California is in the midst of the worst drought in the state's 163-year history. Last year was the driest year on record and 2014 is off to a bad start; last month may go in the books as the driest January ever.
Things are so bad that last week the state's Department of Public Health said at least 17 rural communities are in danger of running out of water within the next 100 days.
Governor Jerry Brown declared a statewide water emergency two weeks ago, and later called for 20 percent conservation by both businesses and residences.
The drought has implications well beyond the Golden State. One-third of the nation's crops are gown in the Central Valley and, overall, California farmers produce half of the fruit, vegetables and nuts grown in the United States.
In short, the state is critical to the nation's agricultural food chain.
The truth is, California — not the Midwest — is America's "bread basket" and the drought here will be felt far and wide.
The state is the biggest food producer in the country, both in terms of dollars and produce sold.
The likely outcome of this drought will be higher food prices across the U.S., as well as the broader world where California produce is exported.
As it is, global food prices in 2013 were among the highest on record, according to the United Nations.
Some nine million acres need to be irrigated in California's Central Valley, leaving the prospect that huge swaths — hundreds of thousands of acres — could be left fallow.
The entire Western U.S. has been in a drought for more than a decade, and the problem is growing progressively worse.
In California, for instance, there has been less an inch of rain since July 1. January, generally the second wettest month (following February), had essentially no rainfall.
Climatologists say that while the 20th Century was a wet one, the Golden State is merely reverting to its normally dry conditions of centuries past. Some dry periods in the West have been known to last as long as 50 years.
For centuries, such periods of drought weren't as big a problem as the current one is for California, a state with more than 38 million residents.
In 1900, the state had just 1.4 million people. By 1950, the population had jumped to 10.5 million. Yet, by 2000, it had spiked to 33.8 million.
Compared to a hundred years ago, there are now tens of millions of additional people seeking water resources that are now dwindling.
In the simplest terms, there is now much less water available per person.
Californians use nearly 23 trillion gallons of water a year, much of it coming from Sierra Nevada snowmelt. However, the Sierra snowpack is now just 12 percent of normal, a record low.
California is merely a microcosm of a larger global problem. Climate change is leading to water shortages around the world.
While there's plenty of ocean water, there just isn't so much fresh water available.
Of all the water on Earth, only 2.5 percent is freshwater, and available freshwater represents less than half of 1 percent of the world's total water stock.
Some may suggest that since California is a coastal state, it should just desalinate its bountiful ocean water.
The problem is price. Desalinated water costs about $2,000 per acre foot. In contrast, the cost of water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California ranges between approximately $195 per acre-foot for imported water and up to $300 per acre-foot for water delivered by the district to some of its customers.
This means that desalinated water is roughly 10 times more expensive. Couple that with the enormous energy costs of desalination, any suddenly it is no longer sensible.
Ultimately, there are no easy answers for California or the other Western states. The climate and time are both working against us.
There will have to be a greater expansion of conservation, efficiency, recycling and storage.
In the meantime, millions of Californians and, more broadly, Americans may start to feel the impacts of this drought in a multitude of ways.
Some will be inclined to pray for rain. Others may be inclined to perform a traditional rain dance. People will seek solace and solutions in any number of ways.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
