Energy and water resources scarcity: Critical infrastructure for growth and economic development in Arizona and Sonora

Climate change, rapid urbanization, and the emerging carbon economy, among other factors, have elevated the energy-water nexus from an operational tool to a new joint-resource management and policy paradigm. Nowhere in North America, and in few regions globally, is this need greater than in the Southwest United States and Northwest Mexico. In the states of Arizona and Sonora, investment is inadequate to meet energy and water infrastructure needs. On par with critical infrastructure in economic development terms, agriculture is likewise energy-intensive and currently consumes the largest share of water resources in both states. The important gains * Christopher A. Scott is Associate Research Professor of Water Resources Policy at the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, and Associate Professor in the School of Geography & Development at the University of Arizona (cascott@email.arizona.edu). He has worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the International Water Management Institute, and nongovernmental organizations internationally. He holds Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from Cornell University, and B.S. and B.A. degrees from