From High in the Colorado River to Low Water Levels

         The journal entry “Sustainable water deliveries from the Colorado River in a changing climate” by Tim P. Barnett and David W. Pierce discusses the future of the Colorado River. At the current rate of decline, the Colorado River and the bodies of water it supports are in for a tough century. The study shows that the hydrological cycle over the past few decades (in this region) has included a higher runoff rate than any other time period (Barnett). This has resulted in higher water levels in the Colorado River and Lake Mead than any other century. The conclusion of the study was that the number of water deliveries from the river must be reduced in the near future.

         Jeremy Hance is the author of the article “Colorado River unlikely to meet current water demands in warmer, drier world.” This online article highlights main ideas from the recent study on the Colorado River. Hance focused on the more easily discussed features of the study. As if to avoid any errors in reporting, the majority of the facts come from direct quotations of the scientists.

         Being a report and not a critique, the article by Hance is very similar in structure to the actual journal entry. They both begin with statistics from the Colorado River, and end with the mention of water delivery cuts. Other than that, Hance does a poor job of covering the important issues. Unlike many articles on the web which over exaggerate the rate of freshwater loss, this article seems to understate the urgency with which we must act. The way he reports the facts, this is a far off problem. It is spoken of as if it was expected all along. In the study, there is the mention of water delivery cutbacks being made by the government (Barnett). Again this is altered slightly by Hance. He seems to give the impression that the government can handle this by implementing a plan that they’ve already drawn up. It states clearly in the report that no such plan has been brought up by the government.

         The major topic of discussion touched on by the article is that there have been increased water levels in the past few decades. There is no explanation given for this in the article by Hance. For anyone who doesn’t believe that global warming exists, this is the perfect opportunity for them to speak. Any ‘non-believer’ could claim that this is part of the natural ebb and flow of nature. The water levels are falling (that is undeniable). But there is an argument to be made that they will rise again in the future. This is disproved in the study done by Barnett and Pierce. They show that climate change due to human development caused increased runoff (from melting ice), which in turn increased the water levels in the Colorado River. This can’t last forever (or return once it stops) because there is only so much water trapped in a solid state above sea level. Decreased run off levels and an increase in population will cause the water levels to drop dramatically in this century (Barnett).

         Hance appears to be a fan of stating facts and values but not expanding on any of the ideas behind them. The values mean nothing unless they are put into perspective. For any future articles he should try to summarize the study and then add collected values. This would prevent any parts of the article from being skipped or left unsupported.

-Jesse Murray 

Barnett, Tim P.; Pierce, David W. (2009).  “Sustainable water deliveries from the Colorado River

in a changing climate.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 20 April 2009.

Accessed 7 Oct 2009.

 

Hance, Jeremy. “Colorado River unlikely to meet current water demands in warmer, drier world.” 20 April 2009.

Accessed 7 Oct 2009.