You are now in California and the U.S. category.

As California recovers from the drought, it is troubling that there is a push by certain interest groups to establish permanent water conservation regulations beyond this emergency. It seems like these groups are focused more on their ideologies or political agendas than on the real impacts that such a permanent state of emergency will have on other people’s lives and livelihoods. Obviously, a one-size-fits-all blanket-approach solution in California does not work.

Think of the Delta floodplain as a giant bathtub. Now imagine you’ve got a plug that you can insert or take out at will, allowing you to control the amount of water that fills up the plain, creating ideal conditions to grow the aquatic plant life that supports salmon and other fish species. Finally, imagine that you can do all this without causing any harm to Central Valley farmers. Such is the vision of a reconstructed floodplain according to ecologist and fisheries expert Jacob Katz.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) offered turf rebates like many other water suppliers, but it ended up funding one company that, according to many observers, left only gravel wastelands in its wake. The turf removal company known as Turf Terminators has been surrounded with controversy for some time, with a groundswell of area residents disapproving of their methods and others accusing the company of bribing the Los Angeles mayor. The company originally started as an environmentally focused investment startup called Carbon Venture Partners.

Over the past 100 years, this arid region of Central Washington has undergone a stunning transformation. Engineers and farmers have captured the annual mountain snowmelt and used it to change the sagebrush steppe into an agricultural Eden of tree fruits, mint, hay, and corn​. Rows of green crops adorn a once-parched landscape. Reservoirs funnel water to farms and turn massive turbines that spirit electricity to far-off coastal cities. And Central Washington has become an apple basket for the world. ​Charlie de la Chapelle has lived the story of this water-borne agrarian bounty.

We’re facing a crisis that’s been building for a long time. Even within in the U.S., problems abound. Here in Baltimore, we’ve been dealing with the consequences for over a decade! But fear not! There is a solution. All you have to do is shut down your pipes. You’ll have to drink, cook, and bathe with bottled water. And as an extra precaution, you’ll need to rip up your yard and replace it with gravel. For the good of the world, you understand.