South San Francisco, CA April 17, 2015 Submitted by Elias Change.org
Petitioning Governor Brown, Members of the California Legislature, Mayors of Cities in California
A petition on CHANGE.ORG seeks to address the lack of leadership from government officials on the drought in California
Stop punishing California Residents
The water problem is YOUR FAULT!
We have done our part. We have installed water saving toilets, shower-heads, sprinklers, faucets, etc. We have reduced our water consumption dramatically and are paying exorbitant fees for water and taxes. Enough is enough!
On the other hand, YOU (govt) have done nothing to prepare the State for water shortages and increased population. Blaming the weather is flatout irresponsible. You had plenty of warning. Our water system is old and not capable of sustaining growth or lack of rain.
1. Time for YOU to get to work. Find ways to bring water to the State:
- Water desalinization – Better, efficient, solar-powered technology is available now. The biggest ocean in the world is right next to us.
- Waterpipe from Oregon/Washington States. The Columbia River dumps millions of gallons of water to the ocean everyday. Find a way to buy that water and build a pipeline to supply our aqueducts.
- Talented American engineers are working in the Middle East turning deserts into tropical paradises. Consult with them. The technology is available.
2. Every action has an Equal and Opposite Reaction! Your mandate for us to cut our water usage by 25% will have serious and irreversible effects to our Eco-system:
- We spent years planting trees, grass and plants, making our cars more efficient and reducing pollution to clean our air quality. We can’t go back to pollution.
- Air quality and greenhouse gases will create a man-made climate change. By reducing the irrigation of our gardens, we will be killing our grass, plants and trees. This will reduce the amount of oxygen producing organisms and increase our CO2 levels affecting our greenhouse gases, damaging our air quality and increasing the number of people suffering from respiratory and pulmonary diseases.
- Reduced production of healthy California produce: You are asking farmers to decrease their water usage. This will also reduce the amount of produce grown in California and kill our farming industry. The unacceptable alternative would be to import produce from China and other non-FDA regulated countries that use dangerous pesticides and fertilizers. You will seriously harm our health!
- California is one of the most beautiful states in the Nation. By destroying our gardens and trees, our property values will decrease. This will have negative consequences by reducing the amount the State and local municipalities collect in taxes.
- The reduced consumption or water will increase water pressure and instability in the old pipes and infrastructure in our larger cities. Bursts underground pipes waste more water per minute than the water we could “save” by reducing our water usage in weeks.
Your punishing actions and unacceptable mediocrity are driving people away from California. STOP!
3. Money is NOT an issue:
- You have budgeted billions of dollars to build a high-speed train, support entitlements for undocumented workers and unnecessary government projects and bureaucracy. This is an EMERGENCY. Re-allocate funds to get water into our States NOW!
- The State is collecting unprecedented and unfair amounts of money in the “Global Warming Tax”. Use this money to prevent further global warming. We need our plants, trees and grass to reduce CO2 levels and prevent further climate change.
- Initiate investigations into corruption, nepotism and waste of resources in ALL of the State’s water agencies. For example: Do we really need over 5,000 people making over $130,000 per year in salary in the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power? 200 of them make over $250,000 per year. This is flat out corruption!
4. Mediocrity is UNACCEPTABLE:
- California is the world leader when it comes to innovation, technology and human progress. We have some of the best research universities in the world like Caltech, USC, Stanford, Berkeley and others. Some of the best technology companies and the brightest minds in the world are headquartered in California. Start an immediate program to fund research and solutions for the water mismanagement problem.
- Bring engineers and consultants from Israel to train our farmers on the water utilization techniques they use.
- Just like Space X did it for space travel, create a State-funded contest and with a prize of $10 million dollars to the entity or individual that can find better solutions.
With all these resources at your disposal, it is just impossible to believe that the only solution you can find is to further punish the citizens for your mistakes and lack of action.
Get off your comfortable seats and comfy offices and GET TO WORK! Time to act and work for US, the people that pay your salaries, the citizens of California!
TO SIGN THIS CHANGE.ORG PETITION CLICK HERE
Continue to Change.Org website and read what other Californians are saying