Saturday, June 07, 2008

Dry State

As a native Californian, I've been hearing all of life that LA and the rest of Southern Cal was built from a desert and eventually this desert would take it back again. Of course, everyone thought this desert reconquista would happen in some distant, apocalyptic future, certainly not in our lifetimes. That's why I'm surprised to read that the state is blocking new development projects until the developers find their own water sources that will last 20 years.

If you don't live in California, you might think this is a rather obvious move -- no building until you know where the water for the project is going to come from. But in California, where development is KING, it's mostly been done the other way around: build, then find the water. (See the movie Chinatown, about the California Water Wars, as one obvious example.)

So is this just another one of California's infamous droughts, or is California's natural ecosystem finally starting to take the land back?

It doesn't look good: “We have bad hydrology, compromised infrastructure and our management tools are broken,” said Timothy Quinn, the executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. “All that paints a fairly grim picture for Californians trying to manage water in the 21st century.”

This isn't great news for the California economy...especially for those like my brother who has a business in the housing industry. But I'm thinking if it wasn't a water shortage, then the gas prices would be slowing down development anyway. Can anyone still afford to commute to work in the city from some new house on the desert edge of suburbia? Time to be creative and think of some new ways of living. As long as it involves lots of new cabinetry made by my brother!

2 comments:

  1. Well, I'm just thinking this might all be good news for people like Thelma. (I don't think Santa Cruz has gotten the word, building here is rabid.)

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  2. With the high cost of gas, in our area all I see for sale on the roadside is SUVs and trucks. Everyone I know in construction in so cal is hurting. Times are tough and people are not able to sell their homes here ,selling them for dirt cheap or losing them. Speaking of your brother, I just ran into him at Serrano for the first time in years. We were both signing up our sons for good old Serrano freshman football! I cant wait to see the roster and how many players will be other alumni offspring. Anyway, it was very cool to see him and for us to meet each others kids. Peace!

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