One hundred and one years since the signing of the Colorado River Compact, 24 years into a mega-drought, and two years away from new guidelines on sharing the waters, it’s time to take a close look at the past, present, and future of the Colorado River. Where does the water come from, and where does it go? What are the effects of climate change on the river? Whose priorities – tribes, nature, farms, cities, states, countries – supersede the others? Who decides? In this course we will examine all of these important questions and more.
This course is an updated version of one first offered by the Humanities Seminars Program in Spring 2023. New or expanded content for 2024 includes Tribal rights and priority, the groundwater connection in Arizona, the river-runners from Powell to today, and developing the new rules for the river.
