El Niño: Coastal Areas In Los Angeles

Most of us consider drought as a period of dry and hot weather with too little or no rain, and while any or all of these conditions might be existent during drought, the definition of drought is more complex and subtle. According to the United States Geological Survey, California Water Science Center (as cited in Congressional Digest, 2015, p. 2):

I.) Water and Drought in California: Facts and data show that the weather we are experiencing here in California is that there is a difference between La Niña that brings the ocean temperature down and making them cooler and El Niño brings much warmer ocean temperatures. Currently california is experiencing a weakened La Niña. With a 55% chance of this weather continuing for the next 3 months. La Niña affect patterns of rainfall, atmospheric pressure, and global atmospheric circulation. Even though California is in a severe drought, with coordination, modernization, and compromise, California should be able to provide enough water for a growing population and growing economy.

In the other case, if there is more deposition than erosion, then the beaches grow due to more

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, almost 40% of the population lives in high population-dense coastal areas. Around the world, eight of the world’s ten largest cities are situated near a coast, with about 250 million people living by a coast line less than 5 feet above sea level. It is projected that all of these people will be directly affected in some way by seawater rising in the future (Siegert, 2017). For the county of Orleans Parish, the rapid loss of coastal land is not a future scenario, but a current reality. Due to our unique geography, Louisiana loses about 16 square miles a year; the rapid erosion of Louisiana’s cost is only expected to accelerate over time. (Wernick, 2014).

Earthquakes, fires, tornados and many more are part of one branch of disaster and are known the most. Poverty, famine and political upheaving are also disasters. These are known as economic disasters and affect society in many ways. We can then define disaster as being any event, natural or economical, that causes impairment of the natural/urban environment. Many regions of the world face these challenges, and Los Angeles is a part of these. The Ecology of Fear, by Mike Davis, claims that the urbanization of Los Angeles has led to fear of the natural environment. As a result, an “apocalyptic” society was made and is not able to interact with its natural environment.

As it stands today the U.S. coast of the Gulf of Mexico is losing more and more land; the amount of land lost each year may seem relatively small to the average person, but to scientists who understand the unprecedented rate at which this is happening, there is reason to be alarmed. On the U.S. coast of the Gulf of Mexico there are more reasons for the rising sea level than simply global warming and melting ice sheets or ice caps. In the Mississippi delta, for example, the oil industry is taking so much fluid (oil) out of the ground that the land is sinking and compacting further. There is also a decrease in the amount of sediment reaching the delta due to many man-made structures, such as levees, drudging, dikes, and

California is in a drought and has been for the last three years. Southern California especially is affected by the drought that is now become a regular occurrence with no end in sight. With decreased rainfall and a steadily growing population, Southern California residents now have to make an effort to conserve the renewable resource that is water. Everyone uses water and humans, like all mammals, requires water for survival. With increased demand and decreased supply, water companies now charge more for water than ever before. Water companies can also use this as a way to educate the customers who habitually overuse water with the goal of persuading them to conserve the limited resources available. Recycled water is a more sustainable alternative, however even after treating and purifying that water, it would be still unsafe to drink, and even if it were, no one in their right mind would want to pay to drink what is a essentially sewer water.

As a historically semi-arid environment, California has also suffered heavily from several environmental impacts as a result of the current drought conditions. The first of these is on its forests. The US Forest Service estimates that 12 million trees have died in the past year due to drought; this combined with the drying of forest floor material greatly increases the flammability of the landscape. The result of this is the numerous devastating wildfires that have swept through the state throughout 2015, costing not only wildlife and habitat but also human property (CBS News, 2015) (Lustgarten, et al., 2015) (Google, 2015). Aside from wildfires, the drought and associated loss of habitat is said to be having a negative effect on both flora and fauna due to their contribution to the spread of West Nile Virus, whilst also threatening populations of geese, ducks, salmon and Joshua trees (Lustgarten, et al., 2015) (Beaudry, 2015). Finally, with groundwater contributing up to 50% of stream flow in drought, there is a worry that over usage near the coast could result in irreversible salinization through the drawing in of salt water (USGS, 2016) (Kasler & Reese, 2015).

A major problem in Southern California is that Los Angeles experiences very little rain all year, followed by intense downpours that last less than one day (53). Its unreliable rainfall severely hurts the region. In Northern California, mountains such as the Sierra Nevada allow for a huge range in rainfall over a short distance. “…a place on the western slope of the range may receive eighty or so inches of precipitation in a year, while a place on the east slope, fifty miles away, may receive ten inches or less” (58).

Because most greenhouse gases would remain in the atmosphere for a long period of time, the temperature of the earth will be continuously rising. If global heat-trapping emissions proceed at a medium to high rate, temperatures in California are expected to rise 4.7 to 10.5°F by the end of the century1. With the rise of temperature, the climate of California would also be changed. California has large area of forest and farmland, hundreds of miles of coastline, large amount of snowpack, and other natural wonders. And these special treasures of nature are especially at risk2. So it is very necessary to understand the strategies of California to combat climate change.

right now It is having one of the longest droughts ever recorded. This is causing mandatory restrictions of water for people in LA. Primary water sources are disappearing fast for LA. Luckily an el Nino is happening. When an el nino is happening La’s region tends to get more rainfall than normal and because the warm air over the ocean that brings moisture in the air and because of this they are getting a lot more rain than if it wasn’t happening. But even that isn’t helping enough it is very unusual that the amount of rainfall is so low considering it is one of the largest el Nino’s since 1950. Also the el Nino is making La hotter than usual because it brings hot air which heats the ocean which tends to make LA hotter. This isn’t the only thing happening with the weather of Los angeles. Average temperatures in California rose nearly two degrees Fahrenheit during the second half of the 20th century. That is a big change for that little amount of time.

California is currently battling a massive water shortage that is crippling the state. The lack of a rainy season for the last four years is really putting a strain on the local farmers, citizens, and communities. California typically has a Mediterranean type climate where it has a concentrated rainy season for six months and then plunges into high temperatures of dry heat. This has not been the typical pattern the last few years. California has received very little rain and is now searching for ways to conserve and produce water. Scientists believe that there is “blocking ridge” that is caused by high atmospheric pressure that causes disruption of typical wind patterns that blow storms to the California coast. The ridge extends from the subtropical Pacific between California and Hawaii to the coast of Arctic Ocean north of Alaska. California is now looking for ways to conserve water by focusing on water conservation and relandscaping public areas with drought resistant and native plants.

As you are fully aware, California has been in a drought for over four years and the declining water level is a growing issue. A water analysis performed by the City of Fresno clearly reveals that in the past 80 years,

Earth’s atmosphere is surrounded by thin layers of gasses, 78% is made of nitrogen, 21% is made up of oxygen, 0.4% orgon, and 0.03% is made up of carbon dioxide. Wildfires, Earthquakes, Floods, Tsunamis, Landslides and Coastal Changes are natural hazards in different California regions. California is interconnected water systems serves over 30 million people irrigates over 5,680,000 acres of farmland.

Furthermore into detail, many have gone along with the climate change in California. When you look at the drought history, there wasn’t really a long break between the droughts. As mentioned, the last one started 8 years apart. Although California have received more than enough rain, Gov. Brown is going to continue the cutback in water by making the restriction permanent. Water would now only be used for the essential, such as no more watering the sidewalk to clean or no more car wash with hose without the nozzle (Farrington). He, and along other Californians, have realized how often the drought has occurred according to the previous drought