“Severe drought in California spreading at unprecedented rate” – is how the headline introduces this disaster, and there’s no solution in sight. Well, yes there is, and we’ll tell you about it. But first, here’s the August 1st story from RT.

“The drought in California is getting worse as more than half the state now suffers from the most severe drought conditions possible, according to a new report. The recent study published by the US Drought Monitor noted that 58 percent of California is experiencing ‘exceptional drought,’ which is the most serious category on the agency’s five-level scale. It’s also the highest percentage to be recorded since the federal government started monitoring drought levels in the 1990s.

“What’s more alarming, however, is the fact that before 2014, no parts of California ever suffered from such severe conditions. As the Los Angeles Times notes, the rate at which this level of drought has spread throughout the state is unprecedented. In fact, about 22 percent of the state was moved into the ‘exceptional’ category during the last week.

“‘You keep beating the record, which are still all from this year,’ National Drought Mitigation Center climatologist Mark Svoboda told the Times.

“Additionally, California’s reservoirs are significantly short of where they need to be. Their current state isn’t as bad as it was in the low point of 1977, but Brad Rippey of the US Department of Agriculture stated that ‘California is short more than one year’s worth of reservoir water, or 11.6 million acre-feet, for this time of year’ as a result of the drought. That fact alone is important to Svoboda who said conditions are likely to get worse.

“‘It’s hard because the drought is not over and you’re in the dry season. Our eyes are already on next winter,’ he said to the Times. ‘Outside of some freakish atmospheric conditions, reservoir levels are going to continue to go down. You’re a good one to two years behind the eight ball.’

“Now in its third year, the drought has left local officials and lawmakers scrambling to address the problem. As RT reported previously, the state’s water regulators have established new regulations that allow them to levy fines of up to $ 500 against those using water wastefully, while Gov. Jerry Brown has tried to drastically lower the state’s overall consumption of water.

California has also shut down 11 oil and gas exploration sites – and is reviewing more than 100 others – in areas hit hard by the drought, which has already cost the state more than $ 2 billion this year alone. The order came over fears that companies may be injecting toxic wastewater into underwater aquifers that are being tapped for drinking water.

“In addition to concerns over drinking water, the dry conditions statewide have increased the threat of wildfires, which have ravaged through parts of California, damaging homes and forcing evacuations.” —

Now here’s the solution for California’s woes we said we’d tell you about. Again.

In our Vol. XXVII, Art. 23, (The “Project” …), we began that commentary by stating that Bloomberg’s feature story on May 12, 2011 would serve as a great introduction. The headline, that story, and our commentary read as follows:

“Erdogan $ 12 Billion Bosporus Bypass Speeds Maersk Tankers: Freight Markets”

“Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plan to divert tankers from the Bosporus to a new canal may unclog one of the worst chokepoints for energy carriers such as A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S of Denmark and Greece’s Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. (TNP) …

“At the same time, the plan would generate a building bonanza for Turkish real estate investors and developers … They are jostling for a piece of what Erdogan calls one of the biggest development projects in the world: the construction of a new population center on the canal’s banks.

“‘We’re talking about building not just a canal, but a city right next to Istanbul of three million people,’ Serdan Inan, chairman of Inanlar Insaat, said in an interview at the company’s Istanbul offices. Erdogan has praised Inan’s offer to spend $ 30 billion to construct the project; Inan predicted total revenue from building it and nearby facilities will exceed $ 300 billion in 15 years.

“Most of the money would be made from building, selling and managing apartment buildings, hotels and other facilities on the banks of the canal, Inan said. Erdogan said the project also will include a new airport, Turkey’s largest, and two new cities, one on each side of the Bosporus, to allow people to move out of crowded, earthquake-prone parts of Istanbul …

“Kiler Holding AS, which opened Istanbul’s tallest building this year … applied for rights to the ‘Istanbul Canal’ name within five hours after Erdogan announced the plan. Billionaire developer Ali Agaoglu, who’s erecting towers on London’s Canary Wharf, also supports it …

“‘We definitely hope this project becomes a reality,’ said Amit Agaelli, a manager in the ship-chartering unit of Palmali Holding Co., owned by Turkish-Azeri billionaire Mubariz Mansimov and one of the primary owner-operators of tankers through the Bosporus …” —

Sounds like a great idea, right? One of the biggest development projects in the world, the Prime Minister calls it. One of the biggest, yes, but not the very biggest. The “project” we proposed to President Reagan back in 1982 would be the very biggest. Like we said in our previous commentary, “It will be mankind’s greatest undertaking and greatest achievement.”

According to the Bloomberg report, the “Istanbul Canal” would spawn two new cities, but as we pointed out, our “project will require construction of eight new cities and fifteen new harbors in the continental U.S.”

We also made it clear that, “Every U.S. citizen and most of the world’s population will benefit from this project for an indefinite period of time.” How so?

Here’s the GENERAL STATEMENT we sent to President Reagan on March 15, 1982:

“I propose that the U.S. Government begin construction of a canal along the U.S.-MEXICAN border, connecting the GULF OF MEXICO with the PACIFIC OCEAN.

“This canal will be approximately 1,600 miles long and ½ mile wide, will provide a continuous coast line for the U.S., and will be able to accommodate the largest ocean-going vessels.

“At least eight major cities and 15 seaports will be required on the U.S. side of the canal along with similar facilities on MEXICO’s side. Fifty or more bridges will be required to handle the flow of traffic and commerce between the newly-developed regions in southwestern U.S. and northern MEXICO.

“Low-lying areas can be transformed into man-made lakes and reservoirs by means of flooding and the use of aqueducts. A rainy regime in place of the present heat regime will be the natural consequence of this action, and lush vegetation and a more temperate climate will prevail over what is now hot, arid wasteland.

“Approximately two dozen underground power plants will provide electricity and water to the U.S. communities. These dual-purpose facilities should be patterned along the lines of the nuclear desalinization plant at SHEVCHENKO on the northeast shore of the CASPIAN SEA. At least a billion gallons of fresh water each day will be provided to the region, and much of it would be used for irrigation. Thousands of acres of land will be made arable, and the coming food crisis will be postponed indefinitely.

“The availability of fresh water through such desalinization plants will make it possible for SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, and other areas, to avoid the expected water shortages in the coming years.

“The development of this region will require airports, transportation and freight terminals, manufacturing facilities, commercial and residential structures, and high-speed trains linking the new southwestern cities with those on both coasts and in the Midwest.

“This project will require the resources of several hundred of the nation’s largest contractors. Supporting facilities and firms throughout the country will be fully engaged for many years.

“The project will bring employment to millions who are presently jobless. Increased revenues and reduced welfare obligations will enable the federal government to balance the budget, amortize the national debt, restructure Social Security and maintain the nation’s defenses.” —

So that’s the GENERAL STATEMENT we sent to President Reagan. Did we miss anything? Food, electricity, water, jobs, affordable transportation facilities, a balanced budget, amortization of the national debt – every potential disaster anticipated and averted. And, yes – this “project” would have put the kibosh on illegal immigration and drug trafficking. How different life would be today!