Drought Doubt

Is there really a drought in California -- or is it just a lack of rain?

This is the third year of the current drought, and each year worse than the previous.

It was 82 degrees here yesterday, and today is supposed to be the same.

I think it's fair to call it a drought.

What's the opposite of an ark?

A Buick?

I think maybe you need to pull an Army of the 12 Monkeys, and let all of the animals out of the zoo, Two by two.

Maybe that's a good idea. It's 84 damn degrees here right now. It should be around 55.

Fuck it! I gave in and turned on the A/C. In February! First time in my life I've done that. Ridiculous.

Don't worry, electricity doesn't come from hydropower.

Not for much longer, it won't.

In my defense, we use very little water in my household. The last time they instituted water rationing here, it only affected those single-family residences who used more than 25,000 gallons per month. For the past thirteen years, we have been using 3-4,000 gallons per month. So, I think we're doing our part.

Solar cells, my son. Think about it.

_Howard wrote:

For the past thirteen years, we have been using 3-4,000 gallons per month.

Per MONTH???? She-he-it!!!

My dad ran monthly water usage from his private well, it was a "troublesome" month if he hit 200 gallons. Most were 120-130. For 35 years.

Ever try to take a shower in solar cells?

It's something I have considered many times. But it would cost quite a bit, which I would never come close to recovering. Under normal or near-normal conditions, we have enough overcast and heavy fog days that our off-grid energy production would not be significant as far as grid loading goes. Remember, it is not legal to put batteries in your house and store the solar energy (unless they have changed the law), so you can only use solar energy when the sun is up.

NoCoPilot wrote:

My dad ran monthly water usage from his private well, it was a "troublesome" month if he hit 200 gallons.  Most were 120-130.  For 35 years.

Your dad wasn't married to my wife.

Can't argue with you there.

_Howard wrote:

Remember, it is not legal to put batteries in your house and store the solar energy (unless they have changed the law), so you can only use solar energy when the sun is up.

Really? In most jurisdictions solar cell owners sell the excess energy back to the grid, making themselves a tidy profit (or at least reducing their power bill and recouping their investmnent faster).

120-130 gallons per month. That's 4-4.3 gallons per day.

A low-flow toilet uses 1.5-2 gallons. For two people and two flushes per day, that's 3-4 gallons per day, or 90-120 gallons per month. Doesn't leave you with much for laundry, house cleaning, cooking and dish washing, washing your face and hands, brushing your teeth, powering up the slip-and-slide, etc.

I'm not questioning your veracity, but I don't think I could get by with that amount of water.

NoCoPilot wrote:

Really?  In most jurisdictions solar cell owners sell the excess energy back to the grid, making themselves a tidy profit (or at least reducing their power bill and recouping their investmnent faster).

True, but when the sun is not shining, you are on the grid for any energy you use. I read an article recently about - I think it was Hawaii (or maybe Germany) - where so many people have gone to solar power that the energy companies are no longer buying the excess energy. And I would expect the same thing to happen in the good old USA if energy company profits dropped.

When you live on an island, you learn to.

His toilet is ultra-low-flow. It's much less than a gallon -- some kind of weird air-assisted flush.

He did laundry about once a month.

Didn't water any plants.

Has a flow restrictor on the shower head.

He'd complain when us kids came to visit, we'd take 5 minuite showers and use the toidy 3x per day. The funny thing is, his well is gangbusters for water pressure and flow rate. It's capable of much more usage (not sure how much). I did find out, when I checked with the driller, that it's only rated for one 3-bedroom single home, not more.

I don't doubt that, with cooperation from all involved, one could get by with  minimal water consumption. And it sounds like your dad had it nailed. Kudos to him. Sincerely.

Before your remarks, I was feeling pretty good about - what I thought was - my low water usage. And compared to most people around her, it is quite low. It was almost much worse.

When we bought this house, there was no landscaping so I budgeted $50K for landscaping the place. But after we'd been here a few months (it was in the winter when you can't do any landscaping) I became so entranced with watching the animals around the house that I decided to just leave it alone. It's much more enjoyable to stand and watch deer grazing in the yard, or bobcats teaching their young to hunt gophers, than it is to just look at a big slab of green grass.

_Howard wrote:

I don't doubt that, with cooperation from all involved, one could get by with  minimal water consumption. And it sounds like your dad had it nailed. Kudos to him. Sincerely.

I don't know.  Sounds like a wicked tyrant to me.  Kinda like NoCo.

_Howard wrote:

I became so entranced with watching the animals around the house that I decided to just leave it alone. It's much more enjoyable to stand and watch deer grazing in the yard, or bobcats teaching their young to hunt gophers, than it is to just look at a big slab of green grass.

Good for you.  Except for the gopher thing.

Lisa wrote:

Sounds like a wicked tyrant to me.  Kinda like NoCo.

More true than even you could guess. I am my father's son, like it or not.

It's ok. I'm my father's ahh... daughter, I guess.
I consider it a compliment anyway.

Lisa wrote:

Good for you.  Except for the gopher thing.

I'm not crazy about gophers. Ugly little critters  I much prefer having these guys hanging around.


This one is catching some rays about fifteen feet from my front door.

Nice kitty kitty. My dad's place has deer, killer whales, raccoons, foxes, seabirds.

I have... squirrels. Squirrels and crows.

No killer whales or sea birds here. But we have foxes, coyotes, mountain lions, bears, hawks, eagles, owls, vultures... Oh, and skunks and rattlesnakes. And squirrels and crows.