California is making it, but just barely. The state is in the midst of a combination drought/heat wave that’s seen temperatures climb above 110°F consistently while limiting the water supply available to residents. The situation has gotten so bleak recently that simply maintaining the power supply is seen as a triumph. Rolling blackouts are a looming threat, as the state’s power grid is under growing pressure.
The heat and drought are only part of the issue, as wildfire season is ripening and small fires have continued to sprout and rage sporadically across the state.
“We’re going on a week now in a lot of the state where the temperatures, even at night, don’t go below 85 degrees, right before the autumn wind season. What do you think that’s doing to vegetation? Nothing good.”
-Daniel Swain, climate scientist at UCLA/person who understands cause & effect
Optimistically, California could also be on the cutting edge of “Eat the Rich” behavior, as influencers and celebrities exacerbate tensions by continuing to use more than their fair share. Local water districts have issued warnings of excessive water use to dozens of celebrities while also trying to limit residents to 55 gallons of water per day (which, for the record, is still quite a bit of water). Meanwhile, many celebrities have grown used to utilizing hundreds or even thousands of gallons a day. Any day now I’m hoping to read about how bands of thirsty and weary travelers have pillaged the sprawling and poorly-decorated homes of those with too much. Kourtney Kardashian, your days of hoarding water are numbered, mark my words.
Side Items
Juul will pay almost $440 million to settle a lawsuit alleging they made teenagers look like losers sucking on flash drives. I often thank God I wasn’t young enough or foolish enough to find the appeal of Juul’s at the time, hard to come back from that kinda thing
This NYT piece about Israeli vineyards and the ingenuity of wine-making in the hot desert climate is enough to make you lose your appetite. Somehow lost in the elaborate description of crimson nectars is any mention of the population of people being tortured, punished, and occupied in order for these vineyards to exist. I bet the wine tastes shitty too
Harry Styles and Chris Pine and Florence and the Machines and Olivia Wilde and drama. Always drama with these people