water crisis

There is good news and bad news from the western United States this morning.  For American football fans, particularly those following the Broncos and the Seahawks, the Superbowl will feature two teams from the west.  Not being a fan myself, I don't know how long it has been since that has happened, but surely there is much joy in both Denver and Seattle today.  While all the celebrations and recaps continue, the water situation in most parts of the west is becoming increasingly dire.  Several friends made trips to California in the past month and they have never seen it that brown and dry.  For coastal parts of the state, this is the time of year when the landscape could be described as looking like Ireland, filled with Kelly green grass and lovely, lush oaks dotting the hills.  Although you cannot convince climate change naysayers, particularly those in the midwest and East who have just been through an extremely wet and very cold period, that the conditions are part of climate change, but they are.  Governor Jerry Brown declared a water emergency this week, and aerial photographs of the snowpack and normal conditions speak the truth.  This is going to be a tough year.  Am I the only one thinking about moving water from extremely wet areas to the dry areas?  Oil and natural gas are shipped by pipeline, why not water?  Of course, that really is not the answer.

The irony and good news in all of this is that one part of California is not in drought - the Mojave Desert.  Of course, all things are relative and it is a desert, but landscape photographers may want to have their cameras in hand for photographing the deserts of California and Arizona because 2014 may well be a stellar year for wildflowers.  It is a guessing game, but here are a few shots from years past to whet your appetites!  They are third generation - from slides to prints to scan - but still provide some visual warmth and juice.

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image