California is finally embracing its rivers. But it may be a choking embrace. We Californians have long celebrated our coastal splendor and toasted the height and beauty of our mountains. But our rivers? For most of us, they have been a mere utility, the plumbing that moved water around the state.. Today the Golden State, its regions and its people are at long last taking the advice of the late environmentalist David Brower, who counseled his fellow Californians to “begin thinking like a river,” and fulfilling the eternal Christmas dream of Joni Mitchell, “I wish I had a river.”

 

It might not be the most wonderful time of the year to buy a Christmas tree. Tree shortages—brought on by droughts and other environmental problems—could be driving up the price of the centerpiece of your holiday decor, Consumerist reported. In particular, the rising cost of trees in Oregon and elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest could hike prices nationwide, since that region supplies to buyers from out of state. Dan Bollander—who was grown trees in drought-stricken Southern California for the past 37 years—told CBS Los Angeles prices spiked by 10% this year.

California water regulators on Wednesday recommended tighter oversight of agricultural irrigation and a permanent ban on over-watering urban lawns, a first step toward developing a long-term conservation plan amid ongoing drought.The proposal comes as nearly two-thirds of the state heads into a fifth year of severe drought despite a wet fall and heavy rains last winter that have ameliorated conditions in many areas.

The California story on this historic drought is about to add another chapter. The next 90 days will be telling since about half of the state’s annual precipitation happens between December and February. Epic rain in October and a decent November has set up parts of northern California to ease some of the drought conditions. Extreme northern California has continued to stay out of drought since mid-October. Southern California has not seen the same plentiful precipitation, and so much of that part of the state remains in exceptional drought.