California In Third Consecutive Year Of Drought

NIPTON, CA - AUGUST 26: In an aerial view, a boiler tower is surrounded by mirrors at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in the Mojave Desert on August 26, 2022 near Nipton, California. As drought, wildfires and monsoonal desert flash floods worsen in California, the development of solar energy farms has become prioritized as a means to lessen some of the worst impacts of human-caused climate change. Ironically, this "green energy" is harming the environment as it sprawls across pristine desert land, which stores carbon in the ground. California deserts account for nearly 10 percent of the states carbon sequestration. The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is one of the biggest but has been challenged by reports that thousands of birds have been incinerated mid-flight by intense heat in the concentrated sun rays that are reflected to giant boiler towers. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)