Rampage The
ISSUE 7
The Student-Run Newspaper of Fresno City College
May 14, 2014
Vol. CXXVI
FREE
ALL DRIED UP
California drought reaches dangerously historic levels as federal officials point to climate change as culprit BY PATRICK FORREST
2,500,000TAF
News editor pforrest@therampageonline.com
2,000,000TAF
1,500,000TAF
1,000,000-
0TAF
Current Levels
TAF
Historical Avg.
500,000-
Capacity
TAF
San Luis Reservoir storage levels as of May 11, 2014. Statistics from Department of Water Resources California Data Exchange Center. TAF stands for Thousand Acre Foot- the amount of water to cover one acre of land with a foot of water.
“We have the capacity to stop sexual assault, support those who survived it and bring perpetrators to justice.” -Barack Obama
l SEE WHITE HOUSE ON PAGE 5
California’s historic drought has continued into the entire the spring and the Federal government has placed the blame on climate change as to why the water levels have dropped so severely. According to a White House task force report on the effects of climate change, the cost of maintaining and improving drinking water infrastructure will increase, because expanded wastewater treatment and desalination for drinking are among the key strategies for supplementing water supplies. The report goes on to say that increased heat and changes to rain will send ripple effects throughout the region and its critical agriculture sector. Drought and increased warming fosters increased competition for scarce water resources for people and ecosystems. These changes will increase the cost of fruits and vegetables as they become more and more scarce. “Here in California, you’ve seen these effects firsthand,” said President Barack Obama during his speech on the effects of climate change in Mountain View, Calif. ”You know what’s happening. And increasingly, more and more Americans do.” Many in Washington have seen the effects of climate change on California’s environment and the president has recently asked them all to act to fix it. “Rising sea levels, drought, more wildfires, more severe storms -- those are bad for the economy. So we can’t afford to wait,” Obama said. “And there’s no reason why we can’t even go further than we are so far by working with states and utilities, and other organizations to change the way we power our economy. Climate change is real and we have to act now.” California Sen. Dianne Feinstein has been building the support for the “California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014.” The bill would “direct the
l SEE DROUGHT ON PAGE 2
“These are our brothers, sisters, sons and daughters that have given, at minimum, four years and much of their youth in service to our country .” -Mario Reposo
l SEE VETERAN’S ON PAGE 2