Letter to the Editor – Ice Bucket challenge affecting California drought

Cindy Lopez, Student

The California drought is something that has currently affected our state.

We have been severely impacted with reservoirs being completely drained of its water, as well as lakes and creeks.

Recently an “Ice Bucket Challenge” (IBC) went viral to support people with (ALS) Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease which attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that controls voluntary muscle movement.

People participating in the challenge fill a bucket with ice and cold water, then dump it on themselves to bring attention to the disease. Numerous Californians are participating in this challenge even though we are in a serious drought.

While people dump water on themselves for IBC, they are also nominating other people to take this challenge, following a video post on social media so that others can see.

After the IBC is complete, people donate money to the ALS  association to help researchers find a cure for the disease.

Even with the drought going on people continue to participate in the challenge.

The National Report states that “81 percent of California continues to suffer extreme drought conditions and thirty million gallons of water are wasted on the Ice Bucket Challenge daily in California alone.”

California should think of a more productive way to participate in the IBC.

California State Universities like Chico, Sacramento, Humboldt and Sonoma ditched the ice buckets and jumped into the schools’ pool in an effort to conserve the water that is being wasted on a daily basis and that could soon be detrimental to our future. If all schools in California brought awareness to the drought issue, little by little we could all contribute to the bigger picture.