This comment from a reader who uses the name “Compare & Decide” seems worth sharing. It’s clear that the water woes of the U.S. west are going to have spillover impacts far beyond the boundaries of the states directly impacted by extreme drought.

Compare & Decide writes:

I am wondering how we can prep for 2020, when the fracking boom ends and jet fuel costs will rise.

People with houses can start gardens. Basically, in Hawaii all your fruit and vegetables can come from the garden. Starch and protein are more tricky.

Incidentally, I just clicked on this article on California’s water shortage (“Your contribution to the California Drought“).

It starts out: “The average American consumes more than 300 gallons of California water each week by eating food that was produced there.”

California farmers produce more than a third of the nation’s vegetables and two-thirds of its fruits and nuts. To do that, they use nearly 80 percent of all the water consumed in the state. It is the most stubborn part of the crisis: To fundamentally alter how much water the state uses, all Americans may have to give something up.

That is something to plan for.