Uh-Oh! We're in a Drought!

I live in Central California. We are known for being a vast and bountiful region of all things agriculture. In fact, the Central Valley's agriculture contributes heavily to California having the 8th highest GDP in the world. And now we are in trouble. California is in a severe drought right now. So much that the Governor declared a drought State of Emergency and called upon the people of the state to reduce their water usage and waste by 20%. Its so serious that it even caught the attention of the White House and even President Obama came for a visit.

The drought is set to have many negative impacts, specifically driving up the cost of food. And this will be devastating for a lot of families nationwide who are already struggling to put/keep food on the table. The graph below shows how serious an issue food insecurity is for American people and how it is a continually growing trend.

Now that the facts have been presented, What is my family going to do to ensure we are doing our part? First of all, we will begin by aiming for 20% or more water conservation in our household. This is being done by:

• Taking shorter showers.
• My son taking showers instead of baths. When he does take baths, the tub only gets filled 1/4 of the way and then that water will be used to water outside.
• Running the dishwasher only when it is full.
• Same goes for the washing machine.
• Not washing our cars nearly as often.
• Saving the water in a jug from the sink when I run it in the morning to warm it up for washing my face. This water gets used in the animals' water dish and also in my homemade cleaners and in the garden.

These alone have shown a 20% reduction in our household water usage. We are aiming higher and working together to further reduce our water usage.

We are also planting a vegetable container garden in our backyard to ensure we have fresh produce and will not have to pay a lot of money for it. I will be canning, freezing, and preserving the produce we will not be eating right away for us to enjoy later in the season.

I know that the drought will have other severe impacts on our lives in other ways, but I am optimistic and doing what I can to be prepared and to help my family handle it with grace.