Water

California depicted by the US Drought Monitor - White means not in a Drought

A lot is being said right now about the state of water in California. Talking about the drought is good, but it's not enough. California is desperately thirsty right now, and too much of our potable water is being wasted on roadways, sidewalks, and lawns; down drains; and to grow crops that are, frankly, too water-reliant to be grown in a drought-stricken region.

Individually, there is a lot we can do to help. Not running the sink while brushing your teeth or lathering your hands is a good start. Changing to drought-resistant landscaping is best, but following the new regulations for watering is not just mandatory, it's beneficial. You can also visit one of the many sites online with tips, like this one and this one.

Kristen Bell issued the #WipeForWater campaign with Neutrogena and The Nature Conservancy, and I have joined in. (Instead of washing my face with water and face wash twice-a-day every day, I'm using the Neutrogena Naturals towelettes.) In 7 days, I will have saved around 35 gallons of water. I shudder to think how much water I have been wasting waiting for the water to get warm enough to put on my face!

While there are many ways the average citizen can help reduce their H2O footprint, even if everyone in the state did follow all of these, there would still be a problem. Water isn't falling from the sky, but the population keeps increasing. In what makes little sense to anyone not benefitting from the process, California continues building homes, and not just in small amounts. Here in San Diego, I am aware of at least four housing projects that are bringing hundreds (yes hundreds each!) of new homes or condos to the area.

California's population has doubled since 1960. Southern California's rivers are already cemented in order to control where the water goes. And for the greater part of the year, these cement rivers could be considered streams...at best. Northern Californians like to complain about furnishing Southern California with water, especially during these more drastic drought conditions, but the fact is, the majority of Californians live far below the dividing line. In fact, if you only count San Diego, Imperial, Orange, Riverside, LA, and San Bernardino counties (that's the six southernmost counties, which you can see on the map above isn't even close to half of the state), the population is 21,146,632. Out of 38,802,500. The ecosystem wasn't designed for 40 million humans. And projections for 2050 show population growth going up over 50 million.

As great as it can be for an economy to have population growth, California has outgrown its sustainability. So, feel free to come visit, we have a wonderful state, but, please, do us a favor and don't stick around.

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