Last week I visited the Getty Museum in LA and was totally put off by the scale of the architecture. It's enormity overwhelmed me and even my experience with the art was unsatisfying, as if the buildings themselves had dwarfed the paintings. Navigating a museum that size was almost paralyzing so after only a short visit I left (on that slow crawling tram).

I tend to react to large scale problems in the same way. When I consider big, global issues like the impending drought in California, I often feel overwhelmed and helpless. A balmy, dry winter is pleasant but very unsettling, to say the least.

Even the cherry blossoms on my street are in full bloom.

Our dry winter has spurred long overdue conversations and thinking about the reality of global warming and climate change. The outlook is very scary. But instead of worrying helplessly or resting on the hope that other people will tackle the problem, I'm downsizing my perspective to a manageable and smaller scale: What can I actually do to feel like I'm contributing to some solution. Action, even in the littlest ways always makes me feel better.

So, here are the ways I am conserving water: we installed artificial grass in our backyard that requires no watering, we limit our showers to under 5 minutes, I'm turning off faucets when washing dishes or brushing teeth, and using only low-flow toilets.

And, I am re-committing to mindfully reducing my carbon footprint by eating less meat, recently weather-stripping my doors, reducing waste through careful composting and recycling (thank you San Francisco for making that so easy), trying to consume less overall (not as easy), and driving less.

Incidentally, people report that the best thing about the Getty is the sweeping panoramic views of Los Angeles. The January day I was there the temperature was 85 degrees and due to the dry conditions a major forest fire had ignited on the outskirts of the city. The air was so filled with smoke it clouded the view.