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Hoy es el día más hermoso de nuestra vida, querido Sancho; los obstáculos más grandes, nuestras propias indecisiones; nuestro enemigo más fuerte, el miedo al poderoso y a nosotros mismos; la cosa más fácil, equivocarnos; la más destructiva, la mentira y el egoísmo; la peor derrota, el desaliento; los defectos más peligrosos, la soberbia y el rencor; las sensaciones más gratas, la buena conciencia, el esfuerzo para ser mejores sin ser perfectos, y sobretodo, la disposición para hacer el bien y combatir la injusticia dondequiera que esté.

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1 de abril de 2015

These Charts Show the Horrific Conditions That Forced California Into Water Rationing

Source: National Drought Mitigation Center / Bloomberg
California's governor has taken the unprecedented step of ordering mandatory water restrictions as the state's epic drought enters a fourth year.
The restrictions are severe—a 25 percent reduction in water use and a ban on new homes unless they feature water-efficient irrigation, among others. However, it should come as little surprise to anyone who has watched this drought unfold. Here are four charts that offer a glimpse at California's predicament, which by some measures has been the worst drought in at least 1200 years.
The effects of prolonged drought are cumulative. Maps from the U.S. Drought Monitor above show the worsening of conditions over the last four years. More than forty percent of the state is in now “exceptional drought” (crimson). It’s a distinction marked by crop and pasture losses and water shortages that fall within the top two percentiles.
There have been times when the expanse of "exceptional drought" has been larger—but not this early in the year. That brings us to the next chart, which may have been part of the trigger for California Governor Jerry Brown's actions today.

California Snowpack at Historic Lows

The accumulation of mountain snow irrigates the valleys below for months to come. This winter's final reading of snowpack in the Sierra Nevada came back Wednesday. It wasn't pretty. The level of snow was just 6 percent of normal levels.
Snowpack works as a sort of slow-release water reservoir for the state. It's not the only reservoir that cities and farms draw upon. The chart below shows how record-low rain has left traditional reservoirs less than half full, leading to rationing and conditions that have withered pastures and forced farmers to uproot orchards and fallow farmland.

California's Reservoirs Are Miserably Low 

Source: USGS Center for Integrated Data Analytics
The blue bands above represent various reservoirs in California. Their width is proportional to the volume of the reservoir.
California's drought has been so bad that it's even severely impaired the ability to generate electricity with hydroelectric turbines. If it weren't for the state's rapid deployment of renewable energy, the water crisis might also have contributed to an energy crisis.
The chart below shows that while solar and wind have boomed, hydroelectric power has been slashed by more than half.
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