We are heading into the fourth year of this drought and something big has to be done. If we start to change our attitudes and look at the drought not with dread but as an opportunity we can solve the problem.
Instead of saying brown is the new green -- because that just makes everyone think of the old saying "if it's yellow let it mellow" -- let's appreciate what we have and say gold is the new green. After all, grass doesn't really turn brown when it dries. It actually turns a yellowish gold. Since there have been contests encouraging people to have the ugliest yard, why not encourage people to have the most natural and golden yard? There are lots of drought-resistant plants you can fill your yard with so it will look nice and also feel nice because it won't be wasting water.
Another source of water waste is in parks all over our state, and even in our very own Golden Gate Park. Sprinklers are directed at the plants but the wind just blows the water every direction and causes the waste. Those need to be replaced with drip irrigation sprinklers.
My mom talked with someone who works to save water for the parks and he told her they keep the large meadows green because their attitude is "who would want to play soccer on a brown field? Who would want to have a picnic in a brown meadow?" But if we think of it as golden, people might think playing on a golden field is good luck, eating on a golden field will bring you good health. Because saving water for California is saving all of us.
I hear there has been a lot of finger pointing at some communities saying, "oh, they don't even care about the drought they're just guzzling water." But I see lawns drying out in communities all over San Francisco. Maybe this could be the 21st century reason California is known as the Golden State: We have golden fields, golden meadows, golden lawns and golden people.