Introduction
The drought that California is currently experiencing is considered to be one of the worst in the history. According to Rogers (2016), the drought continues to spell disaster without any signs of stopping. Because of this, different problems started to emerge which significantly affected the residents of the state. Some of these problems include the water shortage and the destruction of the several landscapes available in the region. Because of this, the people start to learn from the impacts brought about by this disaster. This paper will discuss these realizations, as well as the possible solutions and adjustments that can be made in order to cope up with these problems.
Body
How does thinking like a human-environment geographer help us to understand the way that Californians have viewed/used water before and after this drought began? Park, Ericson, Bloch, and Watkins (2015) determined that there is a decrease in the water consumption in all places, especially to those with the highest daily consumption prior to the drought. Considering this huge adjustment, it can only be said that there is a less consideration in water conservation before the drought, and since the residents know that there is an ample supply of water in the area, they did not pay attention in saving water supply. As evidenced by the high water consumption in the past (Park, Ericson, Bloch, & Watkins), people did not anticipate this unexpected event, along with the duration of the drought. This can be seen in the significant decrease in the water levels of the major watersheds, the Sacramento River basin, San Joaquin River basin, and Tulare Lake basin (Famiglietti, 2016). According to estimations, the needed precipitation to bring the water back to the normal level is equivalent to the duration of two winter seasons (Famiglietti, 2016). Fortunately, the people did better in adjusting their water usage, and according to the reports made by Famiglietti (2016), the statistics keeps getting better through time. The implication of this solution is that people now start to increase their awareness regarding the limitations of the water supply available for them. The improvement in the water usage also implied that they will subconsciously decrease the water consumption, even after the drought comes to an end. As such, thinking more about the impacts of environmental negligence to the geography will help in preventing this kind of disaster to happen in the future.
How do we understand and value nature, and how does this impact the drought? Think specifically about what you know about culture, conservation, and preservation.
Aside from the significant decrease in the water supply, the other impacts of the drought can be reflected in the destruction of the natural habitats of the wildlife. One of the most prominent examples of this impact is the difficulty for the Coho Salmon, an aquatic wildlife in California, to breed, and the Juvenile Steelhead being entrapped in the dry waters (Environment California, n.d). Because of the continuous decrease of the numbers of these local species, people, especially those who depend on them for food and living, mainly suffered from these outcomes (Environment California, n.d). This incident only implies that nature is essential for people, as many depend on it for survival and getting all the resources they needed. Because of the interruption of the drought, people hardly cope up with providing their daily needs, and are forced to set aside their normal lifestyle for the purpose of survival.
Another case in which the impacts of drought can be largely seen is in the melting of the snow in the plains and mountains, as well as the disappearance of the green lawns and other landscapes. The snow, which previously served as aesthetic attractions and recreation sites are now melted to supply water for the residents (BBC, 2015). The green lawns, which enhanced the beauty of the surroundings of the cities and rural areas, are advised to be sacrificed for the others. This is in order for the irrigation to cease and the water allocated for it will be added to the water supply (Bowes, 2015). These solutions only implied the need to temporarily adjust the way of living until the drought ends. The fact that these kinds of emergency responses only tell that the situation is California is very serious and threatening, and people should learn from this experience.
With these events transpiring in the state of California, it can be said that there are connections which link the aspects of culture, conservation, and preservation. In the most natural situations, people depend on nature to live. Here, they obtain all they needed, from food, clothing, water and shelter. However, when people started to depend too much, the resources are being depleted, and the people forgot their responsibilities to conserve the nature. It is not that the emergence of cultures, discoveries, developments and progress are not good for the nature. However, if humans continue to neglect their responsibilities, nature will strike back in a more devastating manner. Just like this drought that occurred, nature became unavailable for any resources during the times of need. As humans try to cling to survival, they suddenly realize that without nature, they will not last for long in this world, and all the progress and development will come in peril. As a response, many will heed the call to preserve the environment, and will start to look after it. However, in most times, the care for the environment is short-lived, and when the people start to rebuild, they will gradually neglect their responsibilities again, and the cycle will happen once again. The cycle, however, does not repeat immediately; it takes a long time, which might be equivalent to the passing of many generations. When the cycle repeats, the people living in that time will not give much attention to the impending destruction of nature due to the too much dependence in nature and will suffer once again. Unless the culture of preservation will be passed down to the future generations, mankind will only be in the cycle of destruction and restoration, and will never be in harmony.
Pay particular attention to how geographic scale influences how people view their environment in relation to the drought. How does thinking about the drought at different places or scales influence how severe people perceive it to be?
The impacts brought about by the drought can be perceived in different geographic scales, starting from the individual, up to the nationwide scale. In the individual scale, drought brings insufficiency of resources and way of living, just as how the fishermen lose their fishes due to the water drainage (Environment California, n.d). In the local and state scale, the continuous loss of water significantly decreased the water consumption of the households (Park, Ericson, Bloch, & Watkins, 2015). In the national level, this will surely be considered as a threat and warning to the people, especially with regards to the protection of the environment.
Having said the impact of drought at different scales, people will definitely remember how scary this experience has brought to them. This will be especially true to those who experienced the need to save water, food supplies, and other resources personally. For them, this experience will always serve as a lesson to protect the environment, and stop the abuse and too much reliance on it. Of course, they will not want to experience this disaster again, and as a response, people will be more active in participating in environmental conservation in their own way. In other words, the severity of a disaster only intensifies when people experience it. Mere descriptions will not stop the misuse of the natural resources. Truly, experience will always be the greatest teacher of all.
Conclusion
The California drought is truly devastating, but there are things that people need to think about in relation with this experience. Nature must not be taken for granted, because it is still unknown when the nature will strike back for the humanity’s shortcomings and irresponsibility. Accept it or not, we, humans, are the ones to start this disaster, and because of this negligence that people had suffered in many different ways.
References
Bowes, P. (2015). California drought: Will the Golden State turn brown? BBC News. Retrieved 6 September, 2016, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32196177
California's worst drought in 1,200 years in pictures. (2015). BBC News. Retrieved 6 September, 2016, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32150064
Famiglietti, J. (2016). Is the California drought America's water wake-up call? Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 September, 2016, from http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe- famiglietti-chronic-water-scarcity-20160417-story.html
Park, H., Ericson, M., Bloch, M., and Watkins, D. (2015). How Has the Drought Affected California’s Water Use? The New York Times. Retrieved 6 September, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/01/us/water-use-in-california.html
Rogers, P. (2016). California drought: How will we know when it’s over? Havasunews.com. Retrieved 6 September, 2016, from http://www.havasunews.com/nation/california- drought-how-will-we-know-when-it-s-over/article_cf0bca96-bdab-11e5-8050- 7734264feb45.html
Solving the Drought. Environment California.Retrieved 6 September, 2016, from http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/page/cae/solving-drought
