California is a microcosm of climate change dilemmas

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ach of us need to turn our gaze, for a moment toward California that is experiencing the worst, the most intense drought in its recorded history.

Writing on Waging Nonviolence, Kate Aronoff, argues that the problem facing California is a microcosm of sorts for climate change itself.

What happens in California, a state that is richer than many countries in the world, will be indicative of how climate change dilemmas will unfold around the world.

The Californian drought, the most intense since record keeping began in 1895, shouldn’t be taken lightly with  NASA scientist Jay Famiglietti warning that the state has just one year of water left in its reserves, which have been steadily drained as a result of the climate-exacerbated drought.

“The drive to tackle this problem by focusing on spendthrift households is strikingly similar to that of austerity policies that try to slash deficits by scaling back and then privatizing such amenities as health care, public transportation and even water. The basic reasoning is the same: "The masses are at fault for mismanaging resources, and the market can do it better,” Aronoff writes.

Read her story here: “Crisis, opportunity and climate austerity in drought-stricken California”.