3 Ways That California Needs to Learn From Saudi Arabia Before It’s Too Late

It ’s the drouth but it ’s not just the drought : California is presently facing unprecedented environmental challenges . It might not seem like they have a lot in coarse , but Saudi Arabia can instruct California how to deal out with its current water , push , and transportation crisis . Because , in a way , looking at Saudi Arabia is like looking into California ’s future .

Stop using groundwater

Saudi Arabia might be desert but like many arid region it also has a vast aquifer beneath it that ’s recharged by seasonal rain — the country used to arise a wide variety of food . Until their aquifer dried up . Due to farmersovertaxing the hush-hush water provision , millennia - old springs and oases all of a sudden disappear . Crop production plummeted and solid food price rocket . Once fertile farmland is now last unplanted . This is the last season farmers will be raise any wheat berry , for example . California currently produces about 80 % of the food for the US and even with the drought , the State Department has n’t really pick up a reduction in output . Why ? Because hard-and-fast groundwater regulation have yet to go into impression . farming concerns have extract so much groundwater theCentral Valley is sinking . California has to stop this before it demolish its demesne and livelihood forever .

Incentivize solar

love what habituate up a lot of Department of Energy ? Moving water around . You get it on where we ’re generate that energy ? Fossil fuels . The Saudis aregoing solarat an astonishing charge per unit . Think about that for a minute : Nowhere is oil more plentiful , but the Saudis are choosing solar . Why ? Exporting crude might entail big money for some Saudis but the market has become undependable . A blisteringly firm universe increment paired with aging energy infrastructure ( hmmm , sound familiar , California ? ) has made the decision easy for many people who can well instal solar at home . Plus , falling solar prices have made the technology approachable to many resident physician , and allow ’s just say the sun is n’t go anywhere . California has made great step to switch to solar , but let ’s trust that theClean Power Planmoves more of the land away from fossil fuel reliance .

Fast-track high speed rail

One of the most engorged part of Saudi Arabia is a corridor between the Holy Cities of Medina and Mecca , which becomes congested with pilgrims , peculiarly decent now , as an estimated 1 million Muslims have arrived in Mecca for the hajj , a mandatory spiritual pilgrimage ( this is also where thehorrific Hart Crane accidenthappened Friday ) . The Haramain High Speed Rail undertaking was proposed to take those cars off the road but it will also allow some much - needed transit infrastructure for Saudis . The project is behind agenda but is planned to open this December ( and with construction starting in 2009 , that ’s not too bad ) . In addition to offering a quick and comfortable way for tourists and pilgrims to locomote between Medina and Mecca , it will also connect major cities and airports . With about 280 miles of data track , that ’s just a bit shorter than California ’s offer High Speed Rail internet . In fact , Saudi Arabia ’s is part of alarger , $ 20 billion plancalled the Gulf Cooperation Council Railway , or GCC , connecting all six Gulf province with 1,350 Swedish mile of train lines . The US can dream .

AP Photo / Mosa’ab Elshamy

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