California's Water Crisis. Why?

[Godiva]

They can't move here if there's no place to live.

That's why I say stop building new developments and tear down the foreclosures.

[Testm0nkey]

Texas is having issues with all the Californians flooding out of the state and coming here (and some people say bringing california problems with them).

I lived in Colorado when locals got up in arms about the same thing

Stay where you are just work at finding a solution! =)

[Godiva]

It's those out of state immigrants driving the Californians out.

Maybe we should secede and then tighten up our policies. No more transplanted midwesterners or New Englanders looking for sunshine and mild weather.

Tell everyone about the earthquakes!

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by Godiva

They can't move here if there's no place to live.

That's why I say stop building new developments and tear down the foreclosures.

Boulder, Colo., well-known in Colorado as the Peoples Republic of Boulder, tried that some decades ago. Put a legal fence around the town and environs, wouldn't allow newcomers, period. The economy turned so sour the city had to revoke that. Colorado Springs, much more conservative, tried a similar tack by not allowing new natural gas taps. Economy busted so badly it barely returned to a healthy state. So go ahead and push fencing off a town or a state. But don't complain when businesses pull up stakes and you can't get parts for your Cool Black Prius or have to pay double or triple for them because there's no competition, or the only food you can find is grown in the valley because the state won't allow imports.

[pdoege]

Desalination plants require power, power requires cooling stacks, cooling stacks require water. So there is a bit of cycle there. California has had power issues in the past.

If you come to rely on a desalinization plant , and you can't power it, then things are going to get really bad.

It might be better to just conserve in the first place.

Peter

[FL_Prius_Driver]

Originally Posted by hyo silver

I've heard there are places with abundant rainfall and little snow, green all year round...but then again, it's probably easier to import water than sunshine.

Let's face it. If Florida can take it's very generous water resources and waste those to a point of having to install a desal plant, then anywhere can be overexploited (and is).

Sad but true.....only economic solutions have a hope of working with the present US population.

[Dave_PH]

Originally Posted by Godiva

This is why I won't live in a "community". I will not have a homeowner's association dictating my life down to what color curtains I can hang in my window.

I'm sure everyone remembers the devastating fires we had in California a few years back. Some of the homes that were lost had cedar shingle roofs. The owners had tried for years to get permission from the homeowner's association to replace them with a more fire-retardant material and were consistently denied. I think they ended up sueing the association after the fires. Don't know how far they got. But after that they were allowed to rebuild using any material they deemed necessary to reduce the chance of the home burning down.

No one mentioned swimming pools. Now I know with a pump you can use a swimming pool to fight fires. But how much water does a swimming pool use? I know it recirculates. But you probably have to add water every now and then. What uses more water? A lawn or a pool?

If you're going to outlaw lawns, why not outlaw pools?

I never have to add water to my pool. Ocassionally I have to take some out after a storm.

You can have my pool water when you pry it from my moist dead fingers.

[Dave_PH]

Starbucks. They use way too much water. Let's outlaw them.

[Dave_PH]

And pets. They drink water. Let's outlaw cats and dogs. Fish, gotta go.

[F8L]

Originally Posted by FL_Prius_Driver

Sad but true.....only economic solutions have a hope of working with the present US population.

Thank you for providing serious responses to this thread.

I believe you are right but this must be in combination with careful regulation. People responding out of rediclous concerns for their "rights to own a pool" will be hit with an economic hammer if they choose to pursue such ventures. No one has to outlaw a pool or lavish landscaping. Just make it not economicaly viable for the majority of the population by forcing them to pay the true costs of water. if farmers, ranchers, and industry must pay a higher price for water (under new regulation) then so should the moron who feels it is his right to water the street. Prices for goods will rise in response to water pricing and I do not feel it is ethical to allow selfish folk to waste water when everyone else must bear the economic reprocussions of someone elses wasteful lifestyle. This same arguement can be used for many things in life like emissions output as well but that is for another thread. In the end, you should be forced to pay for the damage you cause but since this country is more concerned with rights and non-accountability I doubt we will reach that point.

This form of economic stimulous also shifts the market towards more sustainable pathways.