I think you have a valid point. It's really difficult to apply root cause when we've only been around in a sliver of time in the grand scheme of things. I do have one anecdotal observation. When I was growing up in Nashville, we would have 3-5 decent snow falls a winter of maybe 3-5 inches. Now it just doesn't snow there - only ice storms of sleet. I don't think that's from Nashville sinking. What's really causing it? I don't know. I just know it's not good to piss in your bath water.

You are right in that the droughts experienced in the west are not the main reason the Colorado is getting hammered. It being drained to water grass and grow avocados. I now live at the headwaters of the Colorado river. Up until the fifties the upper tributary I live close to was a big river and magnificent fishery. Now it's just a little creek that can't support native trout due to it being siphoned off to the front range and pollution from pesticides/herbicides and oil runoff from the trains.

I agree. My dad was one of the first environmentalists after WW2 and was a top public health official under four governors. He used to tell me growing up in the 60's that the biggest threats to mankind were pandemics, pollution and nuclear war. He turned out to be right and it seems to be all happening quicker than anyone thought it could. The momentum of the global industrial and military complex is not something that can be turned on a dime after 125 years of largely unregulated expansion fueled by power and money. He always said that real change only comes about through crisis and catastrophe, e.g. world war.

I don't think anyone really has a handle on it at all. It's always been very difficult to predict the future if my memory serves me well.