Thursday, October 29, 2009

Hoover Dam To Run Dry

Water in the Colorado River has been decreasing over the past years, to prevent further water loss, the citizens need to reduce their water use as a whole. This article talks in detail about the long term effects of the water being held by the Hoover Dam and the shortages of water that are expected to come. In the article, the author uses some phrases and words that may be misunderstood.
The article asks the question, “Can the river deliver water at the levels currently scheduled if the climate changes as we expect it to. The answer is no.” in this question, there are a lot of variables that are unclear. It talks about the water levels being currently scheduled, but the water levels change so much and it is so hard to predict exactly how much it is going to rain in the coming year, so it would be tough to really answer this question.
Another quote that is difficult to understand in this article is “People have talked for 30 years about the Colorado being oversubscribed but no one ever put a date on it or an amount.” In this quote, it is very unclear who the people are who have been saying this, also it’s uses the word oversubscribed out of context making it difficult to understand. From this quote it seems like you have to have a subscription in order to get the water, this is a totally weird concept and makes the sentence very confusing.
In this article, there are a few parts, in which the author will say something and understand what he or she means, but when someone else read it, it is unclear and may be misunderstood.

University of California - San Diego (2009, April 27). Climate Change Means Shortfalls In Colorado River Water Deliveries. Science Daily. Retrieved October 4, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090420182203.htm

2 comments:

  1. It is true, those two phrases could definitely be misinterpreted. Ambiguously saying "People have talked about..." isn't a very clear way to argue! Good analysis.

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  2. It is very true that hoover dam could run dry. The water levels have dropped significantly over the years, its the main " supply line" for major cities on the west coast and will effect so many people.

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