Pot plants slurp up California's water supply

[Ptarmigan]

Pot plants slurp up California's water supply
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101816232

California cannabis growers may be making millions, but their thirsty plants are sucking up a priceless resource: water. Now scientists say that if no action is taken in the drought-wracked state, the consequences for fisheries and wildlife will be dire.

"If this activity continues on the trajectory it's on, we're looking at potentially streams going dry, streams that harbor endangered fish species like salmon, steelhead," said Scott Bauer of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

This should pit the hippies against the green nuts. 

[Dori]

Pot plants slurp up California's water supply
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101816232

This should pit the hippies against the green nuts. 

Maybe not for long.

Just heard about a grouse bird that the wackos want to declare an endangered species.  If they do, that's going to lock up 11 western states.

The federal government is considering listing the greater sage grouse as an endangered species next year. Doing so could limit development, energy exploration, hunting and ranching on the 165 million acres of the bird's habitat across 11 Western states.

http://news.yahoo.com/senate-majority-could-rest-sage-grouse-163904235--election.html

[ranger75]

It was worse in the drought of 1990. I lived in Ventura then. At one point, residences were restricted to 1200 gallons a month. People along the Ventura/Santa Barbara corridor dyed their lawns green because they couldn't water them. My wife and I used to go stay in a motel once a week just so we could take a nice long shower (no water rationing for commercial businesses). The residential ration in Ventura this year is a little over 6000 gallons a month. That's about 1/2 the average residential water use nationwide. Toilets use 27% of residential water, so go take a leak in your backyard once in awhile (but don't get arrested).   

The biggest problem with water in California is that 99% of the rain and snow melt-off runs right out to sea. California's fresh water needs to be trapped. The state needs many new reservoirs and canal systems but that means many big new dams and epic excavation projects. The cost would be epic too. Really epic. 

There's a classic book about water politics in the West: Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner. PBS did a great documentary based on the book. Reisner's tome is more relevant today than it was when published in 1993. It deals mainly with California, Colorado, Arizona, and Mexico, but if you live anywhere west of the Mississippi, you probably need to read it.