Discussion 8

Section # Q1: Water usage is now restricted in LA – True or False? Although water usage is not yet restricted in Los Angeles, the time in which it is may soon be coming if drastic changes to water policy and yard upkeep are not made. With the current rate of expected growth of Los Angeles to exceed 11 million within the next 25 years, drastic measures will likely need to be taken in order to reserve the natural resources of the region for the city’s future. However, small incremental changes to the system can be implemented currently so that a drastic shift in the future would not be necessitated.
Q2: What type of plants should we plant in LA?
Firstly, native/indigenous plants that are drought resistant should be encouraged to be grown in lieu of a full yard of grass. This can be accomplished through a variety of incentives as well as implementing new requirements for the landscaping of any new housing development. The outright legislation of what type of plants that an individual is allowed to plant in their own yard may seem a bit draconian, especially to those that have lived in the LA area for many years. As such, a good remedy to this would be to require that any new housing developments and or landscaping projects must adhere to some minimum drought hardy requirements.
Q3: Should we fine people who have green lawns?
Simply having a green lawn is not reason for a fine; however, if water records can substantiate that the individual is wastefully using public resources solely for beautification purposes, that individual should be forced to pay a penalty for this luxury because the aforementioned individual is taking the resources of the entire public.
Q4: Why do you think we plant our lawns and flower beds as if we lived in England?
It is a part of the American societal norm. We are constantly shown perfect, green, beautifully manicured lawns in movies, television, advertisements, and other forms of marketing. We are told that this is what we should all ascribe to and in so doing we will be able to further delineate ourselves from the rest of the neighborhood as the person who has the best grass – as if that really matters. In the first article that was assigned, it stated that the lawn business was a several hundred billion dollar a year money making machine; as such, the firms that benefit from this infusion of money will continue to lobby and advertise and market this form of “ happiness” to an unwitting public.
Q5: Should we restrict ourselves to native plants? Should we rip out non-native plants?
It depends on how severe the drought is or if the water system has reached or is near reaching absolute capacity. Going so far at this juncture as tearing out non-native plants would be a bit severe especially since such a broad ranging edict would have many negative effects on the local environment including erosion.
Q6: How can we further reduce Los Angeles water usage?
By educating the community as to the limited resource availability and taxing/penalizing those that wish to water their lawns regardless of this scarcity, the city will be able to both raise awareness and funds to better handle the situation; either by building further aqueducts to feed the cities ever-increasing need. Furthermore, conservation efforts can be more adequately funded with whatever money is gained through the higher rates. It is not through a single mechanism, but through many mechanisms working together to foster awareness that the problem will be reduced for the future residents of Los Angeles.
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Comment 1: Los Angeles Water Resources
Although Los Angeles does have a great deal of natural water resources to draw upon, these resources are currently near exhaustion. Nearly 40% of the natural water reserves that Los Angeles has access to are underground reservoirs. The remainder of the city’s water need is fed from the Owen Valley, Colorado River and the State Water Supply Project.
Comment 2: Los Angeles Rainfall and Retention Reservoirs
Los Angeles experiences a relatively high level of rainfall during the fall and winter seasons. Likewise, it is a suggestion of this analysis that Los Angeles should work to build a reservoir system in which they may be able to collect some of this excess rainfall so that in the drier season the reliance upon outside sources will not be so great. However, the cost and the environmental effects of such a large construction project and dependence on weather patterns are a few drawbacks to adopting such a remedy.
Comment 3: Further Restrictions and the Application of Current Water Usage
It is the belief of this author that the restrictions that have been put in place by the relevant authorities to manage water usage are correct in theory; however, they are exceptionally difficult and costly to enforce. Although these restrictions have helped to curb the overall level of water usage and raise awareness as to the threats to the system, the costs that the city must accept to pay enforcement of these policies are high (Hanak/Davis, 2006). Accordingly, the only true recourse the city has is to further raise water rates.
Comment 4: Requiring Drought Resistant Plants
Planting bushes, trees, grass, and shrubs that are drought resistant is a wonderful start towards weaning the city’s lawns from the current water addiction. Furthermore, it makes logical sense to plant species that are native as well as easily adapted to the environment in question rather than attempting to mirror a non-native environment at the cost of massive use of natural resources.
Comment 5: Fining Those with Green Lawns
Fining citizens that maintain a green lawn is short sighted. Many of the communities within Los Angeles have neighborhood ordinances requiring that yards be maintained and reach an overall standard. If penalizing those citizens that had a green yard became a standard practice, further incentivizing people to take pride in and keep up their piece of real estate would be severely diminished.
Bibliography
Hanak, E., & Davis, M. (2006). Lawns and Water Demand in California. Public Policy Institute of California, Retrieved from http://www. ppic. org/main/publication. asp? i= 691