The Drought In California

The Drought In California

People living in California are aware of the current drought, however they do not fully realize how grim it actually is. Everywhere is being effected even in colder areas like San Francisco. According to the official United States Drought monitor, about 70 percent of the state are in extreme drought, with most of central California being in the worst condition. (National Drought Mitigation Center). This has an effect on both the people and the environment. Citizens will have to try to limit their water usage from daily tasks, farmers will have to think of ways in order to grow crops without consuming too much water, and the entire state will spend billions on innovative programs in order to improve the current

Analysis from the California and Nevada Climate Application Program or CNAP shows that the drought was primarily caused by the lack of precipitation. California mostly relies on the snow being stored in Sierra Nevada, however, the snow is now melting because of increasing temperatures. The second cause is the water vapor route changing. Normally, water from the Pacific Ocean evaporates into vapor and the wind carries it across California. However, in 2013, it appears that global warming has been enhancing atmospheric pressure to cause the vapor to split. Now the vapors either travel to Northern or Southern California (CNAP). Moreover, current projects are trying to either increase water resources or prevent them from drying up. But why try to reinvent the wheel when it already works. In other words, rather than trying to promote new ideas, the government should look into places that have dealt with droughts before. Australia would be the best place to use as a model for California’s drought because there are many techniques that can be learned from

Similar to the tax increase on tobacco products, this can bring two advantages. First off, it will prevent additional water consumption. The result is that people will most likely become more cautious of usage and more ambitious to prevent overuse. For instance, they might have further motivation to practice activities like fixing leaks and shorter showers. Secondly, the increase in price can create more revenue for the state. This increase in revenue can help fund more projects that can help preservation. These projects include water recycling and stormwater capture (Mount). Although groundwater can be another way to increase water in the drought, it is not the best.

The fifth technique is that California needs to start managing their groundwater better. Groundwater is a valuable resource in terms of drought because it allows further access to more water. However, there is now evidence of overuse for groundwater, especially in areas like southern Central Valley (Mount). The consequences of is that it depleting a crucial source and reducing the value of