California’s politicians didn’t start the fires. They made them worse

Seeing homes in Malibu and the Pacific Palisades burn to the ground while fire hydrants ran dry is bad enough, but knowing the water shortage resulted from bad bureaucratic decisions makes the horrifying sights even worse.  

Water is everywhere in California. The Golden State borders the Pacific Ocean, which contains countless gallons that could be desalinated to fill reservoirs and feed fire hydrants. 

But California’s bureaucracy discourages desalination plants that would guarantee additional water, and no reservoirs were built with the $2.7 billion authorized in 2014.  

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Environmentalists prefer blaming climate change for wildfires, just like the ancient Greeks blaming their gods when things went wrong. It’s passing the buck rather than looking in the mirror. 

Acres of fires burned on federal lands from 1916 to the mid-1940s, when CO2 emissions were lower, were as high as levels in the first decade of the 2000s.  

In California, politicians promoted an agenda to get rid of water, energy and minerals, which increased human suffering. The question is how they retain power without people voting them out of office. 

This is particularly true when considering the tragedy of the fire, which could have been prevented by water. 

State agencies that must approve desalination projects include the State Water Resources Control Board, the California Coastal Commission, the California State Lands Commission, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the National Marine Fisheries Service’s West Coast Region and the six coastal regional water quality control boards. This system is designed to slow progress. 

Plus, approval depends on tribal consultation, environmental justice, consideration of marine life and energy efficiency, among other factors. 

California has awarded $120 million for desalination projects, compared to $1.4 billion on charging stations and $500 million for electric school buses. The California Air Resources Board has the power to fast-track clean air regulations. 

Surely, if California can afford billions of dollars on electric vehicles, the state can afford to fill its reservoirs with water — especially since the wildfires are doing more harm to the air than gasoline-powered vehicles? 

Countries with lower GDP than California have no trouble building desalination plants. Such plants produce over 7 million cubic meters per day in the United Arab Emirates, about 40% of the country’s drinking water. Kuwait and Oman use desalination for about 90% of their drinking water, and Saudi Arabia’s share of desalinated water is 70%. 

Bahrain has recently completed its second desalination plant, with new reverse osmosis energy-efficient technology from Veolia Water Technologies, headquartered in France. The plant produces 227,000 cubic meters a day and began operations after 22 months. 

The problem is that California’s government has created water scarcity, just as it created energy scarcity and critical mineral scarcity. 

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California requires 60% of its energy to be created from renewables by 2030, so it has an energy scarcity with high prices. The legislature unanimously passed the Seabed Mining Prevention Act in 2022, which prevents extracting critical offshore minerals, leaving America at the mercy of China. 

The environmentalist agenda, which focuses on scarcity rather than abundance, gives power to governments to distribute those limited resources. In times of scarcity, people become dependent on government rather than depending on their own actions. 

Water is everywhere in California. The Golden State borders the Pacific Ocean, which contains countless gallons that could be desalinated to fill reservoirs and feed fire hydrants. 

One of the two houses on his street that survived the 2018 Wolsey Fire in Malibu was owned by Robert Kerbeck, author of “Malibu Burning: The Real Story Behind L.A.’s Most Devastating Wildfire,” who learned in advance how to spray his home with fire retardant and who cut back brush that could feed the flames. 

As Kerbeck recently wrote, “We need more water to fight fires, more reservoirs to store the water, and more firefighters with the right kind of equipment to battle these massive wind-driven blazes.” 

California’s policies are often based on a myth inside an enigma, to paraphrase Churchill about the Soviet Union. Californians who promoted the agenda of energy, water, and mineral scarcity for the sake of the environment should think again. Nature should not be worshiped at such cost to people.  

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