A Cautionary Tale

Once You Get Past All the Puns...

This is a TERRIFIC IDEA!

Mayor of Los Angeles found a ballsy way to fight California's unprecedented drought.

California is Sinking...

... and fast! Last summer, scientists recorded the worst sinking in at least 50 years. This summer, all-time records are expected across the state as thousands of miles of land in the Central Valley and elsewhere sink. But the extent of the problem and how much it will cost taxpayers to fix are part of the mystery of the state’s unfolding drought. No agency is tracking the sinking statewide, little public money has been put toward studying it and California allows agriculture businesses to keep crucial parts of their operations secret.

 California is sinking, and it's getting worse. 

By Nathan Halverson at "Reveal" from the Center for Investigative Reporting

Joseph Poland of the U.S. Geological Survey used a utility pole to document where a farmer would have been standing in 1925, 1955 and where Poland was then standing in 1977 after land in the San Joaquin Valley had sunk nearly 30 feet.

Super El Nino Likely

The forecast of a strong El Nino brings good news to California, unfortunately marine life has begun to starve up and down the coast of north America. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) model is forecasting well above normal precipitation for October through December, 2015. There is a good chance heavy winter rains will break the California drought. Downside will be massive landslides and flooding in areas affected by wild fires.

Governor Brown Directs First Ever Statewide Mandatory Water Reductions

Phillips Station, Echo Summit, April 1, 2014.

Phillips Station, Echo Summit, April 1, 2015.

 No snow at Phillips Station (Echo Summit southwest of Lake Tahoe) for the first time in 75 years of early April recorded measurements.

And, no fools, on April 1st, "For the first time in state history, the Governor has directed the State Water Resources Control Board to implement mandatory water reductions in cities and towns across California to reduce water usage by 25 percent. This savings amounts to approximately 1.5 million acre-feet of water over the next nine months, or nearly as much as is currently in Lake Oroville."

Summary of the executive order issued by the Governor.

The US is on track for a record-breaking megadrought

In just a few decades, a huge swath of the US could experience the biggest megadrought that the US has seen in 1,000 years.

Way to go, Pleasanton residents!