The Colorado River is tapped out. Another dry year has left the waterway that supplies 40 million people in the Southwest parched. A prolonged 21-year warming and drying trend is pushing the nation’s two largest reservoirs to record lows. For the first time this summer, the federal government will declare a shortage. Our radio partners traveled the 1,400 miles of the river to get a sense of how those who rely on it are coping. Plus, Utahns appear to have heeded firework warnings and decided to skip using personal fireworks over Fourth of July weekend.

Show Notes:

Photo: Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, has been hit hard by warming temperatures and downstream demands. Luke Runyon/KUNC

KUNC: After Decades Of Warming And Drying, The Colorado River Struggles To Water The West

https://www.kunc.org/2021-07-07/after-decades-of-warming-and-drying-the-colorado-river-struggles-to-water-the-west

UPR: Cox Grateful Utahns Listened To Firework Warnings

https://www.upr.org/post/cox-grateful-utahns-listened-firework-warnings