Essay On California Drought

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.

The California Drought is one of the most catastrophic weather and climate related events in recent history. It has singlehandedly altered the geographic landscape of the state and brought down entire industries to a grinding halt. Not since global warming became a prominent fixture in the national spotlight has a climate issue so deeply challenged Californians to reconsider their lifestyles according to their climate conditions. This essay will examine the origins of climate change and the California Drought, how the two are related, the current state of California as a result of the drought, and the future outlook of California.

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):

After more than five years of drought in California, we are just now beginning to see an above-average precipitation,and this is leaving many to ask, "is the drought over?" This last drought was one of the worsts droughts California has experienced in history and it left many panicked and trying to come up with solutions. “Governor Jerry Brown even made one of the first cutback to farmers ' water rights since 1977, and ordered cities and towns to cut water use by as much as 36 percent ” (Zamora,et al..) Overall California has 39 million residents and on top of that California also grows an unbelievable amount of

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.

Another one of the many problems that the severe water drought caused was it has a big impact on farmers, families,business, and many other people in the Sacramento area. In “Addressing California’s Droughts” it states that the harsh drought has been hurting a lot of Sacramento families, farmers, and small business that don’t do so well because of the drought which affects their business majorly (Addressing California’s Droughts).The CBS News explain that the State Department of Water Resources Director Mark Cowin says “there simply is not enough water in the system to meet the needs of the farmers” (Facing Drought,California Will Not Allow Water To The Farmers, Cities). It is also said that without the water on the surface the farmers have to pump water from underground aquifers (Facing Drought,California Will Not Allow Water To The Farmers,Cities). This happens to alter the farmers and their business because without the water for their crops they end up not having any business because they don’t have any crops grown to

In the article “Richard Goode: California drought crisis is everyone’s fault,” Richard Goode (2015), states that California does not have enough water to provide and everyone is responsible for it. California’s water problem has been an ongoing situation for years. Hydrologists have predicted and advised us about the water deficit in California, but everyone chose to ignore it. California has been pumping its water straight from the aquifer for years and now it is becoming dry. An enormous amount of water is being pumped each year which causes the water table to go low. When the water table is low, wells go dry and people are left without water. Richard Goode mentions, that California will be in a drought until we are able to receive the same amount of groundwater that we withdraw. However, we might be too late.

Californians have been struggling with trying to conserve our water for over three years. Twenty-Thirteen was our driest year in many populated areas in California, and it doesn't seem to be changing any time soon, unless we all act now. In twenty-thirteen, Los Angeles and Sacramento, went down on record as the driest two cities in California. A drought is when area of land scarcely drop rain. Droughts are caused from climate changes and lack of precipitation, resulting in a shortage of water. Water is vital for all living things and is the essential component of all life. This ongoing drought has drastically affected the state of California. The long-term change in climate is truly affecting California. Our water reservations are lower than

The California drought is actually part of a much bigger water crisis that spreads throughout the entire world but is mostly focused on California. This is due to climate change in many ways and affects many things, but it especially affects the food production

The drought has a profound effect on California's weather, economy, and health. Unlike other natural disasters, droughts are a chronic issue that take place over several years and have a gradual impact (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). The duration and severity of the drought on affected areas have quite a few negative consequences to humans and other living beings (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,, 2010). Temperatures rising due to climate change prolongs droughts, which worsens air quality (Climate Change Threatens ….n.d.). A vicious cycle has started where we are creating more pollutants through various activities in everyday life; the environment

California has been in a drought for about 4 years now and it has been considered the most severe drought in the last 15 years. The California drought has been causing multiple ongoing problems for the last few years. The state of California has tried to take actions toward ending the drought, but the efforts put forth are clearly not enough to end this drought. The main focus in ending the drought has been water conservation, but many California resident are taking the seriousness of the drought too lightly. The drought has already caused several problems, for example water shortages, dying crops, and wildfires all across the state. If serious actions towards ending the drought are not taken soon, California will continue to surface or may get worse. There are a few ideas underway to try and end the drought in California such as, desalination, wastewater recycling, ground water digging, and the main focus water conservation. All of the solutions to ending the drought will cost a good amount of money, so the fact of the matter is which idea would be most efficient and less costly.

The historic drought of California has been and still is one of the greatest problems California faces. It has lasted a whopping three years already. The drought started in early January and it shows no sign of ending anytime soon. This drought has farmers and many citizens being driven up walls because of the soaring water prices. This problem will only grow worse and should become a national concern or the whole nation will be in distress.

It seems that climate change may be partly responsible for California’s crippling drought. A new study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters , found that global warming, caused by human emissions, has intensified the drought during the period between 2012 and 2014 by 8 to 27 percent. The study also suggests an increased likelihood of future droughts due to climate change, posing a serious threat to California’s farming and agricultural industries.

California has for many years being battling with drought. Drought can be defined as a prolonged period of rainfall below normal, extended decrease of groundwater, or the stunting of vegetation growth due to a lack of water. In the past four decades, California has weathered many droughts. These ranged from a short, severe drought from 1976–77 to a prolonged six-year drought in 1987–92. The latest drought began in 2012, and it includes the driest three-year stretch in 120 years of recordkeeping. This drought has been more widespread than most, covering the entire state. The year 2014 was also the hottest on record, which made conditions even drier (Jeffery, Ellen, et al. 2015).

In addition to its large population, California faces many forest fires due to its semi-arid and desert landscape. These forest fires are prevalent in Southern California, and not only does it take a toll on the water supply, but also the environment as animals lose their homes, and smoke worsens the air quality. Southern California not only has more wildfires than Northern California it also experiences more severe drought versus its northern counterpart. Meteorologist has reported that 75 percent of annual rainfall occurs in Northern California, but 75 percent of water usage happens in Southern California. The northern region on averages receives around 20 to 60 inches of precipitation while the southern region receives an average of 10 to 20 inches. The majority of the precipitation the state receives will go into the drainage storage of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. (Herzog) Although droughts are part of California’s history there are precautions and measures that can be taken to decrease the severity of the current drought and for future years to come.