Los Angeles Reservoir Covered by 96 Million Plastic Balls
- NPG
- September 1, 2015
- NPG Commentary
- 0 Comments
A recent article on Yahoo! News perhaps said it best: “The Los Angeles Reservoir looks like a giant ball pit.”
While California remains crippled by one of the worst droughts in the state’s history, the city of Los Angeles made a desperate attempt to conserve its rapidly-vanishing water supplies.
According to the article: “The city poured 96 million black, four-inch plastic balls over the surface of its 175-acre reservoir earlier this [month] – the first city in the country to use shade balls to preserve its water sources, officials said.”
According to L.A. mayor Eric Garcetti: “By reducing evaporation, these shade balls will conserve 300 million gallons of water each year. Instead of just evaporating into the sky, that’s 300 million gallons to fight this drought.”
L.A. Department of Water and Power general manager Marcie Edwards takes home the award for the most absurd comment on the shade ball tactic:
“This is a blend of how engineering really meets common sense. We saved a lot of money, we did all the right things.”
For NPG, all we can do is shake our heads. Instead of investigating how California’s disastrous policies to INCREASE POPULATION are contributing to – if not causing – this crisis, Los Angeles officials only want to pat themselves on the back for a job well done.
Nowhere (that NPG can find) has ANY official in Los Angeles EVEN CONSIDERED California Governor Jerry Brown’s recent statement in regards to the drought crisis:
“At some point, how many people can we accommodate?”
It is basic arithmetic: a finite supply of natural resources (in this instance, water) plus a growing number of consumers will inevitably equal less of that resource available…until there is nothing left.
Eventually, all the shade balls inthe world won’t be enough.
Until California takes action to address – and reverse – its massive population growth, Los Angeles officials are simply kicking the can down the road once again. Sooner or later, the well is going to run dry – for California, and for all of America.
Help NPG continue our fight to protect America’s future!
