The Southwest Region Crisis!
Agriculture in the Southwest United States is very important economically in that region. 85% of the fresh water in the region is used on agriculture (crops planted and animals raised).
About 20% of the land is used for crops, and about 60% of the land is used as pasture for cattle and sheep.
Although crops take up a small portion of land, irrigation for the crops accounts for 80 percent of water used in the Southwest!!!
About half of this water is coming from the Colorado River, and the other half comes from groundwater supplies (aquifers). BUT, this groundwater is being used much faster than it is being replaced by rain. Some scientists even claim the Colorado River is disappearing!
The Southwest produces more than half of the nation’s high-value specialty crops, which need irrigation to grow, and are particularly vulnerable to extreme moisture, cold, and heat. Reduced crops from increasing temperatures and less water could mean disaster for the region! This is a big problem, considering the population of 56 million people is expected to increase 68% by 2050, to 94 million. AHHHH!!!
YOUR JOB IS TO FIND A SOLUTION THAT MEETS THESE NEEDS:
-Agricultural technology that uses less water.
ORIGINAL ideas for people to conserve more water.
-Other industries that people should explore to make money (ones that don’t use as much water!).
-AND THE TOUGHEST PART - Get rid of wasteful farmland. You must find jobs for the people that used to work there!
-Agricultural technology that uses less water. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
-ORIGINAL ideas for people to conserve more water. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________-Other industries that people should explore to make money (ones that don’t use as much water!).
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
-AND THE TOUGHEST PART - Get rid of wasteful farmland. You must find jobs for the people that used to work there!
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
About 20% of the land is used for crops, and about 60% of the land is used as pasture for cattle and sheep.
Although crops take up a small portion of land, irrigation for the crops accounts for 80 percent of water used in the Southwest!!!
About half of this water is coming from the Colorado River, and the other half comes from groundwater supplies (aquifers). BUT, this groundwater is being used much faster than it is being replaced by rain. Some scientists even claim the Colorado River is disappearing!
The Southwest produces more than half of the nation’s high-value specialty crops, which need irrigation to grow, and are particularly vulnerable to extreme moisture, cold, and heat. Reduced crops from increasing temperatures and less water could mean disaster for the region! This is a big problem, considering the population of 56 million people is expected to increase 68% by 2050, to 94 million. AHHHH!!!
YOUR JOB IS TO FIND A SOLUTION THAT MEETS THESE NEEDS:
-Agricultural technology that uses less water.
ORIGINAL ideas for people to conserve more water.
-Other industries that people should explore to make money (ones that don’t use as much water!).
-AND THE TOUGHEST PART - Get rid of wasteful farmland. You must find jobs for the people that used to work there!
-Agricultural technology that uses less water. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
-ORIGINAL ideas for people to conserve more water. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________-Other industries that people should explore to make money (ones that don’t use as much water!).
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
-AND THE TOUGHEST PART - Get rid of wasteful farmland. You must find jobs for the people that used to work there!
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________