California is in its fourth year of what has become one of the most severe droughts in the history of the state and now the LA Times reports in an editorial piece published last week that a NASA scientist is warning that the state has roughly one year of water left.
The editorial quoted Jay Famiglietti, a senior water cycle scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), as having said that the state “has no contingency plan for a persistent drought” such as the one they’re currently experiencing. He mockingly suggests that there is one exception to the state’s lack of a plan, which is to stay “in emergency mode” and pray for rain.
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.
Data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration indicates that California’s water shortage has been in a steady decline since at least 2002, prior to the onset of the latest drought.
The Guardian reports that Famiglietti has called for specific measures to combat the crisis which include the expedited implementation of a law requiring sustainable groundwater, mandatory water rationing and a state task force to oversee the solutions both long-term and immediate.
According to the report on The Guardian, in a poll, 34 percent of California voters supported a policy of mandatory rationing while 94 percent agreed that the drought is a “serious” matter to take into consideration. The majority, 61 percent, were in favor of voluntary reductions as opposed to mandatory ones.
In other coverage here on Immortal News, both Lake Mead as well as Lake Mohave have experienced algae plumes which the National Park Service is warning swimmers to stay away from due to the presence of a bacterial toxin called microcystin.
How do you think Californians should tackle their water shortage?
