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View homes in Malibu and the Pacific Palisades burn to the ground While the fire hydrants running dry is bad enough, knowing that the water shortage is the result of bad bureaucratic decisions makes the horrific sight even worse.
Water is everywhere in California. The Golden State borders the Pacific Ocean, which contains countless gallons that can be desalinated to fill reservoirs and feed fire hydrants.
But California bureaucracy is discouraging desalination plants that would guarantee additional water, and no reservoirs have been built with the $2.7 billion approved in 2014.
LOS ANGELES WILDFIRES: CALIFORNIA FIREBUG ARREST ON VIDEO AS POLICE WARN ABOUT FUELS
Environmentalists prefer to blame climate change for forest fires, just as the ancient Greeks blamed their gods when something went wrong. It’s passing the buck instead of looking in the mirror.
Water is dropped by helicopter on the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, January 9, 2025. (Ethan Swope/AP)
The acres of fires that burned on federal lands between 1916 and the mid-1940s, when carbon emissions were lower, were the same as in the first decade of the 2000s.
In California, politicians promoted an agenda to get rid of water, energy and minerals, increasing human suffering. The question is how they maintain power without people voting them out of office.
This is especially true when we consider the tragedy of the fire, which could have been prevented by water.
Government 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 West Coast Region of the National Marine Fisheries Service and the six regional coastal water quality control councils. This The system is designed to slow progress.
In addition, approval is contingent on tribal council consultation, environmental justice, consideration for marine life and energy efficiency, among other considerations.
California has allocated $120 million for desalination projects, compared to $1.4 billion for charging stations and $500 million for electric school buses. The California Air Resources Board has the power to accelerate clean air regulations.
If California can afford billions of dollars in electric vehicles, surely the state can afford to fill its reservoirs with water — especially since wildfires do more damage to the air than gasoline-powered vehicles?
Countries with lower GDPs than California have no problem building desalination plants. Such installations in the United Arab Emirates produce more than 7 million cubic meters per day, approximately 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%.
More burned cars from the Eaton fire at a Brake Masters in Altadena. (Fox News Digital/Ashley Carnahan)
Bahrain recently completed its second desalination plant, using new energy-efficient reverse osmosis technology from France-headquartered Veolia Water Technologies. The factory produces 227,000 cubic meters per day and will be operational after 22 months.
The problem is that the California government has created water scarcity, just as it has created energy scarcity and critical mineral scarcity.
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California requires 60% of its energy to come from renewables by 2030, creating energy shortages with high prices. The Legislature unanimously passed the Seabed Mining Prevention Act in 2022, which prevents the mining of crucial offshore minerals, leaving America at the mercy of China.
The environmentalist agenda, which focuses on scarcity rather than abundance, gives governments the power to distribute those limited resources. In times of scarcity, people become dependent on the government instead of dependent on their own actions.
Water is everywhere in California. The Golden State borders the Pacific Ocean, which contains countless gallons that can be desalinated to fill reservoirs and feed fire hydrants.
One of the two homes on his street that survived the 2018 Wolsey Fire in Malibu was owned by Robert Kerbeck, author of “Malibu Burning: The Real Story Behind LA’s Most Devastating Wildfire,” who learned in advance how to burn his home with had to spray fire retardant. and cut back those shrubs that could feed the flames.
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As Kerbeck recently wrote, “We need more water to fight fires, more reservoirs to store the water, and more firefighters with the right equipment to fight these massive, wind-driven fires.”
California’s policies are often based on a myth within 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 the expense of people.
