Future shock - Epic drought could strike again, scientists warn

Sac Bee ^ | 12/22/02 | Stuart Leavenworth

[Paulus Invictus]

Marin County (the nation's wealthiest) has the most restrictive controls over growth I've ever seen. They even voted against building new reservoirs just in time for the last drought. My Bro was bathing in a tea cup for two years, then used the "waste" water for his house plants. Toilet flushing more than once a day was frowned upon. Cologne sales skyrocketed Talk about regulating yourselves into a typical CA mess!

[Hot Tabasco]

Relax everyone, the melting polar icecap thread will take care of any moisture impaired climatical conditions we may experience in the near or far future......

The down side to all this is that the Habs will have to trade in their skates for floaties.......

[Amerigomag]

What are you doing on a conservative forum? ... the vision of the anointed leading the hapless drones to a better future by being benevolent.

Hardly.

That vision is what got California into the mess it is in now. California's benevolence has pushed the state to the point of insolvency. That benevolence has created a haven for public service consumers that is strecthing the energy of the givers to the point of exhaustion.

As an example one of the vehicles of growth regulation is to make this state less attractive than the alternatives to those who prey upon the institutional benevolence of the liberal state.

California presently has one of the most inclusive saftey nets avaliable for children. As large and growing as the system is, it can't keep up with the influx of new users. That influx is propelled by the state's and federal government's unwillingness to qualify the elgibility of the applicants in accordance with traditionally, legally established guidelines.

Simply put, California, assisted by a liberal national vision is becoming a beacon for the world's poor. This growing imbalance between a greater and greater number of eligble, indigent children and fewer and fewer productive citizens supporting them is a prime example of an absence of reasonable population control.

[William Tell]

Amerigomag said: "This growing imbalance between a greater and greater number of eligble, indigent children and fewer and fewer productive citizens supporting them is a prime example of an absence of reasonable population control."

Kalifornia steals my income in the form of taxes in order to supply medical services to anyone who applies and you think this is a "population control" problem?

San Francisco pays hundreds of dollars a month to "homeless" people and the influx of "homeless" into the city threatens San Francisco with bankruptcy and you think this is a "population control" problem.

I have elected to take early retirement from my high-tech position which will cut my pay by half and my Kalifornia income taxes by over 75%. As soon as I can arrange it, I will leave this gun-banning hell hole. Now THAT is "population control".

[AmericanVictory]

The drought in the East is as bad, with farmers getting ready to sell in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and upstate New York and in the Midwest, Indiana. Government has botched this one repeatedly for years and politicians have shown no interest whatsoever in actual solutions.

[Old Professer]

I lived in California for over 25 years; one of the things you can always count on is an article warning of impending drought in the middle of a stormy, wet season.

[VOA]

bump

[KC_for_Freedom]

Simply put, California, assisted by a liberal national vision is becoming a beacon for the world's poor. This growing imbalance between a greater and greater number of eligble, indigent children and fewer and fewer productive citizens supporting them is a prime example of an absence of reasonable population control.

Not true, this is an example of a policy designed to do exactly what you describe. This ensures democratic majorities in both houses and the governor's office. California has policies that defy the free market solutions which would (a) supply sufficient water, (b) induce population movement until there is sufficient water, or (c) drive users to greater efficiency. Since the leadership chosen by the people of California will only choose policies that lead to greater government and more regulation, they will reap drought, famine, bankruptcy, higher taxes, and more immigration both legal and illegal until people like me leave. (Oh wait, I already left.)

[Nick Danger]

The drought in the East is as bad... Government has botched this one repeatedly for years and politicians have shown no interest whatsoever in actual solutions.

Are the people not voting for politicians who are in favor of rain, or what? Why would the government fail to make it rain? Sounds like incompetence to me.

King Canute, white courtesy telephone please. Paging King Canute.

[AmericanVictory]

But what has the government done except ignore the possibility of solutions and fail to seek them while voting taxpayer dollars for those afflicted? There are many things that could be done without playing rainmaker and mockery of the possibility of solutions will of course assist in keeping heads in the sand. For example, it would be fruitful to look into putting industry and heavy agriculture on true recycling. Presently water is used at most about three times before being discharged in most industries and treatment of wet waste is relatively inefficient, with some exceptions.

[Nick Danger]

For example, it would be fruitful to look into putting industry and heavy agriculture on true recycling.

We have a magnificent system already in place for signalling when it is time to buy water recycling equipment. It is called "the price of water." When the scarcity of water causes its price to rise to the point where recycling it is cheaper than buying it from the utility, people will all-by-themselves run right out and buy recycling equipment.

But wait... don't tell me... the price of water does not reflect its scarcity. It is regulated to be artificially low, because someone decided that the price "should" be X instead of Y. So now you are proposing that the Shouldsters should "put agriculture and industry on true recycling."

See, you start down this path with Shouldsters setting the prices, and the next thing you know people are not behaving the way they "should." So now you need the Shouldsters to start telling people what equipment they should buy. And pretty soon, what products they should make. And when.

The solution is not more Shouldsters, it's to get rid of the ones you've got. The Soviets had their whole economy run by a bunch of Shouldsters. They called it Gosplan. Very scientific. Look where it got them.