3 ms·

Let's do some math. USGS says California consumes about 38 billion gallons of water per day [1]. Coincidentally, there are about 38 million residents of Califor

Let's do some math. USGS says California consumes about 38 billion gallons of water per day [1]. Coincidentally, there are about 38 million residents of California. That's 1,000 gallons per capita per day. Even if every single resident dined at a restaurant every single day, and was served a glass of water, and they didn't drink it, that would be 1/16,000th of the water consumed for that resident for that day. [1] http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3977#.VQkNfxDF-L4 http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3977#.VQkNfxDF-L...

fletchowns 12y ago
California feeds a lot more than just its own residents with all that agriculture production. Pretty sure we produce more than the next 2 states combined.
- tlrobinson 12y ago
  Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that not serving water at restaurants will reduce water consumption by less than 1/16000th.
dasil003 12y ago
It's still worth doing from an awareness standpoint. Everyone in California needs to internalize the scarcity of water, and this is a reasonably effective way to do so. It is no harm to anyone to have to ask for water.
- mapt 12y ago
  What is the goal of internalizing it? What is the goal of personal responsibility here? There are fantastically profitable cash crops that the Central Valley is rapidly desertifying itself to produce, because that is what the regulatory framework incentivizes. They will do this regardless of whether half of LA feels shame about how long they spend in the shower. These things are ridiculous debacles that connect the well-meaning with the entrenched money to completely avoid the real issues. They're an attempt to get some people who don't use much water to point the finger at other people who don't use much water, and have a bitter culture war about it, and distract from the few people using most of the water. Water could and should be put into easy sustainability range by pricing it in accordance with how bad the local situation (reservoirs or water tables) has gotten. Instead it's doled out as a strange mix of feudal fiefdom and public service. And that includes pumping groundwater - which seems to be completely unregulated and unmonitored at present. California's problem is that it hasn't brought itself to manage water effectively, and it has erected obstacles to doing so during eras when water was neither heavily used nor well-understood. https://www.c-win.org/water-rights-primer.html https://www.c-win.org/water-rights-primer.html
- bbarn 12y ago
  Please not the "awareness" argument again. All things that fall under the "raising awareness" umbrella do, is make people feel like they're doing something meaningful, when they aren't. "Hey, I didn't ask for water at Olive Garden, this drought is being caused by the rest of these people" Why don't we all go pour buckets of ice on our heads to show people water is really important?
  - dasil003 12y ago
    People can ostensibly vote, especially in California with the referendum system.

fletchowns 12y ago

California feeds a lot more than just its own residents with all that agriculture production. Pretty sure we produce more than the next 2 states combined.

tlrobinson 12y ago
Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that not serving water at restaurants will reduce water consumption by less than 1/16000th.

dasil003 12y ago

It's still worth doing from an awareness standpoint. Everyone in California needs to internalize the scarcity of water, and this is a reasonably effective way to do so. It is no harm to anyone to have to ask for water.

mapt 12y ago
What is the goal of internalizing it? What is the goal of personal responsibility here? There are fantastically profitable cash crops that the Central Valley is rapidly desertifying itself to produce, because that is what the regulatory framework incentivizes. They will do this regardless of whether half of LA feels shame about how long they spend in the shower. These things are ridiculous debacles that connect the well-meaning with the entrenched money to completely avoid the real issues. They're an attempt to get some people who don't use much water to point the finger at other people who don't use much water, and have a bitter culture war about it, and distract from the few people using most of the water. Water could and should be put into easy sustainability range by pricing it in accordance with how bad the local situation (reservoirs or water tables) has gotten. Instead it's doled out as a strange mix of feudal fiefdom and public service. And that includes pumping groundwater - which seems to be completely unregulated and unmonitored at present. California's problem is that it hasn't brought itself to manage water effectively, and it has erected obstacles to doing so during eras when water was neither heavily used nor well-understood. https://www.c-win.org/water-rights-primer.html https://www.c-win.org/water-rights-primer.html
bbarn 12y ago
Please not the "awareness" argument again. All things that fall under the "raising awareness" umbrella do, is make people feel like they're doing something meaningful, when they aren't. "Hey, I didn't ask for water at Olive Garden, this drought is being caused by the rest of these people" Why don't we all go pour buckets of ice on our heads to show people water is really important?
- dasil003 12y ago
  People can ostensibly vote, especially in California with the referendum system.