CALIFORNIA: Liquid Sunshine

In the beginning, California was created with plenty of water and plenty of sunshine. But the big trouble turned out to be that the water was in the north, and the warmest sun—along with ever-multiplying millions of sun-worshiping citizens —was spread over dry, arid Southern California. Even though thirsty Los Angeles and vicinity piped water 300 miles from the faraway Owens Valley, and more water from the Colorado River, Southern California seemed doomed to run out of enough water by 1970 unless some agreement could be worked out to draw a substantial...

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