Finding the Silver Lining in California's Drought

The article is an op-ed by Michael George, who is currentlysenior manging director at Sutter Securities Incorporated.

"Unlike prior droughts, however, the drought of 2009 compounds the physical drought with a regulatory drought. In a series of cases aimed at protecting the environment, federal courts have constrained the use of the pumps which take water from the Delta and deliver it to the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project."

"The first hint of potential good news is that the pernicious and wide-spread effects of the drought have catalyzed cooperation to solve the problem. One example is the coordination of public awareness campaigns by public and private water utilities to inform Southern Californians that water conservation must be taken to a new and more efficient level if we are to make it through the summer months."