The West is suffering climate hell. But there’s still hope
Though climate continued to polarize Washington, D.C. … there were at least some encouraging signs west of the 100th meridian. Take the Colorado River and its tributaries… In August, federal officials declared the first-ever water shortage on the Colorado, triggering cutbacks in Arizona, Nevada and Mexico. The shortage declaration, while scary-sounding, was the result of a landmark pact in which Southwestern states agreed to forgo some of the water to which they’d otherwise be entitled, in an effort to keep Lake Mead from falling even farther and prompting a true emergency.