Perspectives of a Wandering Geographer

I’ve been wanting to personally do something to address climate change.  Judy and I have relatively new vehicles (including a 2014 hybrid Prius station wagon) so getting all-electrics doesn’t make much financial sense at present.  A few years ago we signed up for our utility’s “Windsource” program which means, in theory, that all our home electricity is generated by wind turbines out in the eastern plains of Colorado.  In actuality, I realize that not every electron that powers our home comes from wind generation but by joining this program, Xcel Energy knows that we (and hopefully thousands of other customers) want our electricity sources from renewables.  Sure, we could have put solar panels on our roof instead but there are complications with that route including a big capital outlay or a long-term contract with a solar company that a future buyer of our home might not want to be stuck with. So, renewable energy has been powering everything in our home except ...

For the past three years, I have taken an active interest in drought in the southwestern US as illustrated by declining water levels in various reservoirs.   I have been especially interested in Lake Powell which started filling in 1963 upon completion of the Glen Canyon Dam across the Colorado River and located near Page, Arizona just south of the Utah state line.   Back in the 1980s when it was sometimes full, Lake Powell had a surface area of 266 square miles – the largest lake by area in the southwest.   It is relatively narrow (less than a mile wide in most places) but quite long, extending 186 miles northeast of the dam to Cataract Canyon.   Over the past 20+ years, the water level and volume of Lake Powell have declined considerably.   The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation located and designed the Glen Canyon Dam to maintain an elevation of 3700 feet above sea level, referred to as “full pool”.   It took 17 years for this level to be first achieved in 198...