or, How I wish it would rain . . .
2013 was California’s driest year in 119 years of official record keeping. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows nearly the entire state is in either a extreme or exceptional drought. California is also America’s number one food and agricultural producer. Water managers and officials in Southern California assure us they have enough reserves to get the state’s most populous region through this year and even into 2015 without rationing. Hmm . . . .
First off, I love the photos. Dark and moody!
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking it's about time for the Gov. to forget about that high speed train route he's obsessing over and use that money to start building water desalinization plants.
This post is the proof of how cable lines can be photogenic depending on the photographer's skills. Great job!
ReplyDeleteLovely, moody, thirst-quenching photos, but disturbing commentary. I remember visiting Sacramento one time in the 1970s and experiencing strict water-rationing, something entirely unheard of for someone from rainy Vancouver. When will the governing bodies, worldwide, wake up to the alarming rate of climate change/global warming?! Nevertheless, have been enjoying a relatively dry, though foggy, winter on the usually wet coast of Canada this year.
ReplyDeleteYou have some wonderful shots here. Inspiring to see what can be done with some creative focusing. Well done. I was shocked when I saw the water level in lake mead a couple of years ago. Worrying!
ReplyDeleteL, I've been thinking about you . . . wondering how the the drought was effecting you personally. Unfortunately, all of us will soon experience the devastating consequences. I remember the drought of the 70s and how food prices increased for the nation. Clean water is not just a California problem or a national one, it is a worldwide crisis. Overpopulation, the human expansion of the "greenhouse effect", human pollution, and our continued exploitation, abuse and disregard for how we misuse the world's natural resources has taken us to the brink. And though, there have been folks warning us of the consequences of our actions for many decades now, we not only continue to blindly ignore their forewarnings, we also seem unwilling or unable to recognize the cause and effect. Enough said . . .
ReplyDeleteThank you once again for sharing your gifts and your insight with us. I am truly thankful that there are people like you in this world.
i adore rain road photos (and being in a car when it rains - not driving it! :-) just being there with the camera, immersing oneself into the play of water and light of the fugitive landscapes outside...
ReplyDeletethese are wonderful!
Ganz interessant finde ich die sparsame Farbe in den schwarz weiss Bildern. Gratulation, Ernestus
ReplyDeleteYour photos really put us there. Of course we've been there ourselves many times, but the realism is impressive. The tiny bits of yellow in otherwise B&W photos is a nice touch too--a little weird, a little spooky. I hope you get some of the rain you need. The recent weather extremes all over the place are a bit of a concern.
ReplyDeleteWater… reminds me of Polanski’s Chinatown. But then I look at the photos, forget about naughty Polish filmmakers, and enjoy the dazzling show of overwhelming greyness, coupled with reticular skies—for are telephone cables not the safety net of cherubs falling from heaven—and all under the tutelary cover of an umbrella, naturally!
ReplyDeletedrought - scary isn't it
ReplyDeletethis series is brilliant...you've done a couple that I've thought that about. It's
got a conceptual edge to it. Smart approach to landscape
Wonderfully melancholic photos!
ReplyDeleteI've lived through a few droughts growing up in So.Cal and then spending a few years in Texas. Maybe that's why I crave rain when it's dry for more than a few weeks. It's strange that you are going through this drought while France is getting flooded with record rain. Hang in there the rain always returns,