High Per Capita Consumption

Laney (1997) reminds us of the differences between various socioeconomic classes and cultures in consumption levels of limited desert resources. The wealthy elite in Phoenix—and perhaps in Puerto Penasco and Hermosillo neighborhoods with lush lawns, swimming pools and extravagant household cooling systems as well—consume about 1500 liters (370) gallons of water per person per day. Middle-class residents in Tucson—and Tucab or La Pazz—who have adopted desert landscaping or water-conserving practices in their dooryard gardens use about 450 liters (114 gallons) of water per person per day. A Tohono O’odham rancheria with adobe houses and armadas, a few mesquite trees and cacti on the carefully-tended desert floor, and small patches of herbs or vegetables fed with runoff from thunderstorms, consumes only 80 liters (20 gallons) per person per day (Laney 1997). The same magnitude of consumption characterizes fossil fuel use by multi-car families living in the metropolitan areas of Arizona and California versus the horsebacked herders of the Sierras of Sonora, Chihuahua and Baja California. Interestingly, only Mexican scientists noted “resource consumption by the elite” as a major regional stress.

Laney, N. 1997. Desert Waters: From Ancient Aquifers to Modern Demands. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press, Tucson.

--From State of the Sonoran Desert Biome: Uniqueness, Biodiversity,
Threats, and the Adequacy of Protection in the Sonoran Bioregion

by Gary Paul Nabhan and Andrew R. Holdsworth
Sponsored by The Wildlands Project
March, 1998
pp. 25-26