When the first forty-niners began to trickle into California in search of gold, the Central Valley was a fertile expanse of grasslands and marshes home to thousands of deer, tule elk, and grizzly bears — an American Serengeti. Within a century, the region radically transformed into a cornucopia of industrial agriculture to feed the state’s […]
Tag: groundwater
The Climate Change We Forgot to Calculate: An Interview With Kristina Hill on Groundwater Rise
In January, after an unusual observation during a routine procedure, West Oakland County officials received a report that a toxic substance may be contaminating the soil below McClymonds High School. McClymonds had been conducting environmental tests on its property where a pool-heating tank had recently been removed, just to be sure that no petroleum leakage […]
California’s Other Water Problem
Carolina Garcia and her family live in a vibrant, close-knit community about a mile outside of Sanger, California. She has fresh fruit trees flourishing in her backyard, chickens and sheep frolicking outside her house, and four beautiful children with another on the way. She seems just like you or any other Californian; except for the […]
California’s Drought: Reviewing the Past, Critiquing the Present, and Preparing for the Future
Written November 21, 2016. As Governor Jerry Brown trekked on a dry, brown meadow nearly 7,000 feet above sea level, something was wrong. The date, April 1st, 2015, seemed appropriate: it was almost like a joke gone wrong; where there had once been a copious amount of snow covering the ground, there was not one […]
California’s Prolonged Drought And Its Effects On Economic Inequality: A Case Study On East Porterville
Though California’s recent El Nino weather pattern has lessened the severity of the drought and quelled concerns about its effects, water rights are still highly correlated with economic inequality, especially in an agriculture-heavy Central Valley. Many policy actions fail to address or include inequality, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s [D-CA] California Drought Relief Act of 2015, […]
California’s Drought: A Trickling Time Bomb
In early March senior NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory water scientist Jay Famiglietti reported that the state of California has approximately a single year’s supply of water in its reservoirs, with backup groundwater supply having rapidly decrease. His LA Times editorial urges an immediate call to action following its startling announcement. “California has about one year of […]
The Fuss About Fracking
If you enjoy drinking clean water and breathing clean air, you should know about fracking. Fracking, formally known as hydraulic fracturing, is the process of pumping water, sand, and chemicals deep underground to break open reservoir rock and allow the oil and natural gas within to escape. Toxic waste, air pollution, public health issues, increased […]