California is currently suffering from a historic four year drought. California governor Jerry Brown commanded that the “State Water Resources Control Board [impose] a 25 percent reduction on the state’s 400 local water supply agencies, which serve 90 percent of California residents”, according to a report by the New York Times.
It’s an extremely unfortunate situation, but thankfully it is far from us here at Augustana College.
Or is it? California is the United States’ most populous state. With about 38 million residents, it’s massive economy plays a huge role in our nation.
Agriculture in California would be the most affected by this ‘megadrought’. Farmers are predicted to lose millions of acres of their land, which would obviously cause a severe decrease of crops in the state.
California produces over 200 crops, including most of the nation’s fruits and vegetables. Some of these crops are not grown in any other state. While the farmers lose their land, the United States loses a significant chunck of its fruit and vegetable supply. This will cause prices to increase, and it’s possible it will cause food shortages in certain crops if the drought continues.
In this way, California’s terrible drought will begin to affect those of us as far away as Illinois. It will also have an impact on the nation’s economy.
While the drought seems so far from us now, Augustana students should be more aware of the situation.
Eventually, the ramifications of this drought will begin affecting the entire nation.
According to an article featured in National Geographic, “The chances of a 35-year or longer “megadrought” […] by 2100 are above 80 percent if the world stays on its current trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions.”
This will cause a huge disruption in the American economy that would likely have devastating consequences on our generation, and these problems would then fall onto the following generation as well.
I encourage Augustana students to pay close attention to the impending consequences of this historic drought. As I said before, this problem only seems so far away.
When it reaches us, however, it will be too late to make a difference should we choose to ignore the situation altogether.
It’s vital to keep up-to-date with news regarding the situation, and even actively seek out more information on California’s drought. More individuals acting to help alleviate the problem is one of the best ways to solve it.
To directly help those currently suffering from the drought, students can visit californiadrought.org and click on the link that says ‘donate’.
Any donations go directly to the Pacific Institute which is working on finding ways to both handle and prevent current and future droughts.