California Is All Dried Up

It's official: California is in a state-wide drought, according to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Following the driest spring in 88 years, the state's reservoirs are low, its farmers are complaining, and its forests are tinder-dry, which may lead to more forest fires like the one that scorched the Santa Cruz mountains two weeks ago. In giving the current dry spell the official "drought" stamp for the first time since 1991, the governor cleared the way for water transfers to stricken areas and a possible infusion of federal aid to speed water conservation projects. But Schwarzenegger stopped short of declaring a water emergency, which would permit water rationing. Some researchers have wondered whether the state is already suffering the early effects of global warming, which is predicted to alter California ecosystems by raising temperatures, and thus allowing less snow to build up in the mountains of Northern California.