The Interconnected Water System of California - Essay Example

Water Issues in California The interconnected water system of California serves an estimated 30 million people in addition to irrigating over 2,300,000 hectares of farmland. On a global scale, it is the most world’s largest and most controversial as well as productive water system. It manages over 49km3 of water every year (Jenkins, et al., 271). To that effect, the Southern California lacks the reliable dry seasonal rainfall. This has made water to be limited in an area in one of the most populous state in the United States. Therefore, in order to quench the thirst of more than 20 million people in Southern California water is imported from hundreds of kilometres away from the Sierra Nevada Mountains (Gould). Since the start of record keeping on the availability of the water resources in Southern California in the late 1800s, the water crisis in the area has worsened over the years. This is attributable to the growing population of the region and the false sense of security that the citizens have concerning the availability of the water resource because of the good job done by the water managers to ensure that the fountains still shoot water and the landscapes appear as healthy as ever. The city officials have pointed out that two decades ago an estimated two-thirds of the water was imported. Currently, it has reduced to half. In the same way, according to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; the total retail water demand in the area has reduced from 4 million acre feet between 1989 and 1990 to 3.30 million acre feet between 2010 and 2011. This shows that the Southern California residents have recognized the significance of water. In order to increase the supply of water in Southern California, the authorities have invested in recycling plants for water, plans are underway to clean up the contamination so that more ground water can be utilized, and implementation of mandatory water conservation programs (Gould). For many years, Southern California has been faced the issue of drought. However, only recently has it become a national call for attention. Although California is right next to the ocean, it is not easy enough just to get water from there and spread it amongst the masses. Since the ocean is full of saltwater, it becomes toxic to the body when too much is consumed. The only water our bodies are able to consume is fresh water, either from springs or recycled tap. Because California is growing and will continue to grow, the amount of water is becoming scarce. According to "The Telegraph", a trusted newspaper, over the past 3 years Los Angeles has only received about 11.93 inches of rain, "which is 17.93 inches before normal for a three year period." In addition, since California is the epicenter for farmland and growing fruit, more water is needed to treat these resources. One solution that farmers have resorted to is simply digging deeper to find fresh water. However, this is neither enough to support them nor the rest of California. Although water here in California is extremely scarce, it symbolizes and represents so much. In the first place, water in the region symbolizes fertility and purity among the people of Southern California where it is believed to be a source of life with different myths suggesting life comes from water. For one, water is a symbol for life since so much of life depends on water for survival, especially us humans and animals. Water is also home and the life source for the animals that live in the ocean, another reason why it represents life. In addition, some people refer to water as a symbol of birth, circulation, and cohesion by associating water with the body fluids such as blood. Interestingly, water is also deemed as a symbol of wisdom as it takes the form of anything in which it is held and maneuvers to find the path with less resistance (Duggan and Cohen 46). Proceeding further, water also represents purity because water itself is pure; it is made from nature without the hand of humankind. Just like a baby is pure since he/she has committed no evils and is free of bias or influence, water is pure because it is not influenced nor depends on life. Even though water represents life, it can also symbolize death. For example, ocean water is deadly to humans and many other animals. However, it does support the life of animals that live in it. In addition, death can be connected to water because many lives have been lost to the ocean and its vastness.  In spite of the efforts by the authorities to conserve the water, there are some faulty arguments among the general public aimed at justifying the wasting of water. The people use faulty arguments so that they consume as much water as they want without worry about the effects of it. First, one of the common faulty arguments made by the people of Southern California is retrospective determinism. In this case, people say that if water shortage is occurring, then it has always been inevitable. As such, individuals believe that even if they fail to use the available water for various uses, including on their green lawns, the trend in developing scarcity is natural and will not change. Second, another faulty of arguments involves false generalizations where individuals make a broad-based conclusion concerning the problem of water in the area. For instance, some individuals conclude that the problem of water in the area is political and that some politicians are holding the resource back in order to form a subject for campaigning in their next election. The other faulty argument is an appeal to ignorance. An appeal to ignorance is an argument when people do not have enough affirmation or proof opposed to it. Most of the times, people think that they do not waste water. Instead, they would think that the portion they waste is nothing huge in contrast of other people in the world. Because of this reason, people will have fewer tendencies to try preserving water. They would rather rescue themselves and keep wasting water rather than accepting the facts that they should have been reducing their water supply to save water. They would think that it would reduce their benefits of having water. Most people that live in Southern California are not having responsibilities or awareness in saving water, yet; the consequence of each individual will influence Southern California. The fourth faulty argument people use is gambler’s fallacy. Gambler’s fallacy occurs on the off chance that the events happened more much of the time than usual, those events will occur less often later on. For example, “Southern California has been in drought for about three years. I am certainly convinced that Southern California will be normal as usual and we would have more amount of water in the future.” When it comes to water, people keep on indiscreetly wasting it. People would still pay their utilities bills every month to keep having water and with the bills stating the amount that they believe not as much and expensive as everyone else’s bills. In one of the article, in the website states the amount people would use at their homes. Bathing would minimize about 36 gallons of water and showering for about 2 to 4 gallons per minute. They would also be watering their lawns and gardens excessively and many indoor activities that could decrease the amount of water. Even the KQED News writes, “Meanwhile, indoor use accounted for more than 170 gallons per household per day. Not surprisingly, the most in-home water consumption was in toilet flushes.” The fifth faulty argument in this case is a slippery slope. A slippery slope is difficult to control because when it has started, it will cause more troubles. The example of a slippery slope would be “If I just let the water run this once while I brush my teeth, I will not be wasting water since it is just this once.” As we glimpse the occasion here, it is simply the act of wasting water. To sum up, some of the members of the community argue on grounds of false analogy, claiming that green lawns are a symbol of wealth as well as part of their wealth. In this regard, getting rid of them is embracing poverty. This was common among the residents who originally came from the United Kingdom. One of the residents said, “From where I came from back in Ireland, lawns are a symbol of wealth, and just like I cannot do away with my wealth, the same way I cannot do away with my lawn.” This shows the level unto which people base their faulty arguments in order to justify water wastage; a resource that is limited in Southern California. However, one of the prejudicial stereotypes among the people of Southern California insisting on having green lawns is that man and nature are intimately close, and that doing away with the green vegetation is detaching oneself from nature together with life; a common view among the American Indian residents. I was born in Indonesia and I came from a Chinese-Indonesian background. Since I was born, my parents always have had a garden either in the front or in the backyard of my house. I was tremendously curious and when I asked my parents about having a lawn in our houses. My parents answered that they have had a green lawn in the garden because it is their belief and that also came from their parents. Our grandparents believed that if we have green and healthy lawns, we could be rich and everyone will respect the family. It is a custom in my culture to have a green healthy lawn. The other source of stereotypes was that lawns provide the suburban serenity; hence, peace and getting rid of them would compromise the peace (Ingels 26). Most people spend of their time relaxing in the lawns in order to have the peace of mind. A green lawn is a symbol of peacefulness, tranquillity, and calmness. Green lawn relaxes people and it is serene to us; not to forgetting that green yards also supply us with oxygen. Another cultural stereotype observed among the people of Southern California was that lawns are an instrument of homogeneity. In this view, one of the women said that, “How will I conform to the societal construct if I do not make a lawn like all my neighbors? I do not want to be different. I do not want to be an outcast!” In other words, the community needs to be homogenous by keeping lawns, and eventually increased water use. The last stereotype insisting on lawns was that they are a symbol of prosperity and affluence. On asking one of the residents with regard to her attitude towards replacing her lawn with a more water efficient form of landscaping, such as xeriscaping, one 50-year-old lady flared-up, “How will you differentiate me from the poor jobless immigrant next door? With this lawn, I can offer him employment in terms of mowing services; hence, earn my place among the affluent.” She views the lawns as a symbol status in the society. Most of the individuals had a negative attitude towards drought tolerant plants with the perception that their gardens would be turned into desert-like settings. This is attributed to their limited knowledge about xeriscaping (Hincha-Ownby). The Southern California’s water supply is not sustainable. Much of the water is imported and efforts are being to conserve the available water. Due to the superstitions about lawns and gardens, this only represents one of the many ways of unsustainable use of water in Southern California. There are numerous superstitions that are correlated to lawns and gardens. People nowadays are particularly finding the greatest lawns for their collections. Carrying a Chinese-Indonesian culture throughout generations to generations makes me convinced that there are superstitions in every single thing, such as in lawns and gardens. These are some of the superstitions that I remember for Chinese-Indonesian. We can have a plant with thorns in large amounts as we can outside the house. However, in my Chinese-Indonesia culture we believe that we should never plat thorny plants around our homesteads due to the fact that the thorns on the plant can make us bleed since the plant itself is precisely sharp. In addition, having a bamboo plant inside the house can bring a good luck to our families as well. Bamboo plant symbolizes a happiness, power, and wealth. It is also said that bamboo can keep us safe from the evil. Moreover, in Indonesia they have sour soup fruit. We also believe that we could not plant sour soup in our yards, despite the good taste of fruits are, because it brings us bad luck. It can distract us, as well for the plants in our backyard or garden. Moreover, various individuals hold different superstitions concerning lawns and gardens, which they believe affect productivity. For instance, some individuals believe that if you thank someone for pass-along plants, then the plants will not yield. In the same way, when individuals receive pass along plants, they do not show gratitude in order to prevent destruction or poor yields of such plants. In some cases, individuals even return the plants that they have been given after they realize that they have shown appreciation the giver. On the other hand, some people are of the belief that the above-ground plants can only be planted in the course of the moonlight, while below ground crops should be planted during the days of dark, after the full moon. This has led to various people missing the planting seasons while waiting for the full moon to plant the above ground plants. The superstition does not have any scientific evidence and thus is less applicable. Lastly, some people believe that the day one’s plants show the first bloom represents an omen, with each day from Monday to Sunday representing different omens, some good and some bad. Some people use the omens represented by the different days to predict the yield or growth of their crops within their lawns or gardens. The other superstition I found about lawns and gardens is the belief that you must water your plants every day or else they will die. My mother always thought this and actually gave her plants too much water. This belief is very common because we all know that water supports life and the roots of plants must soak it up to grow and live. However, almost every plant is different and requires more water and food than other plants. For example, cacti can survive with very little water which is why we see so many in the dessert, where there is very little rainfall and high temperatures. The next superstition is the belief that if you find a four leaf clover then you automatically have good luck from then on. This is because the chances of finding one are 1 in 10,000. In addition, it was believed that Eve, in the Bible, carried the four leaf clover when she left the Garden of Eden. Another historical belief was that it warded off unwanted evil and protected those who carried it. The superstition of growing garlic and having it in your house is a very old belief. According to European folklore, garlic was used to ward off evil spirits, were wolves, and vampires. In addition, according to American folklore, Egyptian slaves were given garlic to ward off illnesses and provide them with strength and endurance. These beliefs may have been sparked from the fact that garlic can actually be used to treat infections, hypertension, and snakebites. Moreover, garlic is used by herbalists to treat illnesses, such as the cold, flu, cough, and bronchitis. The use of water in Southern California is surrounded by both economic and social factors. The people are of various cultures that influence the manner in which they use the scarce water resource. 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