California Drought Prompts Sweeping Water Cutbacks, But Long-Term Climate Plan Puzzling
The effects of climate change are advancing at a pace no one could have anticipated in California, as the state enters its third consecutive summer of a painful drought. Research published in February showed that California’s current drought season is linked to a longer megadrought, which has persisted since 2000.
But the 22-year period, which is the driest in 1,200 years, is fueled by human-caused climate change, according to environmental scientists. As a result, the state is battling relentless wildfire seasons that blot out the sky, forcing some people to keep their windows shut for months and others to become climate refugees.
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For example, to conserve water resources amid dwindling supplies, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California last month ordered unprecedented limits to “nonessential” water use, or any water used for reasons other than public health, marking the most severe cutbacks ever enacted in the state and affecting about 6 million people. “We didn’t expect these results,” Saadat told The Climate 202 when asked about the intensifying weather events Californians face almost every day because of human-caused climate change. “They’re the result of the procrastination of our failures from before,” Saadat said. And, he added, “things will get much worse if we continue to procrastinate.”
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Apart from modest increases in renewable power, the plan relies on carbon capture technology for the elimination of air pollution and restates many of California's existing commitments to slow global warming, which has frustrated many environmentalists who at first saw Newsom’s responses as a turning point. “The plan doesn't accelerate any near-term solutions available today — like wind and solar, or more rapid electrification in our transportation and building sectors,” Saadat said, calling the carbon removal target “wildly unrealistic” and “a failure to the communities who live with fossil fuel infrastructure in their neighborhoods."
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/23/tensions-rise-drought-worsens-heat-surges-across-california/
