As we celebrate our water independence, the drought California faces is the worst on record. Hundreds of thousands of farm acres have been left uncultivated, driving up food prices and inhibiting growth. The economic impact has skyrocketed into the billions of dollars. Gov. Jerry Brown has enacted the first mandatory water use reductions in state history and sought assistance from the federal government. How should California respond to this major crisis? The state’s leaders are increasingly turning their gaze toward a tiny desert nation some 7,000 miles to the east.