Last Call

Here's a nice bedtime story for you.

A new report says more than 1,000 counties across the United States are at risk for potential water shortages by midcentury as warmer temperatures deplete supplies and demand for water rises.

The report, released Tuesday by the Natural Resources Defense Council, says some regions including the Northeast could see a boost to water supplies as climate change shifts weather patterns.

But for much of the rest of the country, the group paints a sobering picture of warm temperatures further taxing aquifers already stressed by heavy agricultural and consumer use.

The report did not factor in future improvements to water supply systems.

Fourteen states were highlighted as being most at risk: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Gotta love that one. Mississippi under a water shortage with that massive river right there. And yet with population growth and strain on infrastructure and water tables, that's entirely possible. What happens when all the rivers that feed into the Mighty Missisip are drained dry to provide water for residents? Unless Florida's going to invest heavily in desalinization plants, they're going to come up well short as the heat rises. And Western states are in dire trouble already in the water department.

It's not going to get any better, folks.