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<br />5 <br /> <br /> <br />, , <br /> <br />002850 <br /> <br />In 1965 about 17 million acres of croplands were farmed, of which 75 percent <br />were irrigated, 243 million acres were devoted to grazing livestock, 33 <br />million acres were used for wood production, 19 million acres were devoted to <br />recreation and preservation (e. g. , national parks), 13 million acres were <br />available for military uses, and 18 million acres were classed as wastelands. <br /> <br />Croplands are projected to increase to about 18 million acres in 2020, of which <br />about 16.5 million acres would be irrigated. The effect of the projected popula~ <br />tion on nonurban land and cropland will depend much on the future life style <br />of the urban population and the extent to which the people will want to use and <br />intrude UpOll the vast open spaces between the majol" pOpulation centers. !\'lost <br />of the open space land is in Federal tlwnership. The future uses of these lands <br />will undoubtedly increasingly stress existing use and management practices. <br /> <br />Water Development <br /> <br />In 1965, about 46 million acre-feet of water were furnished to meet the require- <br />ments for municipal, industl"ial, domestic, and agricultural uses. By 2020. <br />a total requirement of 72 rrillion acre-feet annually is projected. This would <br />" " <br />amount to about 80 percent of the total estimated undepleted areawide runoff <br />(94 million acre-feet) in the Pacific Southwest. Development of water resources <br />to the level projected would substantially alter the natural regimen of all of the <br />area streams, lakes, estuaries, bays, and wetlands. <br /> <br />Included among the developments to meet the demand is the desalting of 4.4 <br />million acre-feet of oce2,n water to augment the flow and improve the quality <br />of water of the Colorado River. The Colorado River water now available for <br />use in the Lower Colorado Region and in the California Region has salinity <br />problems and cannot meet the proposed standards for drinking water. <br /> <br />Energy Development <br /> <br />The most spectacular projected increase in demand for the" growing population <br />concerns electrical energy. In 1965 the al'ea total generating capacity was <br />21. <: thousand megawatts. By 2020 the projected deniand is 565 . 8 thousand <br />megawatts, an increase of about 26.5 times in 55 years. This increase represents <br />a per capita demand "bout 8.5 times greater than the per capita demand in <br />1965. The projected Ufe style of the population is reflected by this increased <br />energy demand. The production, conveyance, and use of the large projected <br />amount of energy will ha\'e many and significant effects on the l",nd, water. air. <br />the economy, and the people. <br />