Drought In America

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The states in the American Southwest have been caught in a consistent drought for years now. The population in these areas, especially California, used to be much lower but the population has rapidly increased in the last fifty years. Freshwater is something that everyone uses daily, and unfortunately, this is becoming a limited resource in the southwest area. Due to the ongoing drought, areas such as California and Palm Springs have ordered water cuts to try and reduce the overall amount of water being used. The “California Dream” used to be a way of living in a dry climate with long showers and luxurious lawns but is now being changed to a different dream where shower time has to be cut back and the luscious green plants are changed to native plants. The same thing has happened in Palm Springs, which used to be known as the “Desert Oasis” where the warm climate and surrounding greenery attracted populations …show more content…

Water is used for many things, including food and energy production. If policies are set in place and the water supply is cautiously monitored, then we can meet the food, energy, and water needs. These policies must plan for water reduction used by the economy and the population while maintaining streams and lakes required as habitats for the ecosystem [3]. If policies are not done correctly, the American Southwest could collapse. Not only would water be limited but food production would decline as well as energy. The population would have motives to move, resulting in a declining and unstable economy if a huge losses occurred. Without plentiful water, a severe drought could become a motive for terrorist attacks aimed either at the unstable population or any water supplies to create further problems [3]. Wildfires could wreak havoc on the area and result in loss of habitat for the ecosystem. If extensive enough, life could become scarce as people and species

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