Thanks for the graphs, Keith. They help me reconstruct my own timeline of letters from relatives up and down the west coast and into the Rockies. You can argue "Gummint" this and warmer earth and future ice age all you want, but it's the people that mean the most to me. Dad's memories of a caravan of "Okies" coming thru the little town near where he lived in Southern Idaho, and wanting to join the other kids in throwing rocks and jeering "Keep going, Get out of town", and as a 12 year old, knowing it was wrong, but he said it was the first time he had seen families poorer than his, and it made him feel superior and ashamed at the same time.
When the San Francisco Bay area had a water shortage, most water companies to imposed limits on how many gallons a household was allowed each month, and if you went over your quota, fines could be imposed and you could have a nasty surprise in your next water bill. Or your water could be turned off if you continued to use more than your allotment. With a brand new baby in the house, the question of cloth vs. disposable diapers became much more of an issue if you had to figure out how much of your allotment would go to the laundry room, the same thing with washing bottles and making formula with tap water that often tasted "Off" . I was glad I was a nursing mom. I figured that no matter how rough things got, I could feed my baby if I had enough to eat and drink.
My aunt's orange grove was another worry. If the trees didn't get enough water and gave a poor crop-- or dried up entirely, that was a kick in the family's income for the year. Arguing over theories and graphs and government policy is one thing. Being personally effected in your day to day life is another. When the entire neighborhood seems to have given up on baths and sent the kids to the city pool to get chlorinated, the water gets kinda thick.
Don't despair if your job and your rewards are few, remember that the mighty oak was once a nut like you!