Instead of squabbling over how much we conserve, lets look at the root of the problem. We have only built 9 dams in all of CA over the last thirty years. In the 10 years prior to that, we built 19, and 54 were built the ten years before that!. Despite the fact that our population is expanding tremendously, and the demand for water is increasing, there have been no significant infrastructure improvements to accommodate such. Just as our city has done on the micro scale (selling out water to developers without requiring new sources), the state has done on a much larger scale. Add in the environmental lobby, and "suddenly", there is never enough water. The same can be said of our power grid. They want you to use less instead of producing more to meet demand. Dams are a win-win-win for everybody. They provide flood control, they provide water storage, they provide clean power (you do realize hydroelectric is not considered green energy...thanks green lobbyists) and they provide recreational opportunities.
All that said, I am a conservative in the literal sense of the word. My sprinklers have been off for months, and will continue to be for months. I keep showers short and yell at the kids to do so as well. I cringe to top off the pool thinking of how may gallons that takes. I don't hose down sidewalks or driveways, etc. With power, I turn off lights, put others on timers, and use CFL's (though I hate them) in high usage areas. I CONSERVE where I can. However, the state's job is to provide the services I cannot for myself. They are FAILING to do so. Insisting I minimize my usage because THEY failed to plan for adequate supplies is wrong. There is no "need" to stand under a 7 minute shower just as there is no "need" for a 2000 square foot house, or "need" for a car with 200 horsepower. I don't want my neighbors or the state deciding how much of anything I "need." And yet, I will bend over and take it until I retire and get out of this politically corrupt nanny state.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive" -- C.S. Lewis
If the only way to combat "global warming" was to lower taxes, we would never hear of the issue again. - Anonymous
"Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one" — Thomas Paine, 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 (1776)