California Drought Inequality

The California drought continues. The impacts for some communities are more than just water restrictions. In one county there are 1,675 wells that have run dry. People are surviving on water delivered by truck. The impact is heightened by the demographics involved. The majority of people affected are lower income. They have less money to mitigate the situation, are less likely to be able to move, and are incurring higher expenses when their businesses and jobs are also probably affected by the shortage. This is a slow motion natural and societal disaster creating conditions that are more Third World than America, or at least the image America portrays. The best solution remains the rains, long and gentle, which unfortunately are not in the forecast. When the rains return they may do so with deluges, flash floods, slides, and further disruptions to distressed communities.

(Click on the map for the link.)

“California’s Drought Is About Economic Inequality” – Mother Jones