Some wealthy Californians openly don't think they should have to limit their water usage
In statements so tone-deaf they would make Marie Antoinette wince, a few vocal residents of Rancho Santa Fe, California, spoke with The Washington Post about the horrors of having to reduce their water consumption during the drought.
Steve Yuhas, a conservative radio talk show host, was aghast at the idea of being "forced to live on property with brown lawns [and] golf on brown courses." Rancho Santa Fe uses five times more water per capita than the statewide average, and in April, after Gov. Jerry Brown (D) called for a 25 percent reduction in water use, usage actually went up by 9 percent. "We pay significant property taxes based on where we live, and no, we're not all equal when it comes to water," Yuhas said.
Although everyone in California is being asked to rally together to save water for the good of the state, it really irritates the people of Rancho Santa Fe that they can't keep their sprinklers on 24/7, drain their pools every day, take 3-hour showers, and leave their faucets on until the pipes run dry. "I think we're being overly penalized, and we're certainly being over scrutinized by the world," interior designer Gay Butler told the Post, as she rode on her show horse, Bear. "It angers me because people aren't looking a the overall picture. What are we supposed to do, just have dirt around our house on four acres?"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That's basically what the article's lone voice of reason, Holly Manion, has done. A real estate agent, she has changed her landscape to include drought-resistant plants, and it bothers her to know that not everyone in her neighborhood is taking the drought seriously. "There are people, they aren't being responsible," Manion said. "They're just thinking of their own lives."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Trump's partly stormy day in court
Speed Read Porn actress Stormy Daniels testified in graphic detail about her 2006 encounter with the former president
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake: how real is the feud?
In the spotlight Beef between Californian rapper and Canadian hip-hop star goes 'nuclear' with diss tracks full of serious allegations
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Eurovision 2024: how is politics playing out in Sweden?
Today's big question World's most popular song contest 'has always been politically charged' but 'this year perhaps more so than ever'
By The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published