In the civilized world we have always taken water for granted.
But this is about to change. Especially in California.
In winter normally, mountain peaks are covered with snow and it rain significantly in lower altitudes.
This year, for reasons that nobody can clearly explain, it is different
We are in the midst of the driest winter that I can recall and we are staring at the specter of a prolonged drought.
Compounding this dire situation, due to a lack of rain, forest fires are erupting right and left.
Normally, water can be found just about everywhere, in streams, in ponds, in lakes and it is relatively cheap; but when it becomes scarce its importance and value increase exponentially.
The lack of water could easily upset the delicate fabric of society and pit neighbors against neighbors with unforeseen consequences.
In many ways, water can be compared to the bread of yore, which was considered a staple of life.
A scarcity of bread could lead to riots and many times it did.
On the morning of October 5, 1789, thousands of French women marched on Versailles demanding bread. It was the earliest and most significant event of the French Revolution.
Shortly after this, the riots turned into a revolution, leading ultimately to the beheading (January 21, 1793) on the Place de la Révolution of Louis the XVI and a few months later (October 16, 1793), his wife Marie-Antoinette.
Similarly, a severe water shortage could easily degenerate in water riots.
But without even being asked many Californians are starting to change their carefree habits.
They spend less time in the shower and are reducing lawn watering.
Californians have always been at the forefront of the ecology movement and I am pretty sure that they will do their bit to stave off the water problem.
To cover all fronts though, it would not hurt to pressure a Fainéant Congress to perform a non-partisan rain dance.
It is part of their job to provide federal help.
If worse comes to worse, since we have a significant wine surplus in California, why not use this surplus to flush our toilet tanks, and taking showers?
Every little bit helps…
Alain