Six Ways We Can Keep the World From Drying Up

As Water Disappears, These New Techniques Will Help Us Stave Off Perpetual Drought

Early last year, Californians, already deep in their state’s drought panic, confronted a depressing statistic. Governor Jerry Brown had called for cities and towns to voluntarily cut down on water use by 20 percent, but a survey of water departments showed they hadn’t managed to improve the situation by even 4 percent in March, compared to the same month of the previous year.

The poor results suggested an important lesson: Water conservation isn’t going to happen on its own. Brown responded by mandating water-use reductions, which, so far, seems to …

August 14, 2015

A California Painter Laments the Drying Landscape

As the Drought Rages on, an Artist Struggles to Find Inspiration Among Shriveled Poppies and Ankle-Deep Rivers

By Karen Winters | August 13, 2015

As an outdoor landscape and seascape painter, I’m used to seeing places change over the years. I painted a stately cottonwood tree on an Owens Valley country lane in the …

How Water Scarcity Shaped America

The Continental Divide—the Country's Spine—Has Been the Source of Conflicts and Compromises Over the Precious Commodity for Centuries

By Stephen Grace | July 29, 2015

Water, when scarce, has split the nation into warring factions. But it has also united fractured regions. Water can both release the demons of war and stir the better angels …

Let’s Play the Drought Blame Game

There Are Plenty of Guilty Parties During This Dry Spell—Even the Cows are Moo-ches

by Joe Mathews | June 11, 2015

I hate to play the blame game, but let’s face facts: This drought is all your fault.

You are watering outdoors too much. You kept your lawn when you should have …

Phoenix Is a Survivor

This City in the Sonoran Desert Is an Old Hand at Grappling with Its Thirst for Water and Electricity

by Joe Mathews | June 3, 2015

The fact that people question Phoenix’s existence has been good for the city. That was the headline lesson from Tuesday night’s Zócalo/ASU College of Public Service & Community Solutions event, …

Can California’s Youngest Minds Help Fix the Drought?

How A State-Wide Contest for Kids on Water Conservation Opened the Floodgates For Creative Ideas

by Craig Watson | May 22, 2015

While the actions of adults on water conservation will determine our fate, making kids aware of water and the drought is important too.

At the California Arts Council, we noticed …

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