(Been a while since I wrote a 99 word piece of flash fiction prompted by Carrot Ranch but the subject of this one really caught my attention. As a Californian I’m well aware of the importance of water and all its surrounding controversies. Between increasing drought and the continuous rerouting of water into deserts to grow water intensive crops there will be a collision. This real life drama inspired the classic ’70s neo-noir film Chinatown, which is why I used a picture from it as the featured image here. Link below.)
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, 1930s
“So here’s the plan. We’ll transfer water from up north to down here so we can turn this desert into productive farmland,” the city father said as he looked across the dry Los Angeles basin.
“But what if they run out water?”
“How would that happen?”
“I read about a scientific study from 1912 that said increased carbon output from coal and oil consumption will heat up the planet over time and evaporate fresh water supplies.”
“Let the future generations worry about that, they’ll figure something out.”
“What if they don’t?”
“Who cares, we’ll be dead by then. Ha!”
©️2022 Robert Kirkendall
Robert Kirkendall 