As a forbiddingly deep drought reclaims its hold on California, the state’s record precipitation in October and December is already a distant memory, and the list of urgent water issues we face keeps getting longer. Forecasters predict little or no rain and snow for the rest of the “wet season,” but the state’s leaders have taken only baby steps to deal with the sprawling crisis.
“There are so many vested interests who benefit from the status quo that it’s hard to make change,” Doug Obegi, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s California river restoration program, said in an interview. “State and federal administrations aren’t rising to the magnitude of the problems we face.”
Here are some suggestions for ways our tremulous leaders could do better.
