California: Drought

NASA images show California's drought deepening

Author: Doyle Rice, USA Today

5-Oct-2014

All of California is in a historic drought, and images taken from a NASA satellite show the dramatic decrease in the state's water storage since 2002.

The three images were taken in June 2002, June 2008 and June 2014. Orange and red colors represent greater water loss.

As of Thursday, 100% of the state of California was in a drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. More than 58% is in "exceptional" drought, the worst level.

Regulations restricting outdoor water use were put in place in late July for the entire state. People aren't allowed to hose down driveways or sidewalks, nor are they allowed to water lawns and landscapes (if there is excess runoff). There are reports of wells running dry in central California.

About 1,000 more wildfires than usual have charred the state, including some unusual ones in the spring.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2014/10/04/california-drought-nasa-satellite-images/16675981/

My Thoughts: It's shocking how a resource that we need in order to live is slowly diminishing in California. That's actually rather terrifying when you think about the severity of this issue as a whole. Droughts don't just affect natural habitats, they affect the climate, human consumption, recreational activities, etc. I'm not really sure what the answer is for California. Sometimes things just have to get worse in order to get better. Not abusing the natural resources wll most definitely contribute positively to the drought.