California Drought

            In my first year at Hamilton, I constantly babbled to my friends about how much I love my home state, California, but last May, I returned home to a disappointingly dry and brown landscape. Some of my favorite activities at home are hiking, hanging out by the glistening, deep blue reservoir and camping in some of the nation’s most beautiful parks. These are just a few of the memorable outdoor experiences I speak longingly of when I’m at school. My friends and family and I have been hiking and enjoying the beauty and warmth of Northern California for just over two decades and are discouraged that so much of what we love is being dangerously affected by the severe, five year drought we’re currently experiencing. Additionally, especially warm days no longer strike the same sense of adventure and excitement; rather they induce a fear for the future of our beloved environment… and home! The measures that residents of California are taking to decrease water consumption highlight the severity of the problem, yet statistics cry that even these measures aren’t enough to save our state from the extremity of the drought. Experiencing the drought first-hand has given me a new perspective on the role of the individual in mass conservation efforts.

            Last year, California governor Jerry Brown required hundreds of cities and water agencies throughout the state to decrease water usage by 25 percent. Californians came close at 23.9 by this past February. While this initially seems to be a step of promising progress, we’re beginning to see that outside factors affect how regulations should be carried out. For example, El Nino soaked Northern California this past winter and certain reservoirs are actually overflowing although the state at whole is still drought-stricken. Regional requirements will now be implemented to address current weather and drought concerns in independent areas of the state. However, it’s important to note that despite the intensity of El Nino, the rain and snowfall only just brimmed a nearly average rate and did not diminish California’s state of drought. Clearly, officials and locals alike are still struggling with how to handle, and ultimately help the problem. It’s a huge problem that has subsequently had an effect on employment and more generally, typical ways of life for Californians. It points to how important it is that all Californians play their part in addressing the issue. More importantly, everyone should be involved in and concerned for the effects of a warming climate not only in California, but also all over the world.

            Interestingly, I think I actually benefitted from missing out on the time that we first started to see the effects of the drought. I returned home from London, and then my first spring at Hamilton, expecting to find things as they have always been. Instead I saw fields of dry, dead grass and lawns being pulled out and replaced with faux grass, or turf, to help decrease water consumption. My family and I collect shower water runoff in a bucket and use it to water plants, and have shortened our shower, dishwashing and even hand-washing time. We successfully decreased our consumption by 25 percent. The role of each individual family’s participation in addressing the problem is the first step to reducing regional consumption, and subsequently state consumption. Temperatures are creeping up, and its our (ALL of our) job to help bring them back down.

"Things to Know: The Next Step in California's Drought." The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 Apr. 2016. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.