Water Pt. 2: The Wild West of Water

In certain parts of Arizona, there are no rules on how much water wells can pump out of the ground. That unlimited access to a finite resource is what economists call a “tragedy of the commons.” In this second part of our three-part water series, we travel to the Sulphur Springs Valley in Southern Arizona to see how unregulated drilling there has impacted hopes for the future and access to water for everyday people. And we’ll learn how the rise of industrial agriculture in the Valley, and across the nation, is contributing to changing rural economies, rising tensions in close-knit communities, and global climate change.