Drought - Page 8

Select farmers in the Sacramento and San Joaquin River Delta have offered to give up one quarter of their allotted water supply this year to help California combat its devastating four-year-long drought. The farmers, who hold senior water rights to

California’s four-year-long drought is forcing cities across the state to make tough choices about water conservation. Now, one city will be forced to make its toughest choice yet: cleaner air, or more drinkable water?

With all the upbeat predictions, it might be easy for Californians to think the four-year-long drought is finally coming to an end. But Bob Yamada, water resources manager at the San Diego County Water Authority, says Californians should keep the champagne corked, at least in the short term.

CORONADO — When Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina called California’s drought “man-made” earlier this year, blaming mismanagement by the state’s liberal politicians, Democrats mocked her. The Washington Post’s fact-checker even gave her two “Pinocchios” for the claim. However, on Sunday the New York Times appeared to agree that the drought is man-made, at least in its impacts–and blamed former Gov. Pat Brown, father of current Gov. Jerry Brown.

“Dam [thumbs up]… Train [thumbs down]… Governor, put our water before your train,” reads a billboard message erected by Fresno City Councilman Steve Brandau, revealed this week in California’s Central Valley.

Despite the drought, Californians built the most backyard swimming pools since 2007 last year–and this year, the pace is outstripping 2014, according to industry tracking firm Construction Monitor. In 2014, over 11,000 residential swimming pools were built or rebuilt; this year’s pace will carry that number over 13,000.

In Sacramento, one man has an idea of how to keep lawns green during the drought, and he’s selling that idea to those wanting to restore their verdant lawns; paint the grass green.

On Saturday, the drought-stricken, water-restricted rural community of King City, California celebrated the restoration of a huge water slide, paid for by money raised by the community. The slide was retrofitted without using any city funds.

In an official statement, Starbucks has announced that it will stop bottling water in drought-stricken California and will move production–and jobs–to Pennsylvania to produce the Ethos brand of water that it sells in thousands of coffee shops.

On Saturday, in spite of a crushing California drought, the Waterworld water park in Concord opened for its 20th season, fending off criticism of its water use by citing a new machine called The Defender, which is a regenerative media filter. The Defender will recycle the pool water in the park so that the park will use no more than the one million gallons with which it starts the season, officials claim.

With Lake Mead at record lows, Arizona is preparing to implement water rationing plans that have been in place in since the 1990s — the largest cuts will impact farming in the state.

California Gov. Jerry Brown had some sharp words for environmentalist critics of his proposed Sacramento River water tunnels. On Wednesday, Brown told critics of his $15 billion plan to “shut up, because you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” according to the AP.

The California State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve new water regulations mandating a 25% reduction in statewide water use.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times published an op-ed by environmental activist Middlebury College professor Bill McKibben in which he attacks California Governor Jerry Brown’s support for fracking, calling fracking during a drought an “obscenity” because of its use of water.

The prices of California’s water and sewer bonds are beginning to take a nose-dive after Governor Jerry Brown issued the first-ever mandatory statewide cut-backs to water use.

Historic mandatory water use reductions in California are spawning a new campaign from the nation’s largest faux lawn distributor.

The community of Outingdale in El Dorado County, California is in the middle of a Stage 4 water emergency, as the state enters an expectedly dry summer amidst the devastating four-year drought. Despite sitting on the banks of the Cosumnes

BEVERLY HILLS, California — Governor Jerry Brown and Sen. President Pro Tempore Kevin De Leon participated in a lunch time panel discussion at the Milken Global Conference on Wednesday where climate change and the drought took center stage. Thousands were

California’s drought has hit the Hollywood enclave of Beverly Hills particularly hard.

California Democrats in the State Assembly’s Natural Resources and Transportation committees voted down a trio of bills on Monday designed to prioritize water storage and recycling projects amidst the state’s devastating four-year drought.

California’s Central Valley has long been disproportionately affected by the state’s severe drought.

The liberal California Legislature, having worsened the drought crisis by refusing to build water infrastructure, now is demanding the “opportunity” to expropriate historic water rights.

In an interview with National Geographic, President Obama stressed the importance of California’s conservation efforts amid a fourth year of drought, laid out his expectations for this year’s climate conference in Paris, and reiterated America’s commitment to a “low-carbon future.”

The U.S. Supreme Court held oral arguments on April 22 regarding the constitutionality of a federal law that requires raisin farmers to transfer a portion of any raisin crop surplus to the federal government at a severe discount, or pay a fine. The law was passed during the Great Depression as a “New Deal” for agriculture to keep prices up. But the farmers call the law an “illegal taking” under the Fifth Amendment–and they appeared to have a very good day in Court, according to the SCOTUSblog.

Star Trek actor William Shatner wants to boldly go where no man has gone before: To the rain-soaked city of Seattle for a potential solution to California’s devastating drought.

For some in California, April 20th marks the 35th anniversary of Earth Day, a day to celebrate the environment and raise ecological awareness. For others. 4/20 is simply a day to get high on pot. The date–which is said to originate from a tradition among high school students in San Rafael of smoking marijuana at 4:20 in the afternoon– marks an unofficial day of appreciation for all things marijuana- and hemp-related–and a day of activism for legalization of the drug.

California’s State Water Resources Control Board on Saturday unveiled the latest outline for the implementation of water cutbacks across the Golden State. The Board said the new rules would better take into account factors that the previous outline had not addressed.

Desalinization has emerged as an answer to the state’s chronic water shortages. As the Orange County Register notes, desalinization would provide a near-infinite supply of water at only twice the price. The main objection of environmentalists is that desalinization uses up to 50% more electricity, meaning more fossil fuels might be burned to make water, setting back efforts to fight climate change. It is an objection that is looking less and less serious.

There has been lots of hubbub in the last two weeks about California’s economy drying up and blowing away like sagebrush after four years of drought. But the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), which provides budget advice to state lawmakers, announced that “We currently do not expect the drought to have a significant effect” on the state’s budget or overall economy. The reason: agriculture is only a small piece of the economy.

Southern Californians on notice of Governor Brown’s unprecedented 25% water reduction mandate now face 15% water delivery cutbacks. Rate hikes have been suggested as a possible, although heavy handed, measure.

San Diego farmers are calling a foul on Governor Jerry Brown’s new and unprecedented 25% mandatory water regulations, accusing the governor of favoring Central Valley farmers with exemptions and pressing for similar allowances for other California farming regions, including those in San Diego County.

It’s only getting worse. As a fifth year of crippling droughts dries California up, leaders at local and state levels have been seeking a host of ways to combat the absence of water, the most basic necessity. While desalinization and using recycled waste water are drawing more interest, liberal media outlets have suggested that going vegetarian could be a viable, long-term option.

Despite the severe drought plaguing the state of California, the city of Manteca, roughly 75 miles east of San Francisco in the state’s parched Central Valley, has plans to build a giant water park.

California Governor Jerry Brown has received support from an unusual source as he defends the state’s farmers from the charge that they overuse water. The Wall Street Journal editorial page defended California’s farmers in a weekend editorial that takes both liberals and conservatives to task for using agriculture as a “scapegoat.” Brown, meanwhile, visited with farmers north of Sacramento this weekend in a show of solidarity with farmers against accusations of water-wasting.

On April 9, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officially declared a strong El Niño advisory reflecting substantially above-average surface sea temperatures forming across the equatorial Pacific. This means that there is a 60 to 70 percent probability that America could experience a monster winter like the El Niño that hit in 1997-1998, causing torrential rains in the Southeast, ice storms in the Northeast, tornadoes in Florida, and mass flooding in California.

San Diego residents will feel the squeeze to comply with government mandated water restrictions under new declarations from the city’s Mayor Kevin Faulconer and councilmembers who joined California Governor Jerry Brown’s unprecedented decree to reduce water usage 25% statewide.