]

Then America invading for water instead of oil 😢

[@rory-red]

most of that region is mostly a desert and millions ppl moved there over past few decades when should moved to more water plentiful areas not dry desert LOL

[@manartotonji5734]

Maybe we should stop farming in the desert

[@Quadrophiniac]

I love how everyone gives California shit for using the most water, but conveniently forgets that most of the fruits and veggies they eat are also grown in California. California produces 75 percent of the USA's fruit and nuts, and a third of its vegetables. Obviously that doesn't mean we shouldn't figure out ways to use less of it, but its not being wasted

[@madmachanicest9955]

Ironically this is what we need a strong federal government for because the federal government has both the authority to step in and fix the situation and enforce those changes by martial law if necessary they just don't. And as far as I'm concerned absolutely nobody other than the people who work on the Hoover dam should live in the state of Nevada. And the entire city of la should be evacuated in bulldozed because no one should be living in a drought prone region in the middle of a desert especially not in that huge of a population.

[@TimothyCHenderson]

For American's to accept that level of Federal intervention, it would require a catastrophe. Any sort of martial law initiative before that point would result in mass protests possibly leading to riots and calls for succession or the overthrow of whichever government was in power.

[@madmachanicest9955]

@@TimothyCHenderson probably. It's not like that doesn't happen every 2 to 4 years anyway. Ideally the federal government would put in some very harsh farming regulations and states that shouldn't be any farming at all like Arizona and Central California. And repossess the entire Colorado River basin from the states as federal land and manage it irregardless of the states themselves. I do believe when there is a dispute of this magnitude that involves multiple states it is the Federal government's responsibility to handle the situation and not the states themselves. It's not like people were not aware of this problem existed in the 1990s. The Colorado River basin states have failed to basically do a damn thing about the problem for 32 years.

[@gishjalmr5628]

Just cut off California from the Colorado River and the other states will be fine. California should face the repercussions from drying up Tulare Lake.

[@bendikkirkbakk1833]

Not that this isen't bad. But our entaitelment is so bad. We first. No shit's given about Wild Life/nature. Well, what do you think will happen with 8 billions of our greedy ass'es.

[@BobNob1]

with all the rain cali is back to normal, stop the lies

[@trevorlewatle1886]

It's just biblical prophecy as stated in the book of Matthew. It's meant to get worse prior to the return of our Lord and savior Jesus. Thanks for the great research and over all content.