In talking with someone from California I was surprised to hear no worries about water. Oh, we got some snow. Oh, we got some water. It's all ok. So, it looks like lotus tastes just the same in California as it ever did because the snowpack has not changed. Here's a report from the California Department of Water Resources as of February 7: Snow Water Equivalents (inches)
Since the last article, Living in California or How to Make Tea with Sand, I've also spoken with someone who was well-placed in the California Department of Water Resources. He estimates the situation as extremely critical and said some of the reasons he left California for Oregon were the inept way the problems were being handled and the reluctance to do anything substantive.
There was some question with a friend as to whether 'ostrichism' really is a word and spellcheckers will sometimes reject it but the word does, in fact, mean the tendency to stick your head in the sand. Due to rampaging OCD; I did try to find the origin of the word but had no luck. Nevertheless, it is real and couldn't be more perfectly matched to the situation in California. New Mexico is pretty much a desert and the only thing preventing California from getting that way is the Colorado River ... which is now running dry.
It's true that California benefits from the Sierra Nevada mountains in much the same way as the East coast of Australia benefits from mountains close to it. The clouds hit the mountains and that makes rain and the crops grow cheerfully. That's all peachy so long as the clouds make enough rain but they don't come close to making enough to support the irrigation requirements of the state.
Doom and gloom crap is tedious and it's pointless if there's nothing you can do about it. The frustration is seeing that obviously we can and yet it doesn't happen. When a dipshit desert craphole like Dubai has got more advanced desalination technology than is in-place in the U.S. why would you not scratch your head and ask why.
I'm not interested in the economics, the deficits or any of a million financial red herrings that can be thrown. The U.S. always justifies whatever the hell it wants to do so the only conclusion remaining is that it just doesn't want to do it.
That the financial aspect is irrelevant is demonstrated by a trillion spent in Iraq when the U.S. economy was headed down the toilet and probably another trillion spent in Afghanistan when the U.S. economy was already in the toilet. The result was that the stock market is now higher than it's ever been and all the suburbanites are dancing around a May pole rejoicing at the flower petals flying through the air.
So if it costs a trillion to put desalination plants in California which will specifically benefit the entire nation then why is it suddenly a Big Fucking Deal. I don't know if it would cost a trillion and I imagine it would be quite a bit less but why would you not do this as an obvious response to an obvious problem.
It's easy to see the ostrichism in California but people are less willing to accept that it is all over the country.
Since the last article, Living in California or How to Make Tea with Sand, I've also spoken with someone who was well-placed in the California Department of Water Resources. He estimates the situation as extremely critical and said some of the reasons he left California for Oregon were the inept way the problems were being handled and the reluctance to do anything substantive.
There was some question with a friend as to whether 'ostrichism' really is a word and spellcheckers will sometimes reject it but the word does, in fact, mean the tendency to stick your head in the sand. Due to rampaging OCD; I did try to find the origin of the word but had no luck. Nevertheless, it is real and couldn't be more perfectly matched to the situation in California. New Mexico is pretty much a desert and the only thing preventing California from getting that way is the Colorado River ... which is now running dry.
It's true that California benefits from the Sierra Nevada mountains in much the same way as the East coast of Australia benefits from mountains close to it. The clouds hit the mountains and that makes rain and the crops grow cheerfully. That's all peachy so long as the clouds make enough rain but they don't come close to making enough to support the irrigation requirements of the state.
Doom and gloom crap is tedious and it's pointless if there's nothing you can do about it. The frustration is seeing that obviously we can and yet it doesn't happen. When a dipshit desert craphole like Dubai has got more advanced desalination technology than is in-place in the U.S. why would you not scratch your head and ask why.
I'm not interested in the economics, the deficits or any of a million financial red herrings that can be thrown. The U.S. always justifies whatever the hell it wants to do so the only conclusion remaining is that it just doesn't want to do it.
That the financial aspect is irrelevant is demonstrated by a trillion spent in Iraq when the U.S. economy was headed down the toilet and probably another trillion spent in Afghanistan when the U.S. economy was already in the toilet. The result was that the stock market is now higher than it's ever been and all the suburbanites are dancing around a May pole rejoicing at the flower petals flying through the air.
So if it costs a trillion to put desalination plants in California which will specifically benefit the entire nation then why is it suddenly a Big Fucking Deal. I don't know if it would cost a trillion and I imagine it would be quite a bit less but why would you not do this as an obvious response to an obvious problem.
It's easy to see the ostrichism in California but people are less willing to accept that it is all over the country.
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