If you're like me, you are missing the rain, too. Today will be the 135th consecutive day without rain, and just thinking about it makes me feel a little parched.
The grass in my yard is dying, and I am beginning to doubt it's still winter. There are blizzards in the northern part of the country and showers in California. As far as I know, the rainforests left in the world are still wet.
So how did Arizona finally leave the weather loop entirely?
Maybe Arizonians are using too much water. I see plenty of golf courses with lush green. But what I don't see is any rainfall to naturally keep our lawns green and Tempe Town Lake full.
Personally, I think the reason it hasn't rained in so long is botanical revenge. Plants in Arizona have been using their water frugally for billions of years, and here we are using it up as we please.
Nature is angry and it's time we took some notes on how to live in a desert with style.
Certain plants have evolved to become better at surviving droughts since far before we were kind enough to water them. A saguaro cactus can live through 18 months of drought. I think we should all take a lesson from Mother Nature and our good friend, the cactus.
Cacti have special attributes, like shallow, spread-out roots to absorb water quickly when it does rain. Normally, plants have roots that dig deep into the ground to consistently reach underground sources of water.
We don't exactly have physical roots and we already use the water we can find. So maybe the problem is in our energy sources.
Water is very important for making energy in plants as well as converting that energy into a useful force in animals.
Photosynthesis is how plants make their energy. They do this by using sunlight to break up water molecules. Then we come in and eat all their stored energy in the fruit and spit out the seeds.
Plants are immobile and can afford to go through long periods of dormancy in which they consume less energy and thus conserve water.
Students, on the other hand, consume vastly higher amounts of energy by continuously moving as they attend class, run errands and play video games.
So, I think we must all become more vegetative. That is, we must stop moving and explain to professors that we are attempting to save our water and thus survive this crazy drought.
Plants breathe by taking in carbon dioxide through pore-like openings on their leaves called stomata. Cacti can close their stomata when it's warmer outside to reduce the amount of water evaporating from their leaves. While the stomata are closed they use stored carbon dioxide they have already stored.
If only we could store our oxygen that efficiently, then we could close our noses and mouths on hot days. Not only could we figure out how to breathe under water but we could finally cut back on the required eight glasses of water a day.
The day we evolve to that level of desert survival is the day I will rest, knowing the sun can shine on us all year long.
Anjali is a molecular biosciences and biotechnology junior. Reach her in her vegetative condition at anjali.patel@asu.edu
