The water situation in California is getting worse by the day. A recent article by SFist, based on an LA Times Op-Ed, declared:
Excerpt from the SFist blog:
A stark Op-Ed in the LA Times lays out the case for why water rationing needs to start, statewide, basically now. Also, the state has to lay out better long-term water strategies, right now, because they have none and the situation is now dire.
The piece was written by a UC Irvine professor who's also a senior water scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech, Jay Famiglietti. And he notes that California's water problems date back to at least 2002, when satellite imaging began tracking the steady decline in statewide water reserves every year.
Sounds pretty serious to me. Most of us are still taking access to clean water for granted. As for me, I'm watching every drop I use and try to remind others to do the same. I write a monthly newsletter for my condominium where I include reminders about saving water. Let's all do our part before it's too late.
Read More: http://sfist.com/2015/03/13/california_has_one_year_of_water_le.php
California Has One Year Of Water Left
 |
| A section of Lake Oroville in August, 2014. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images |
Excerpt from the SFist blog:
A stark Op-Ed in the LA Times lays out the case for why water rationing needs to start, statewide, basically now. Also, the state has to lay out better long-term water strategies, right now, because they have none and the situation is now dire.
The piece was written by a UC Irvine professor who's also a senior water scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech, Jay Famiglietti. And he notes that California's water problems date back to at least 2002, when satellite imaging began tracking the steady decline in statewide water reserves every year.
Groundwater pumping, especially in the Central Valley, remains a huge problem, and we now have to face the reality of what a paltry winter this has been for rain following on the extraordinary drought conditions we faced last summer and fall.
In case you've already forgotten, San Francisco got exactly zero rainfall in the month of January, which is unprecedented as far back as records have been kept. And statewide, January was the driest one on record since 1895.
Per Famiglietti:
Right now the state has only about one year of water supply left in its reservoirs, and our strategic backup supply, groundwater, is rapidly disappearing. California has no contingency plan for a persistent drought like this one (let alone a 20-plus-year mega-drought), except, apparently, staying in emergency mode and praying for rain.
In short, we have no paddle to navigate this crisis.
###
Sounds pretty serious to me. Most of us are still taking access to clean water for granted. As for me, I'm watching every drop I use and try to remind others to do the same. I write a monthly newsletter for my condominium where I include reminders about saving water. Let's all do our part before it's too late.
Read More: http://sfist.com/2015/03/13/california_has_one_year_of_water_le.php
No comments:
Post a Comment