This is the story of summer. The summer lost to fire and rain.
At least we hope it will rain because they say a deluge is coming.
Summer zipped by. July was one of the hottest on record. And August was a blur.
Where did it go?
It burned up in smoke with most of the Pacific coast on fire. Not to exclude Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming…I have left anyone out?
Oh yes, California.
Last summer I wrote a post about the infamous drought that has plagued not only California, but also most of the west coast. At that time, it was predicted there was roughly eighteen months supply left of water for the whole state.
Yet, have things improved?
Sadly, no.
And things continue to spiral into a dearthy trend producing unemployed migrant workers as they watch the San Joaquin Valley (the breadbasket of the nation, if not the world) sink one foot per year due to intense aquatic drilling, causing a breakdown of infrastructure, leaving no water in parts of Tulare county to drink, let alone flush a toilet.
If this weren’t serious, why would Los Angeles purchase over 90 million plastic balls covered in black carbon to shield the water from evaporating at a cost of 33 million dollars?
I know this is old news. Yet, what were these people thinking?
The Sylmar reservoir holds 3.3 billion gallons of water, enough to supply the entire city for up to three weeks.
Three weeks?
That’s it?
33 million dollars for three weeks of water?
Not to mention these 90 million balls are black. Last time I checked, black attracts the sun, which in turn will heat 90 million balls made of polyethylene. Granted, polyethylene is a common plastic material used mostly for grocery bags. But what happens when this plastic heats up?
Polyethylene is a byproduct of crude oil and toxic material. I don’t even want to think about the breakdown of those 90 million black, solar heated balls into the city’s water system.
Needless to say, this is a fiery topic that has caused much controversy. An act of desperation perhaps? Still it does make one think. How much water does California actually have? And how long will it last?
Thus, I think it’s time for rain.
Over the last week, Washington state went from the hottest summer ever, to instant fall – rain, wind and below seasonal temperatures. One can only hope the rest of the west coast will follow suit.
They say El Niño is coming with lots of rain in the forecast, a deluge of sorts. Cause that’s the only way rain happens during an El Niño season. Floods, mudslides, sinkholes, you name it, are expected. It will be newsworthy, that’s for sure.
So bring it on!
Meanwhile, in my neck of the woods, we’ll be enjoying this:
Sing it James…
“I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain.
I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end.
I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend,
but I always thought that I’d see you again.”
So what do you think? How was your summer? How do you feel about the drought and the case of the 90 million black carbon balls? Any unusual weather in your neighborhood? Fire? Rain anyone?
Cheers everyone! I hope that life is treating you well. And as always, thank you so much for all your support and wonderful comments!
Karen
