There are many serious consequences of the recent drought in California, but are we prepared to make the necessary changes to reverse environmental changes like this?

1. Run-Away Rain: No Rescue for
California's Crippling Drought

2. Storms of showers soaked many
parts of California over the final days
of February and early March of
2014.

3. These were the most generous
drops from Mother Nature's pitcher
of water to grace the state since
2010.

4. Sadly, the saturation is not enough
to quench the thirst of our crops and
orchards of vegetables and fruits --

5. nor is it more than a splatter in the
troughs of our dairy animals -- who
are suffering from the most crippling
water crisis in California history.

6. It would take a solid two months
of rain to end the drought.

7. Even so, severe saturation is not the
ultimate solution for the reversal

8. and future prevention of the
colossal casualties and collateral
damage our farming industry and
other agricultural resources have
incurred from the withering water
supply.

9. Governor Jerry Brown's signature on
the 687 million-dollar drought relief
package will provide desperately
needed food, housing and other
assistance to farm workers who have
lost employment.

10. This legislation is sorely needed
and a sprinkling of hope,

11. but we need to do more than
dampen our consciousness in order
to counter the grim speculation that
California's drought could go on for
several more years -- and even
become "the new normal."

12. As conservationists and consumers,
it is vitally important that we explore
and adapt technologies that might
help us conserve water,

13. including old-fashioned ones like
rainwater collection by
individuals, and new ones like
Moshe Alamaro's plan for anti-
evaporation monolayers on
reservoirs.

14. This is certainly no time to
suggest cutting NASA's budget.

15. Since most of the rain run-off ended
up in the Pacific Ocean, there's little
left to quench the thirsty empty
reservoirs and therefore, unusable.

16. We would be wise to adapt
sustainable solutions such as
building fresh water capture and
hold facilities,

17. expanded use of recyclable water
and step up actions to prevent
contamination of our oceans'
vulnerable wildlife.

18. We might do well to cultivate
resourceful and ingenious practices
achieved by our global neighbors as
close in proximity as France and as
far away as Cambodia.

19. The French invention of wind
turbines which simultaneously
averts dew and produces electricity
is ideal for coastal regions like ours.

20. Similar sustainable solutions such as
Cambodians solar water
management techniques which push
water into storage tanks.

21. This allows for gravity to take over to
distribute the water to households
could be of enormous benefits to
Californians.

22. Since our record keeping on rainfall
and droughts is only a mere 100
years old it's difficult to assess
whether this is the result of global
warming or not and as such, a
difficult thing to prove,

23. but an easy thing for interested
parties to muddy.

24. This will probably be the case any
time some new weather-related
headline appears,

25. with republicans pushing us as far
into catastrophe as they possibly
can, feigning a puzzlingly
uncharacteristic concern for
empirical certainty.

26. Whether you veer from the left or
the right -- it's reasonable to
conclude that it is beyond party
politics to agree --

27. that we must promote climate
resilient water management and
agricultural practices for long-term
relief for a long-running drought.

28. Run-Away Rain: No Rescue for
California's Crippling Drought