Phoenix, Arizona— one of the biggest cities in the U.S., and constantly growing— is also often crowned as one of the most unsustainable places in the world. Phoenix is a city plagued by many wants, many needs, and yet meager resources.
For one, “‘it’s currently the fastest warming big city in the US,’” and will be “‘three to five degrees hotter in the summer months by 2050′”. Many write off this increase in temperatures, by trusting in air conditioning to get them through the high heat. However, not all Phoenicians have this luxury: as the climate worsens, powering your home will become more expensive, making lower-income individuals suffer more in the summer months. This group of people may have to choose between food and cooling their home down. With a whopping “twenty-two percent of Phoenix residents liv[ing] in poverty, and at any given point about 6,300 [being] homeless,” it becomes clear that numbers of people simply will not be able to survive here.
The risk of power outages can also not go unnoticed. If the grid fails in the dead of summer, the consequences could be disastrous. How long could some people really last without air conditioning, when temperatures may be above 110 degrees? Furthermore, the haboobs (dust storms) seen in Phoenix could wreak havoc, causing air conditioning to go out.
And, of course, there are issues in Phoenix concerning water— or the lack of it. The primary water source in this city comes from the Colorado River, which continues to be taken at a rate faster than it is being refilled. What is more, California has dibs on the water, which should leave Arizona, and Phoenicians, feeling unsettled. The rural communities will likely be worse off: when our water becomes scarce, it will be necessary to utilize groundwater, and in rural Arizona, these aquifers will not be enough. Rural communities will need to leave, and this will also have implications for our agriculture, as farms are located in these more rural areas. After the rural areas are hit, however, the urban areas will feel it, making the crisis inevitable to all in Arizona.
Phoenix, Arizona must start taking the not-so-distant future into account, and start preparing for what is to come. Much policy surrounding the future remains unclear, as our city leaders have focused more so on meeting immediate needs. As I write from my desk in Phoenix, Arizona, at CIMA Law Group, I contemplate our future and the logistics of what could mean to have scarcity in my own life.
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