How the American West Became a Desert

I live in a large city in a high desert region of the American West. It is a backwards-enough kind of place in general, but it is particularly backwards when it comes to water consumption. I shudder as I ride my bike through neighborhoods with sprawling grounds planted in Kentucky bluegrass. At any time of day or night, sprinklers are running all over the place. Water from sloppy sprinklers runs freely along the streets and sidewalks. No one gives a thought to pouring water freely on the ground. People water even while it rains. My neighbor runs his sprinkler system twice a day from May through October, regardless of the weather.

What will it take before people stop this madness? How can squander water and leave behind a passel of children, too? What horrible thing is going to happen if grass goes dormant in the summer, as it naturally does and should? Yes, these people also eat beef for dinner, and it takes 2500 gallons of water to produce just one pound of that. But even if they don't understand what's involved in getting bad food choices onto their plates, anyone with eyes to see can see the water from their yards running down the streets. Can't they?