The western US is running out of water. What happens next? – Stateside with Kai and Carter

The Guardian — Jul 13, 20:45 PM

Thanks to pollution, overpopulation and the climate crisis, Earth is facing a terrifying new crisis: an irreversible 'water bankruptcy'.

Now, fights over water have ramped up across the world, including in the US west.

Hosthttps://www.theguardian.com/profile/carter-sherman"> Carter Sherman speaks with Guardian extreme weather correspondenthttps://www.theguardian.com/profile/gabrielle-canon"> Gabrielle Canon about the battle over the future of the Colorado River Basin, whose water sustains some 40 million people across seven states – but is now drying up.

Gabrielle recently rafted down the basin's last 'wild' river, the Yampa.

Damming or diverting the Yampa could bring the west some much-needed hydration.

It may also devastate the vast natural ecosystem that relies on the river's free-flowing waters.

Also: Carter andhttps://www.theguardian.com/profile/kai-wright"> Kai Wright react to the death of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham