Hello there. I'm Chuck Tata and welcome to Meet the Press Report Season 3. We're very excited about this and we're happy you're here.

As you might know by now,

every week now, we take a deep dive into a single topic. And this week, it's climate change,

but it's not like the other climate change specials you watch. We're not going to focus on

academic studies or the 100-year projections because the bottom line is, climate change isn't

coming. It's here. It's already here.

In fact, in just two months, there have been what NOAA classifies as major climate events in 27 states.

And in case you're wondering what the definition of major climate event is, it's anything from extreme heat, drought, rainfall, flash floods, hurricanes, tropical storms, and wildfire.

Just put all that in perspective, just the last two months.

And it brings us to the western part of the country because the southwest, in a word, is parched.

A mega drought lasting more than two decades is drying up the Colorado River.

In fact, the federal government

had to declare a water shortage for the first time ever because of this problem. And what does this

mean? It means water and hydro power supplies have had to be reduced in some of these western

states. And now there's growing concern that this area of the country in particular, where Phoenix

was the fastest growing city in America in the last decade, is growing faster than the natural resources can support.

Our own Cal Perry takes us on a tour down the Colorado River.

The Colorado River is what gives life to our American West.

A seasonal snowpack in the Rockies gives way to streams which feed the river,

each spring replenishing the water supply that 40 million people rely on.

From the upper basin in Colorado through Utah and south to the lower basin,

our first stop is Lake Powell,

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