A drought is defined as a “period of drier-than-normal conditions that results in water-related problems” (USGS). Water years are counted from October 1 to September 30, meaning we just recently entered a new water year. One of the most well-known and troublesome droughts in the United States is the California Drought. It began in 2011 and is now entering its sixth year of drought in 2016. It is described as the worst drought in 1,200 years California has seen (House Committee). The period of June 2015 to May 2016 was recorded as the third warmest recorded in California. There is a high chance that La Nina conditions will continue over the 2016-2017 winter, which has drastic effects on California’s water supply, given that one third of the
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According to Richard White, a history professor at Stanford University, “scarcity of water could result in a decline in housing construction, at a time when there has been a burst of desperately needed residential development in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco” (Dimick). Richard White also asked questions such as, “Can Los Angeles continue to dominate as the country’s capital of entertainment and glamour, and Silicon Valley as the center of high tech, if people are forbidden to take a shower for more than five minutes and water bills become prohibitively expensive? Will tourists worry about coming? Will businesses continue their expansion in places like San Francisco and Venice?” These are valid questions to think about when attempting to predict California’s near-future economy. Total direct travel spending in California was $122.5 billion in 2015, and travel spending in California directly supported 1,064,000 jobs (VisitCalifornia). Tourism undoubtedly plays such a huge role in the economy of California, and it may drastically deteriorate due to the drought. The sooner we figure out how the state will be impacted economically, we will be able to find the right methods of implementing new policies to counter the effects of the California …show more content…
They do not kill humans in a matter of seconds or destroy houses like hurricanes and tornadoes. It is almost impossible to find the official time when the drought begins. However, the economic consequences of the California Drought are just as severe and difficult to overcome like the other natural disasters that appear on the news. Drought ranks second in terms of national weather-related economic impacts, with annual losses nearing $9 billion per year in the U.S. (Union of Concerned Scientists). We cannot produce water with money. It is not that simple. The economy of the entire nation can be severely influenced by the California Drought, especially because California is the one of the major states where businesses, agriculture, and tourism are booming. The government has been intervening to attempt to conserve water, but the current policies are not enough to ensure the safety of the economy. Relying on groundwater will also not be an option very soon since deep aquifers are not rechargeable. We need to start viewing the California Drought much more seriously and contribute in any way we can in order to fully defeat this natural
According to Richard White, a history professor at Stanford University, “scarcity of water could result in a decline in housing construction, at a time when there has been a burst of desperately needed residential development in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco” (Dimick). Richard White also asked questions such as, “Can Los Angeles continue to dominate as the country’s capital of entertainment and glamour, and Silicon Valley as the center of high tech, if people are forbidden to take a shower for more than five minutes and water bills become prohibitively expensive? Will tourists worry about coming? Will businesses continue their expansion in places like San Francisco and Venice?” These are valid questions to think about when attempting to predict California’s near-future economy. Total direct travel spending in California was $122.5 billion in 2015, and travel spending in California directly supported 1,064,000 jobs (VisitCalifornia). Tourism undoubtedly plays such a huge role in the economy of California, and it may drastically deteriorate due to the drought. The sooner we figure out how the state will be impacted economically, we will be able to find the right methods of implementing new policies to counter the effects of the California …show more content…
They do not kill humans in a matter of seconds or destroy houses like hurricanes and tornadoes. It is almost impossible to find the official time when the drought begins. However, the economic consequences of the California Drought are just as severe and difficult to overcome like the other natural disasters that appear on the news. Drought ranks second in terms of national weather-related economic impacts, with annual losses nearing $9 billion per year in the U.S. (Union of Concerned Scientists). We cannot produce water with money. It is not that simple. The economy of the entire nation can be severely influenced by the California Drought, especially because California is the one of the major states where businesses, agriculture, and tourism are booming. The government has been intervening to attempt to conserve water, but the current policies are not enough to ensure the safety of the economy. Relying on groundwater will also not be an option very soon since deep aquifers are not rechargeable. We need to start viewing the California Drought much more seriously and contribute in any way we can in order to fully defeat this natural