(NaturalNews) When it comes to setting rules, small cadres of connected politicos usually make them. When it comes to setting examples, they don't need to bother. But those being ruled have to bite the bullet, obey, or pay consequences set out to enforce those rules. Nothing new here. But during an actual emergency that demands regulating, hypocrisy needs to be at least noticed.
There is an actual increasingly dangerous water shortage in California due mostly to recent and current long-term droughts. California is mostly desert, but its high crop yields that the nation largely depends on demands irrigation from lakes and rivers that are not native to the state. So the water has to be brought in. Problem is, those resources have been running low also.
The San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported, "In July, the State Water Resources Control Board passed stage one emergency regulations, giving powers to all local water agencies to fine $500 per violation." [1]
The general consensus in California is to restrict indoor water usage to 50 gallons per day per person in the household. This includes all the ways that water is supplied to dwellings. The EPA estimates thee average nationwide indoor water use per individual at 70 gallons per day. [1]
Some water districts were set to increase billing by 160 percent for excess water use in addition to the fines. Others were set to restrict outdoor use to twice a week. Thanks to our computerized and satellite observation technologies, these rules are enforceable. [1]
Then there is the Irvine Ranch Water District's Turf Removal Program with the motto "Remove Green. Receive Green." [1] This has been a traditional part the non-lawn landscaping with many homes in areas of New Mexico, which is a highly arid region that has recently been blessed with more rain than usual.
Apparently, Californians have been spoiled with the water siphoned from other areas until now.
Seems like many high-ranking California officials are beyond water rationing
This is not just a reference to state and municipal institutional activities. These violations are from ranking state and municipality officials' homes. And these are not just ordinary state and county officials; these are the ones who set the rates of water use for others.
In California, only officials who set water use standards can have their personal-use water bills scrutinized. The Center for Investigative Reporting collected water bill records of 150 officials who oversee 22 of the state's largest water agencies.
They found that Riverside Councilman Mike Soubirous used almost eight times as much water daily as the average single family home. Soubirous is a member of the Riverside City Council, which voted unanimously to impose tough new water conservation rules in this Southern California desert city of 317,000.
When confronted, Soubirous, whose property has a lushly landscaped one-acre lot, asserted, "Do I have to sell my house to set that example, or do I have to just abolish all my shrubs? I don't know what to do. I don't know how I can reduce my water rate." [2]
According to records, two other officials in addition to Soubirous, a Fresno city councilman and a member of Riverside's utilities board, pumped more than 1 million gallons in a single year during the drought.
Then, another 15 water officials were discovered using two times more water during drought times than average home owners use normally. Some of them claimed that their landscapers were at fault or sprinkler and pool water leaks were to blame.
Trent Orr of San Francisco's environmental San Francisco law firm Earth Justice said the officials were "blatantly defying" the conservation ethos they impose on ordinary citizens. "You should be leading by example," Orr said, "not telling the little people you regulate that they need to tighten their belts while you proceed as if nothing had happened and in fact use more water." [2]
The California water issue is real. But doesn't this remind you of Al Gore and limousine liberal movie stars' hypocrisy with their bogus man-made carbon global warming? [3]
