Radio Ecoshock with host Alex Smith
Rainstorms finally arrived in California, after a 14 month drought with no significant rain. But the big reservoirs are still pitifully low, and snow pack is less than a quarter of normal. Hundreds of thousands of acres will not be planted, and food bills will likely go up in North America, and possibly around the world.
This is the Radio Ecoshock special on the California drought, as a case study of what we can expect in many parts of the Earth.
Dr. Peter Gleick is a climate and water specialist who has been warning this could happen for years. Dr. Reagan Waskom is another water and agriculture expert from Colorado.
We'll connect with boots-on-the ground water conservation specialist David Schroeder in Montclair, right on the edge of thirsty Los Angeles.
Finally, we get back to the big picture, as Professor Jay Famiglietti at University of California Irvine warns of depletion of the ground water under one of the world's biggest food producing areas. That's a trend all over the world, as we race toward peak water.