Faced with the fires that are furiously reducing the city of Los Angeles to ashes, many stars have raised their voices at the city’s mayor, Karen Bass. However, some have themselves been singled out for their unreasonable use of drinking water during the 2022 drought.
In Los Angeles, the water war has been raging for several years. This city in the western United States is bearing the brunt of the consequences of global warming with ever more severe droughts, which are now resulting in the worst fires in its history. A situation which has pushed local authorities to take different measures over the years. During the summer of 2022, faced with “extreme” drought, the city of Angels notably prohibited access to forests and decreed restrictions on the use of water for residents.
At the time, the “Los Angeles Times” explained that individuals were only allowed to water their garden once a week and for a maximum of 8 minutes. A water expenditure quota had also been imposed (300 liters per day per person)… and largely exceeded by some 2,000 people, mainly celebrities living in the upscale enclaves of the San Fernando Valley, in Calabasas and Hidden Hills. Among them, Kourtney and Kim Kardashian, Sylvester Stallone, Kevin Hart and even former basketball player Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union.
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According to the “Los Angeles Times”, these stars had exceeded their monthly water budget by 150% at least four times between January and August 2022 – the threshold of which already represents double the average consumption of a French person (149 liters per day according to the government). As a result, local authorities urged them to install flow-limiting devices and fined them.
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“You are a joke”
Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union apologized, explaining that they had problems with a leak in their pool. Sylvester Stallone, for his part, tried to justify his water consumption by the presence of “500 mature trees on the property, including countless fruit trees as well as pine trees which would die without watering”. The Kardashian sisters, for their part, refused to comment on this information, attracting the wrath of Internet users.
And although at the time, Governor Gavin Newsom warned that the state would lose 10% of its water over the next 20 years due to the effects of global warming, three years later, the drought continued in the middle of winter and the reserves found themselves dry after just a week of fighting the worst fire the region had ever seen. A phenomenon which can be explained by the lack of rain in the region, but also by the decision of the urban area not to fill the reservoirs, with a capacity of 15.5 billion liters, to the maximum, to avoid seeing a proliferation bacteria in stagnant water.
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A decision which, combined with a drastic reduction in the firefighters’ budget of several million dollars by the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, aroused the anger of the victims. Donald Trump castigating his “gross incompetence” and Khloé Kardashian calling it a “joke”. A reaction that is now slowly making Internet users smile, who are calling on him to start by sweeping in front of his sisters’ doors.
