15b Make up

 The film we were asked to watch before class, depicts Leonardo DiCaprio meeting with various officials to discuss climate change.  Among the many officials that he met were municipal leaders who were facing the reality of climate change, even when it is still nationally debated (at a policy level.) The best example was found in Miami, a city that is already partially underwater. The mayor of Miami at the time was explaining how a pump system designed to pump sea water off the streets of Miami would only last 50 years. The mayor went on to explain that this is considered fantastic, given that the state government of Florida did not assist, as they do not acknowledge to existence of climate change. This divergence between the reality, the future, and what people are willing to acknowledge is a common theme found within this topic.

For example in Silicon Valley, and specifically in Santa Clara county, we are having our own massive debate about water right now. This is because the local water authority Valley Water (aka Santa Clara Valley Water) has been doing a major push to reform the water use practices in the County. In the spring they called for a voluntary 25% reduction in water use, along with attempting a PR campaign to better educate people about their water systems. However, as someone who attended the event, it could not have been the crowd they hoped for. Last week in response to the heatwave, and continued drought they have issued a 15% reduction for everyone in the county, in order to prevent an emergency. Yet, this is news only shared on their website, and maybe a few local politicians have retweeted a graph. Yet this is critical information that changes the livability of the county, and few have been included in the discussion. 

The tiny bit of research I did unveils a troubling situation where, in one of the most educated counties in America, we cannot change peoples environmental impact through information. Meaning that the fight for responsible water use has a might climb up hill.