Los Angeles 2005 Breaks Rainfall Record After All--Pray for Rain Coalition Takes Credit

Released on = July 5, 2005, 7:48 pm

Press Release Author = Sondra Lowell/Pray for Rain

Industry = Environment

Press Release Summary = Rainfall Activists Say Technology and Dedication Tipped the Scales, Not Luck

Press Release Body = The last day of the 2004/2005 rainfall season was a bleak one for members of the Pray for Rain/Save Los Angeles Now! coalition. By any other standards, the end-of-June weather was fine, but for activists out to prove that residents of Los Angeles 2005 are smarter than those of 1884, the lack of .9300001 inch more of rain was a slap in the face.

What they--and most of Los Angeles--didn't know until several days after the July 1-June 30 rainfall season ended was that the "official" 2005 measurement was taken three miles away from the 1884 site, while measurements taken in 2005 near the 1884 collection site were bigger and, by Pray for Rain standards, better.

The news that Los Angeles did indeed set the rainfall record was gratifying to the few remaining coalition members, but even for them the revelation came too late.

"By midnight the movement was in disarray," recalled Pray for Rain spokesperson
Sondra Lowell of the June 30 candlelight vigil that was the group's last hope. "We had given it our all and we couldn't believe we failed. We knew in our hearts that we were better educated, better informed and taller than the people who lived here in the 1800s, yet we couldn't prove it. Over the weekend, a few of our members put their homes on the market and moved to Oregon, where it rains all the time."

It was hydrologist Daniel Resch of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power who carried on the tradition of measuring rainfall near City Hall and who verified that Los Angeles 2004/2005 received 38.32 inches of rain, .14 inch more than 1883-1884's 38.18 inches.

"Daniel is a modern hero," said Sondra, "a man who used 21st century science to
verify what should be obvious."

Holding an unofficial record doesn't placate Pray for Rain defectors, including one
man reached while carrying furniture to a rented van after selling his two bedroom bungalow in three hours for $42,000 over asking price. "The important thing is our place in history," he revealed on condition of anonymity. "That's what we prayed for. That's what we used our 21st century expertise to bring about. It's not enough if we're the only ones who know we're number one."

Sondra Lowell responded, "It's too bad people like [name withheld] took off for
Oregon instead of helping us organize a protest to move the rainfall readings back to downtown, where it's wetter. It was by joining together in such efforts as podcasting our Pray for Rain request around the world that we were able to become number one in fact. It will only be by sticking together that we can get the official record changed so people will know of our accomplishment for generations to come."

The podcast that led to the Los Angeles 2004/2005 rainfall record can be heard at http://openpodcast.org.nyud.net:8090/media/2005/6/30/openpodcast_2433.mp3.

Note: Pray for Rain/Save Los Angeles Now! has accomplished its primary mission of making Los Angeles 2004/2005 the leading year in rainfall since records began in 1877/1878. Rumors that 1861/1862 was actually wetter have not been substantiated by Pray for Rain/Save Los Angeles Now!

Web Site = http://openpodcast.org.nyud.net:8090/media/2005/6/30/openpodcast_2433.mp3

Contact Details = Sondra Lowell
323-633-3639
Sondra@hotmail.com
PO Box 93944
Los Angeles CA 90093