Californians turn to magic to escape drought

[crai7]

When faced with a crisis, this is how Californians respond these days.
yahoo.com/news/water-witch-dowsing-california-drought-145325572.html

 

[badnewsbarrett]

As a Cubs fan, I can remember several times over the past couple of decades when Cubs fans and occasionally players resorted to something pseudo-magical in order to try and generate wins.

 

[christofirst]

When faced with a crisis, this is how Californians respond these days.
yahoo.com/news/water-witch-dowsing-california-drought-145325572.html

Some Californians maybe, but certainly not all of us! :tsktsk:

Back in my electrician days, one of my bosses used witching sticks to locate an underground conduit. We saw him do it, and he was right on. Don’t ask me to explain it… magnetism, maybe.

Meanwhile, we continue to pray for good winter rains.

 

[AKDee]

They’d be better off to pray.

I sometimes wonder if the drought is a punishment from God- it seems to have started right about the time California legalized gay marriage.

I guess the long term forecasts, however, are saying we’re going to have an El Nino this winter and a strong one. The last time we had one like we’re forecasted to have, California got hit with major flooding that killed people and did millions of dollars in damage to property.

 

[Lucretius]

In desperate times, people are willing to try anything.

We often hear about “leeches” and other techniques used to treat the plague in medieval times, but most people don’t realize that these remedies were attempted as last resort, as the techniques they had scientific support for were, well, not working. It seems some Californians have reached that level too, sadly.

Let us pray that they reject the intercession of demons and instead promote the intercession of the Blessed Mary.

Christi pax,

Lucretius

 

[Indigo_Cardinal]

I sometimes wonder if the drought is a punishment from God- it seems to have started right about the time California legalized gay marriage.

No…this is just an inevitable result of a not-water-rich-in-the-first-place area of the country being expected to support millions of people it was never meant to.

 

[Pulvis]

No…this is just an inevitable result of a not-water-rich-in-the-first-place area of the country being expected to support millions of people it was never meant to.

Exactly. One cannot develop an arid area beyond the available resources.

Oh, Jesus loves you. Pagan or not.

 

[crai7]

They’d be better off to pray.

I sometimes wonder if the drought is a punishment from God- it seems to have started right about the time California legalized gay marriage.

I guess the long term forecasts, however, are saying we’re going to have an El Nino this winter and a strong one. The last time we had one like we’re forecasted to have, California got hit with major flooding that killed people and did millions of dollars in damage to property.

It could be a punishment, there is precedent for that. God punished the Israelites when they went off track. I think if a nation is Christian and it falls away God will punish in order to correct, but eventually it results in destruction, just like when God handed the Israelites over the Babylonians.

 

[Mike_from_NJ]

They’d be better off to pray.

Unfortunately that didn’t work in Texas.

 

[JackVk]

It could be a punishment, there is precedent for that. God punished the Israelites when they went off track. I think if a nation is Christian and it falls away God will punish in order to correct, but eventually it results in destruction, just like when God handed the Israelites over the Babylonians.

I don’t think it’s a punishment from God. If it had been, something awful would have happened in Western Europe and Canada by now.

The more likely reason is that at least half of California is a desert (it’s pretty much Arizona with a beach), and that it’s more overpopulated than Beijing.

 

[laircy]

Unfortunately that didn’t work in Texas.

Didn’t they have flooding recently?

 

[Bonnie]

Didn’t they have flooding recently?

Which was even more destructive than the drought- people died.

Not everything that happens is punishment or reward from God. He created laws of nature that work quite well.

 

[Mike_from_NJ]

Didn’t they have flooding recently?

Governor Rick Perry declared three days in April 2011 as a time to pray for rain. The next time it rained was over 5 months later. Only now, over four years later, have there been articles stating that the Texas drought might be over.

 

[PRmerger]

Governor Rick Perry declared three days in April 2011 as a time to pray for rain. The next time it rained was over 5 months later. Only now, over four years later, have there been articles stating that the Texas drought might be over.

Yeah. I think that just shows that God doesn’t hear prayers made at the urging of Methodist politicians.

 

[arthra]

As a Californian most all my life I think there is a growing healthy response to the drought…

there are more drought resistant yards popping up…In my neighborhood alone there are five front yards that have designed areas with drip systems which means better conservation of water than the old sprinklers. We also have a tankless water heater which replaced our old water heater…this conserves water…also low flush toilets are being installed… The City where I live has a rebate system in place to reward citizens for their efforts.

Global warming is having effects so we need to cut our use of fossil fuels…

California has one of the nations largest solar energy plants in the Mojave desert as well.

See:
2.bp.blogspot.com/-KOrc3Vj8xqw/Uso_94M3WqI/AAAAAAAAFIo/wgA4GyFvsdI/s1600/Mojave-Desert-solar-plant.jpg

So I think you’ll see that the Golden State is responding to the drought in a positive way and will be better for it in the end!

 

[Mike_from_NJ]

Yeah. I think that just shows that God doesn’t hear prayers made at the urging of Methodist politicians.

I’d like to think that if God exists that he isn’t much of a secterianist. Besides with almost 20% of the population of Texas being Catholics I’m sure more than a few were praying for rain along with Rick Perry.

 

[PRmerger]

I’d like to think that if God exists that he isn’t much of a secterianist.

Why do you believe that?

 

[Mike_from_NJ]

Why do you believe that?

I don’t believe it. I’d just like it if that were the case.

 

[Mike_from_NJ]

Regarding the article in the original post, what’s funny is how thoroughly debunked dowsing (especially water dousing) is. There is a gentleman named James Randi who several decades ago offered $10,000 to anyone who could prove they could douse for water or precious minerals. He gathered several prominent dowsers who were shown what the tests would be and agreed they would be able to succeed at them.

One test was to run water through a series of underground pipes so that only one pipe would have water at any one time. A pipe would be chosen at random and the dowser would have to determine which numbered pipe had the water. Another test was to put (if I remember correctly) gold and put in a random container and the dowsers had to determine which had the gold.

They all failed, none doing better than random chance and some doing far worse. It was only after the tests were done did the dowsers complain that the test did not accurately allow them to demonstrate their abilitites. Again, these were tests which were explicitly laid out and which they agreed to.

TL;DR If people are resorting to dowsers for water things must be pretty desperate.

 

[Bonnie]

There is a gentleman named James Randi who several decades ago offered $10,000 to anyone who could prove they could douse for water or precious minerals.

The prize is up to a million now, but still no one has been able to claim it. It’s for any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power determined with a test agreed to by both parties.