I spent most of my life in the San Francisco Bay Area before moving to Denver three years ago, and so when I traveled back in August for vacation and a little work, I got to see how much has changed.

What’s different? There’s less fresh water, of course — you can see that while flying over the Sierra Nevada mountains and its foothills where lake levels are down vastly. But beyond the disappearing lakes and the brown lawns, we didn’t really get the sense, when visiting with friends and family in the Bay Area at least, that people were overly concerned with the ongoing drought. Maybe that is because Californians have lived with droughts for decades and know the drill when one hits. And maybe it’s also a testament to the state’s endless well of optimism and entrepreneurial spirit — hope springs eternal in California, after all.

Weather forecasts also predict Californian’s prayers for rain may soon be answered and answered again and again. The El NiÃ