Living with Drought

On our Thanksgiving trip to Southern California, driving down Interstate 5 in the Central Valley, I was dismayed to see so much rich farmland laying fallow, or with dead and dying orchards. I have been following the drought on National Public Radio, so know our farmers are struggling with water rationing and expensive water. But it hit home to see the dry fields and swirling dust devils, and read the political signs along the side of the road: “Congress Created Dust Bowl”; “No Water, No Jobs”; “Food Grows Where Water Flows”. The Central Valley of California has some of the most fertile land in the world – and it is going to waste!



Dry field in the Central Valley

 

I realize the water issue is complex. I have been listening to arguments from all sides, and trying to understand the issues. Is it practical to transport the scarce water resource to cultivate this land? Is it conscionable to leave it fallow, while famine exists in the world? What about the green lawns in Southern California, while our lawns are brown in Northern California? How does our yearning to restore the inland wetlands and marshes, which once teamed with migrating birds, factor in? Is our current method of doling out water equitable? Are individual water rights from the 1800s just and pragmatic in a world with over 7 billion people and growing exponentially? Will Proposition 1, the water bond that passed in last fall’s election, help California? Or end up benefiting only a few? With so much at stake, should this issue be looked at from a higher level, rather than at the individual level?

Irrigated field, just a few miles away

 

I’m afraid Eden By The Bay is not equipped to tackle all facets of this complex issue. But over the year, I’m hoping to unpack a little bit of it, and come up with some ideas and practices to help the home gardener live with drought. Collectively we might be able to make a small difference, just by changing some of our gardening attitudes and habits. As for the larger issues, stay informed and speak up!