Aridification

Population growth, agricultural withdrawals and climate change have badly diminished the river and threaten its future.

Smaller cities. Soaring water prices. Scorched desert towns.

Journalist Heather Hansman floated the Green River to explore water issues in the American West, then wrote a fascinating book about her journey.

Confronted with the specter of a New Mexico parched by climate change, some have begun to push back against a water model that focuses primarily on putting as much water to use as possible.

There’s desperation in the desert – for communities that could run out of water if the Colorado River keeps shrinking from overuse and climate change. Many are now looking...

Residents in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, see first-hand how wildfires can damage wetlands and watersheds vitally important to their water supply. Jerd Smith reports for The Water Desk. https://player.vimeo.com/video/553127855 Length: 2:03 Download script Download...

Cities in New Mexico and Colorado are juggling water scarcity concerns over the Rio Grande.

Julia Bernal, director of the Pueblo Action Alliance, talks to Water Desk Director Mitch Tobin about the legacy of colonialism in New Mexico and its impact on water issues.

The snowpack that 40 million people rely on for water was supposed to provide a bounty this year. Instead, much of it melted away fast and early — part of a long-term trend associated with climate change.

Scientists have a variety of measures of drought, but some are starting to use the term "aridification" to describe the long-term drying of the Southwest.