IN PHOTO: A lawn is watered in Livingston, California April 21, 2015. California water regulators have adopted the state's first rules for mandatory cutbacks in urban water use as the region's catastrophic drought enters its fourth year.
IN PHOTO: A lawn is watered in Livingston, California April 21, 2015. California water regulators have adopted the state's first rules for mandatory cutbacks in urban water use as the region's catastrophic drought enters its fourth year. Urban users will be hardest hit, even though they account for only 20 percent of state water consumption, while the state's massive agricultural sector, which the Public Policy Institute of California says uses 80 percent of human-related consumption, has been exempted. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

After learning of the drought issue in California, some residents and eco-vigilantes protest against wealthy celebrities who apparently don't care about the state's drought problem on Twitter. The hashtag #DroughtShaming has been trending since Monday.

The current news about the drought in California is that the grass is no longer always greener. Those are who affected by drought problems are the sod businesses. According to CBS News, due to severe drought in the last few years, lawns have become the subject of ridicule called #DroughtShaming.
In December, the American Geophysical Union released a study about drought issue. Based on the data, 2012 to 2014 are the worst drought period in a millennium because of “anomalously low” precipitation and “record-high” temperatures. That's why until now, California is suffering the worst drought.

Social media users have then started to "drought shame" people. CBC reports that the tension between wealthy Californians and lower-income neighbourhoods on Twitter has begun on May 21. Californians, including eco-vigilantes who patrol streets, use social media to shame people into changing their ways, express their opinion through Twitter and aim to help fight drought. Some of their tweets were accompanied by videos and images of lawns.

Famous celebrities who have been mentioned many times for #DroughtShaming include Kim Kardashian, Sean Penn, Kanye West and Barbara Streisand. The celebrities were tagged with this hashtag because they have green, lush lawns in the midst of drought.
The Guardian wrote that drought shaming, which took off in the summer of 2014, was initially state-sanctioned. The source added that California lawmakers passed a law in July that will fine water-wasters up to US$500 [$638] a day. Offenders who will be reported watering their lawns to the extent where the pavement became flooded, using nozzle-less hoses to wash car, and hosing down driveways and sidewalks will be charged.
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