25 Matching Annotations
  1. Aug 2016
    1. Amanda Zamora,

      Amanda was previously a senior engagement editor for ProPublica. She has worked as an editorial aide and reporter in the past.

    2. Lauren Kirchner

      Senior reporter at ProPublica. Lauren has reported on a range of topics from criminal justice to this article about the drought.

    3. Abrahm Lustgarten

      Author of several articles about the drought and other water problems and possible solutions throughout the Midwest.

    4. California's Drought Is Part of a Much Bigger Water Crisis

      Lustgarten, Abrahm, Lauren Kirchner, and Amanda Zamora. "California's Drought Is Part of a Much Bigger Water Crisis." Scientific American. ProPublica, n.d. Web. 20 July 2016.

    1. affect the entire economy,

      This can be used as an example for why everyone should care about the drought.

    2. produce costlier crops like almonds and pistachios – mostly imported to China and elsewhere – to make up for production cutbacks. Those two crops require 35 times the water compared to the traditional vegetables.

      Are the farmers causing more problems by trying to make up for production costs?

    3. As aquifers are depleted, farmers are drilling deeper and deeper for water. In some places, the drilling is pulling up water that last saw sunlight during the Ice Age.

      The farmers must have water in order to provide food to the country, but drinking water is needed as well. What will happen when even the deepest groundwater is removed?

    4. one bridge now sits below the water line.

      The sinking is affecting the infrastructure of the state. How could this, in combination with natural disasters, continue to have a negative impact on the infrastructure.

    5. between May 2014 and January 2015 the ground sank up to 2 inches per month.

      This relates back to the sinking of 45 feet previously noted.

  2. Jul 2016
    1. As the population exploded and farming acreage increased, the land collapse accelerated – one area dropped nearly 40 inches between 2007 and 2010. And in just eight months leading up to February 2015, it sank another 13 inches.

      All thanks to the lack of ground water and available water from rivers and lakes.

    2. enough fresh water needs to be released to keep seawater from infiltrating the area

      New information to me. I always thought the salt water regulated itself through sea life.

    3. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and conservative lawmakers, farmers and residents who accuse the agency of wasting millions of gallons of water to protect salmon and an endangered anchovy called the delta smelt

      Controversial use of water because many believe in protecting wildlife and endangered species while others are more concerned with their own survival. This raises the question of which is more important?

    4. Farmers use 40 percent of the state's water supply. Residential and commercial usage is 10 percent, and the rest is released into the waterways or used by the government.

      Farmers aren't even using half of the available water and they're the ones providing food to the nation. This can be used in an argument to support farmers.

    5. "Wealthy people don't care, they will find a way [to use water]," said Republican state Sen. Jim Nielsen, a lifelong farmer and farming advocate. "But it's not the urban use that's sucking the state dry, it's the farmers," he added sarcastically.

      This is an interesting quote. Often times the wealthy doesn't seem to notice serious problems until it is directly affecting them.

    6. second year of mandatory 25 percent water cuts.

      The once lush coast is now know for being brown.

    7. Lake Shasta

      Massive lake to small Grand Canyon thanks to the drought and need for water.

    8. infrastructure damage from the altitude drop; two million acres of dead farmland; disappearing wildlife; $2.7 billion in economic losses; 21,000 lost jobs; and rising food and utility costs.

      Problems of the drought that are affecting everyone economically, among other ways.

    9. urged to drill new wells – at a cost of $30,000 each. Portable showers have been installed at a local church and bottled drinking water is delivered. Emergency state funding has paid for delivery of 2,500-gallon water drums to residents' front yards for washing and bathing. It's been that way for two years.

      Where do we draw the line? Water is having to be trucked in to do even simple things like bath. This developed country is almost moving backward in time and advancements.

    10. the only way to do something about it is to stop drilling. Then it will keep sinking for a year or two even if it's stopped.

      Currently there are no other solutions to help the now sinking state.

    11. will produce floods as the water has nowhere to go

      The land is too dry and collapsing from mining, thus the water will not all soak in to the earth. This can lead to mudslides which are also devastating in a hilly state like California.

    12. It will take several years of rain to bring the state out of its crisis mode regardless of how many spring showers occur.

      Can a major storm like El Nino help speed up the process?

    13. Tori Richards

      Richards is a contributor for several news outlets such as US News, Fox News, and Bloomberg News. She lives in California, thus experiencing the drought first hand.

    14. sunk more than 45 feet since 1935 – something the U.S. government calls the "largest human alteration of the earth's surface."

      This can be used for why groundwater drilling is a bad thing.

    15. Water Woes Divide California into Haves, Have Nots

      Richards, Tony. “Water Woes Divide California into Haves, Have Nots.” U.S. News. 8 Apr. 2016. Web. 10 July 2016.

      Richards claim is in the subtitle of the article. He states that the decrease in water in California may cause a Dust Bowl. Throughout the piece, Richards also talks about the ongoing sinking of the state due to groundwater mining.

  3. Jun 2016