Calif. Central Valley's dichotomy stems from water

Traveling south on Interstate 5 from San Francisco to Los Angeles offers drivers an interesting glimpse at the widening water disparity in California's Central Valley. The view out the driver-side window is one of green fields and dark, leafy orchards, but the view out the passenger-side window is one of sand-colored grass and ground worn to dust. The difference between the two sides, Lisa M. Hamilton reports for the San Francisco Panorama, is water.

"Money alone can't solve the economic crisis taking place on the Westside," Hamilton writes. "Only one thing can: water." Hamilton's narrative is too comprehensive and in-depth to do justice by excerpting here, but we encourage you to read her examination of the greater forces at work in the Central Valley drought. (Read more)