Excellent article in today's L.A. Times regarding water shortages affecting areas surrounding Las Vegas, and aquafiers beginning to drop. This is a threat to several endangered species, as well as drying up springs and wells.
Las Vegas, which wastes colossal amounts of water, ironically owed its early existence to being the only source of potable water for miles around. To be fair, the developers and casinos have begun to utilize better water conservation measures.
If we as a society learn to conserve water better, hopefully we can avoid a future calamity, such as the one pictured in the Ed Abbey novel "Good News".