Tree Huggers of Los Angeles

Much has been said about the California drought, which may be easing a bit with a more rainy fall and winter season.

I learned recently of one group that has been working for years to improve water flow through the almost entirely paved-over environment of Los Angeles.

Its founder, Andy Lipkis, explains the situation in a brief, watchable post below.




Also, below, is a 2011 description of a neighborhood project in one Los Angeles area.   It seems to have done a lot of good.



In fact, Californians approved a $7.1 billion water bond project in November.  Nobody seems to believe that the money will be enough to fix all the issues the state faces, and urban needs will have to compete with river health and agriculture demands for allocations of the money.

A bigger proposed bond program -- $11 billion in size -- was pulled from the ballot in 2012 after complaints that it was too expensive and larded with pork.  Both complaints were probably true.

But grass-roots efforts like those sponsored by TreePeople may gather momentum and scale to improve the situation even in an enormous area like the Los Angeles region, which is home to 25 percent of California's population.