Extreme Droughts Are Coming

The extreme heat and dry spells in the American South dominated media coverage over the summer, but William Debuys at Salon says even that frenzy of attention didn’t do justice to what’s coming. “If you live in the Southwest or just about anywhere in the American West, you or your children and grandchildren could soon enough be facing the Age of Thirst, which may also prove to be the greatest water crisis in the history of civilization.” Debuys describes the “Age of Thirst” as a three-act Shakespearean tragedy caused by climate change and aggravated by the Southwestern states’ excessive consumption. “It will be one of the greatest, if grimmest, shows on Earth.”