William Shatner says give him $30 billion and he'll solve California's water crisis
William Shatner has come up with what he says is a surefire way to save California from its drought: Build a pipeline from rain-drenched Seattle to the Golden State.
"I want $30 billion...to build a pipeline like the Alaska pipeline," he told Yahoo. "How bad would it be to get a large, 4-foot pipeline, keep it aboveground — because if it leaks, you're irrigating." The actor plans to launch a Kickstarter in an attempt to raise the billions of dollars necessary to make the pipeline a reality, and believes he's doing a public service by at least bringing awareness to the drought. "If I don't make $30 billion, I'll give it to a politician who says, 'I'll build it,'" he said.
This isn't the first time a pipeline has been proposed to help California with water. Several decades ago, state water officials discussed securing water from the Pacific Northwest, but that plan never came to fruition. In 1977 and 1990, Los Angeles Supervisor Kenneth Hahn discussed digging aqueducts to carry water from the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest and the Snake River in Idaho, but those states weren't interested — in a 1990 letter to Hahn, Oregon Gov. Neil Goldschmidt wrote, "I have the distinct impression that you are trying to steal my water."
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.
