(Postel, 1994, p. 17). One would suppose that water is much more plentiful and cheap in El Paso than in Lodwar. Such a supposition would be only partly correct. Relative to income levels, water is much cheaper in El Paso than in Lodwar. In terms of water supply, however, the two communities are more alike than they are different. Both El Paso and Lodwar are low rainfall areas--approximately 16-to-18 centimeters per year. In both communities, water demand is far more than can be supplied through local resources. How then does El Paso have water when Lodwar does not? The answer is that El Paso diverts water from distant sources to the community. The residents of El Paso, thus, are shielded from the reality of water scarcity. A scenario similar to that for water can be sketched in relation to energy supply and energy use.
The relevance of the above illustration to the research study being proposed is the point that many, perhaps most, communities in the United States are living
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