We have decided to move from the city by the bay, San Francisco, to the city across the bay, Berkeley. If everything goes as we hope it will, at the beginning of September we will have the keys to our dream house!
One of the things (fortunately there are not many of them) that I would like to change is the brown bark in the backyard. When I first saw this house, I wondered why there is so little grass.
I thought that the owner was all about savings, and for sure it was a factor, but I think it could be also related to the endless drought in California.
I was enlightened when I was strolling around our neighborhood. Nearby, I saw a sign on the brown lawn saying – Brown is the new green! And at the pool I noticed a sticker with inscriptions: We are all California, save your showers! On television, I see ads for lawn painting.
For the last couple of weeks north of San Francisco firemen are fighting the raging fires. After four year of drought the Governor of California has ordered mandatory water conservation. The cuts vary depending on the city. San Francisco does not have a large consumption of water per capita, so reductions were established here at 8%, but in Beverly Hills, for instance, the famous district in Los Angeles, the cuts go as high as 36%.
Across the state university campuses, golf courses, cemeteries and larger landscapes areas all have to conserve water. And for California residents, who use water in home appliances, special discounts are offered. For example, in Los Angeles, those who purchase special water saving clothes washers are eligible for a $300 rebate. In turn, water agencies and individual consumers who do not adapt to the new requirements are punished by serious financial penalties.
Perhaps it would be simpler to raise the price of water? Let me add that in California costly desalination systems are being implemented.
Farmers are the ones who are exempted from the water savings cuts, but they have to report on gallons of water consumed.
Governor Brown also recommends using artificial lawns. On the photos they look quite decent and certainly better than the existing one of our garden of our house.
But of course, no matter how dry it gets, Baby needs her bath 🙂
Two years ago the stunning pool at the Getty Villa was full. Now it is completely empty.
