Whatistheproblem/issue?

Californiaiscurrentlygoingthroughtheworstdroughtinrecordedhistory.Thisdroughthascost
Californiadearly.Thisdroughtisunfortunatelynotanewthing.Californiahasthemostvariablerainfall
inthenation,withafew
largestormsmakingthe
differencebetweenawet
andadryyear.Asaresult,
severedroughtsarea
regularfeatureofthestates
climate,occurringevery15
to40years.Thecurrent
droughtbeganin2012and
hascoveredtheentirestate.
MostofCaliforniaisadesertwhichmeansthatitisaverydrystateingeneral(JeffreyMount,Ellen
Hanak,CaitrinPhillipsChappelle,BrianGray,PeterMoyle,Barton"BuzzThompson,JayLund,2015).
DuetoCaliforniabeingmostlyadesert,thereareverylittlewaterresources.Californiagetsmostofits
waterfromtheColoradoRiver.TheColoradoRiverismostlyfedbyprecipitationinfarawayplaceslike
Wyoming,UtahandColorado(GlennMacDonald,2015).Adroughtisaseriousproblem.Itcancause
manyproblemsofawidevariety,fromnaturaldisasterslikewildfirestonutrientdeficientdietsduetothe
lackoffreshproduce.NottomentiontheglobalimpactsthatadroughtinCaliforniawouldcause.
Imaginealifewhereyoubarelyhaveenoughwatertodrinkletalonetakingcareofotherbasicnecessities
liketakingshowersandbrushingyourteeth.

Whatiscausingtheissue?

Therearemanyreasons
astowhythisdroughtis
occurring.Droughtsare
duetoweatherpatterns
andwhetherthestate
getsenoughrainfall.
Therearetwomain
reasonsthatcontributeto
thisdrought.Thefirst
andalsomainreasonistheoverconsumptionofwater.Californiansuselotsofwaterinthetimespanofa
year.Itisestimatedthattheaveragehouseholdusesaboutmorethan360gallonsofwaterperday
(MatthewGreen,2015).Thatisatremendousamountofwatertobeusing.Thesecondreasonthat
contributestothisdroughtislackofprecipitation.ThatessentiallymeansthatCaliforniagetsverylittle
rain.Californiahasreceivedveryminimalrainfallaswellassnowfallinthepastfiveyears.Thisproblem
willcontinuebecauseofclimatechange.Addingontothelackofprecipitation,increasedtemperaturesas
wellasincreasedevaporationbroughtonbyclimatechangeonlyaddtotheissueofdrought(Rev.Brooks
Berndt,2015)
Whataretheimpactstotheenvironment?
Californiasdroughthascausedsomeseriousproblems.Oneofthoseproblemshappentobe
dangerousimpactsontheenvironment.Someofthesevereenvironmentaldangersarethingslike
wildfiresaswellasrisingtemperaturesthataffecttheaquaticanimalsthatliveintherivers.Wildfires
havealwaysbeenaprobleminCaliforniainresultofthealreadydryland.

Wildfirespresumablystartbecauseofthedryairanddryplantsaswellasrisingtemperatures.These
typesofsituationscancauseextremefiresthatinanyordinarysituationwouldstillbedifficulttofendoff.
Butnowthatwaterisscarcerithasbeenincreasinglydifficultinfightingthemoff,muchmoresothanit
usedtobe(NationalCenterOfEnvironmentalHealth,2012).Thedroughtisnotonlycausingfiresbut
theyarealsomakinglifeunder
thewaterverydifficult.An
exampleofthiswouldbethe
salmonpopulationinthe
AmericanRiver.Thewaterlevels
havedroppedquiteabit,thisisa
badthingbecauseifthereisnot
enoughwaterthentheeggsthat
werelaidbythesalmonwilldie
intheshallowwater(MaggieCaldwellandChrisJordanBloch,2015).Ifthesalmonspeciesarealready
indeepwatersthenwhatotherspeciescouldbenext?
Whataretheimpactsoftheglobalcommunity?
NotonlydoesCaliforniasdroughtaffect
theenvironmentitaffectstheglobalcommunityas
well.Californiaisthe5thlargestbreadbasketofthe
world.Therearemanytypesofcropsthatgrowin
California,thingsthatdontreallygrowanywhere
else.HereinAmerica,Californiaisthelargest
breadbasketintermsofdollarsofsoldproduce.And
sinceCaliforniaisaverylargebreadbasket,weship

lotsofproduceandcattleoverseas.Unfortunatelythankstothisdroughtproductionhasdropwhich
reverberatesallovertheworld(ElizabethLee,2014).IfCaliforniaisnolongerabletoshipoutproduce
thenitwilllosemoney.ThatisdefinitelysomethingCaliforniacannotdealwithrightnow,especially
sincethisdroughthasbeengoingonforseveralyearsnow.
MiltMcGiffen,afieldcropexpertatthe
UniversityofCalifornia,statesthatEitheryoullfindatechnologicalwayarounditorenoughpeople
willdie,andthepopulationwillcrashanditlltakecareofit.So,incoldhardterms,thatsexactlywhat
yourelookingat.BasicallywhatheissayingisthatCaliforniaeitherfindsawaytofixthisdroughtor
facelossofpopulation.
Whataretheimpactonthelocalcommunity?
Californiaswaterscarcityaffectsmanypeoplesdailylives.Lotsofpeoplehavelosttheirjobs,
andbusinessarelosingmoney(AlexNewman,September15,2015).Thisisnotgood,thatmeansthat
peoplewhohavelosttheirjobshavenowayofmakingmoney,andiftheycantmakemoneythenthey
cantsupporttheirfamilyandthentheywillendupbeggingonthestreets.Duetothis,thehomelessness
rateinCaliforniawillgoupandthe
economywilleventuallycrumble.Some
peopleinCaliforniaarekillingofftheir
lawnsinordertosavemoney,in
restaurantsthewaitersnolongerput
wateronthetablethecustomerhasto
askforit.Thesethingshavebeen
encouragedheavilybyCalifornias
governorJerryBrown(MaggieCaldwell
andChrisJordanBloch,7222015).

BecauseofthisdroughtandcutbackonwaterusagethestateofCaliforniahasturnedintoalandfullof
deadfrontlawns.ThatinitselfshouldshowtheseverityofthisDrought.
Whataretheimpactstopersonalhealth?
Thisdroughtnotonlyaffectstheenvironmentandeconomybuthealthaswell.Adroughtcan
causeunhealthyeatingproblemssincefresh
cropsarenotaseasilyobtainable.Thiscan
leadtopeopleeatingjunkfoodinsteadof
healthyfoods.Ifpeoplestarttoeattoomuch
junkfoodthentheywillbecomeobeseand
morehealthdiseaseswilldisruptpeople's
lives.Anotherwaythisdroughtaffectsour
healthishowpeoplewanttoconservewaterso
theydontwashtheirhandsasoftenasthey
should.Thatleadstothespreadofgermsand
bacteriaandwhatnot(MaggieCaldwellandChrisJordanBloch,7222015).Thisisverybadforthe
humanpopulation,becauseifdiseaseweretospreadevenmorethanitalreadyisthenthatcouldmean
catastrophicconsequences.
Whatarecurrentsolutions?
Someofthecurrentsolutionsfor
Californiasdroughthavebeengivenby
PoliticianslikeGovernorJerryBrownand
U.S.HouseSpeakerJohnBoehnerHave
bothaddressedtheissueofwaterscarcity
anddroughtinCalifornia.JerryBrownhad

announcedCaliforniasfirstevermandatorystatewidewaterrestriction,callingfora25%reductionin
wateruse.JohnBoehnerreferredtothisdroughtasamanmadedroughtandcalledformorefreshwater
tobepumpedfromtheDeltatocorporateagriculture(MaggieCaldwellandChrisJordanBloch,
7222015).Thesearearequitedrasticmeasures.Onlytimewilltellifthesesolutionsthatthese
politicianshavecomeupwithreallywork.
Whatarenewsolutions?
Manysolutionshavebeensuggestedbypoliticiansandenvironmentalists,waystosolvethe
drought.Oneideaforsolvingthedroughtcouldbewaterrationing.Imaginethis,everyhousewouldgeta
certainamountofgallonsperweekdependingonhowmanypeoplethereareinthatsaidhousehold.This
wouldgoonuntilthestatecanfindanewwatersourceoriftheweatherdecidestoblessCaliforniawith
anabundanceofrainfall.Nomatterwhatthesolutionwillbeorhowweendupgettingoutofthisdrought
theroadtorecoveryisgoingtobeadifficultone.Withoutthehelpofthepeopleitwouldbeevenmore
evenmoredifficult.Thisdroughthasbeenpartlybroughtonbywhatpeopledoaswellastheweather.
Californiasdroughthascausedquiteabitofproblemsfortheenvironmentaswellasthepeopleandtheir
lives.WouldyoubewillingtodowhatittakestogetCaliforniabackonitsfeet,waterwise?

References
JeffreyMount,EllenHanak,CaitrinPhillipsChappelle,BrianGray,PeterMoyle,Barton"Buzz
Thompson,JayLund.(March,2015)
PolicyPrioritiesforManagingDrought.

Retrievedfrom
http://www.ppic.org/main/publication_quick.asp?i=1141

GlennMacDonald(15Jun2015)
BeyondthePerfectDrought:CaliforniasRealWaterCrisis
RetrievedFrom

http://e360.yale.edu/feature/beyond_the_perfect_drought_californias_real_water_crisis/2885/

MatthewGreen(April3,2015)
HowMuchWaterDoCaliforniansUseandWhatDoes25PercentLess
LookLike?
Retrievedfrom
http://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/2015/04/03/howmuchwaterdocaliforniansuseandwhatwoulda25pe
rcentreductionlooklike/

Rev.BrooksBerndt(December2,2015)
OverConsumptionakeytoCaliforniasWaterCrisis
Retrievedfrom

http://www.tikkun.org/nextgen/overconsumptionakeytocaliforniaswatercrisis

NationalCenterOfEnvironmentalHealth(July30,2012)
DroughtandHealth
Retrievedfrom

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/drought/

MaggieCaldwellandChrisJordanBloch(July22,2015)
THECALIFORNIADROUGHTWhoGetsThe
WaterAndWho'sHungOutToDry?
Retrievedfrom
http://earthjustice.org/features/thecaliforniadrought?gclid=Cj0KEQiAzai0BRCs2Yydo8yptuIBEiQAN3
_lFsYnt_dDzq4JGUNyX7mImnZMUhMjstS99oWnq2wpX8aAna38P8HAQ

ElizabethLee(January27,2014)
CaliforniaDroughtCouldImpactWorldFoodPrices
Retrievedfrom
http://www.voanews.com/content/californiadroughtcouldimpactworldfoodprices/1838556.html

AlexNewman,(September15,2015)
EXPERTS:CALIFORNIADROUGHT,FIRECRISIS
MANMADE
Retrievedfrom
http://www.wnd.com/2015/09/expertscaliforniadroughtfirecrisismanmade/