CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Vampire Planet: California’s Water Wars Rage On

Mono Lake, photo by Joshua Frank, August 3, 2026.

I just returned after a few days of hiking in California’s Eastern Sierra, home to the Lower 48’s highest peak (Mt. Whitney, 14,405 feet), alpine lakes, hot springs, and expansive valleys. It’s one of the state’s most scenic places and, depending on when you ask, my favorite refuge from the steamy sprawl of Los Angeles. 

While much of the Rocky Mountain West experienced extremely low snowpack this year, the Eastern Sierra didn’t fare well either, despite early rains in December and January. It also saw low precipitation, with snowfall at 24% of its average annual amount. Summer temperatures have scorched the Sierras. Thus far in 2026, California has experienced its warmest year on record, and no corner of the state has been spared. 

This isn’t great news for the strange and beautiful Mono Lake, an ancient saline lake with scattered tufa towers along the western edge of the Great Basin. Since 1941, Los Angeles, 330 miles south, has diverted water that feeds Mono, and that water now accounts for 2% of the city’s supply. 

The moon rises above Mono Lake, photo by Joshua Frank, August 3, 2026.

LA’s thirst nearly destroyed Mono Lake, which lost half its volume and dropped 45 feet. Toxic dust began to swirl, and gulls’ nesting grounds disappeared. It wasn’t until the mid-1970s that a group of ragtag........

© CounterPunch