A man looks for water as he walks on ground cracked by drought in Santa Isabel August 19, 2014. According to a recent report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), run by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), low rainfall l
IN PHOTO: A man looks for water as he walks on ground cracked by drought in Santa Isabel August 19, 2014. According to a recent report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), run by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), low rainfall linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon has led to drought in parts of Central America, causing widespread damage to crops, shortages and rising prices of food, and worsening hunger among the region's poor. Reuters/Stringer

California’s recurring drought and harsh curbs on water use have provoked Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP and a Republican probable for the presidential race in 2016, to blame environmentalists for the "man-made” drought. “It is a man-made disaster,” Fiorina told the Blaze Radio.

In Fiorina's view, “California is a classic case of liberals being willing to sacrifice other people’s lives and livelihoods at the altar of their ideology. It’s a tragedy.” Fiorina, who ran for a California Senate seat in 2010 against incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer, is concerned that the state is facing a devastating drought in its fourth year. The executive order issued by California Gov. Jerry Brown has put severe curbs on water usage. The directive orders California’s State Water Resources Control Board to reduce water supply by 25 percent.

Green Lobby

Republicans blame California’s protections for endangered species as the reason responsible for the drought. In December 2014, the House passed a bill to pump water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to Southern California. But the move was opposed by environmentalists, who said it would harm the endangered fish species. The Obama administration also threatened to veto the bill.

Fiorina said it is the “tragedy of California because of liberal environmentalists" insistence. California has suffered from droughts for millennia, but liberal environmentalists showed no concern in building a new reservoir or a single new water conveyance system over decades despite California’s population having doubled, the Republican leader noted.

It is a man-made lack of water in California and Washington is managing the water for the farmers, Fiorina charged. In its response to the drought situation, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the Obama administration does not have any fresh policy changes to address it. But he listed steps that President Barack Obama had taken to offer relief to the state by sending $60 million to California food banks and $15 million for farmers and ranchers.

Referring to Mr. Obama’s assistance to Californians, Fiorina said the President Obama goes out to California a little over a year ago, “calls it a tragedy of global warming and hands out money to a food bank. This is all about politics and policy, and it is liberal environmentalists who have brought us this tragedy."

Harsh Penalties

Meanwhile, California Governor's recent proclamation, forcing Californians to cut water usage by 25 percent has come in for criticism, reports American Thinker. The order by the Governor features threats of fines up to $500 per day with severe restrictions even on personal shower habits. The report laments that Governor Brown and the ruling Democratic Party only resorted to tough rationing measures and a heavy-handed fees, without outlining any real solution to California’s current water crisis.

(For feedback/comments, contact the writer at kalyanaussie@gmail.com)

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