During the first few years, the English experienced a drought which was one of the major factors of their difficulty. It caused a large majority of the deaths in the colony. This drought lasted 7 years, from 1606 to 1612. This was the driest period in this area in over 770 years. This can now be proved, thanks to newly found evidence in the rings of trees.
Today, parts of California are facing what could be, the worst drought in 500 years. This is creating a lot of fear in it's inhabitants because of the high risk of fires and the low supply of water. This is also causing problems for other states, because California is a large provider of our country's food, such as fruits, vegetables, dairy, and wine. 17 communities are in danger of running out of water, forcing them to buy some or run pipes to other areas. The city of Sacramento has required it's residents to cut their water use by 20%. Cities such as Santa Cruz have prohibited watering lawns during the day, refilling pools, and hosing down their driveways.
Both Jamestown and California had large responsibilities riding on them. Jamestown was ordered by King James, and was the first permanent settlement in the New World. This was a very big deal for them. California is also under pressure to provide foods that cannot be grown under the circumstances that they are in. The rest of the country depends on California for these goods. I hope that California can pull through the way Jamestown did.
Bibliography:
The Lost Colony and Jamestown Droughts
Stahle, David W., Cleaveland, Malcolm K., Blanton, Dennis B., Therrell, Matthew D., and Gay, David A.
Historical Archaeology
Vol. 34, No. 4 (2000), pp. 74-81
Published by: Society for Historical Archaeology
Vol. 34, No. 4 (2000), pp. 74-81
Published by: Society for Historical Archaeology
College Of William And Mary. "Extreme Droughts Played Major Role In Tragedies At Jamestown, "Lost Colony"." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/04/980428075409.htm (accessed February 10, 2014).
California's Drought Could Be The Worst In 500 Years
And why it's too late for the rain.—By Alex Park and Julia Lurie
| Mon Feb. 10, 2014 3:00 AM GMT
I love how you related the well-known first English settlement to a well know and populated state. It was a little confusing in the beginning because you didn't mention you were talking about Jamestown. I liked that you listed restrictions that are being put on some California residents. I really like this topic!
ReplyDeleteGreat job Katie! I really enjoyed reading your post. I really liked how you used statistics. Your piece was very well written and informative to read. Overall great job!
ReplyDeleteI liked your blog post because it was very factual and interesting at the same time. The pictures that you used made the information clearer and you introduced me to this drought that I did not know about. Great job. You can tell that you put a lot of thought into this post.
ReplyDeleteI liked your blog post because it was very factual and interesting at the same time. The pictures that you used made the information clearer and you introduced me to this drought that I did not know about. Great job. You can tell that you put a lot of thought into this post.
ReplyDelete