I am Journalist Tim Pool. I have spent years covering conflict around the world but most recently spent several weeks exploring the California Drought. AMA!

I believe a good chunk of us as humans do not think about how our actions impact on the future and future generations. How seriously do you think we as a country should take this drought, and what can we do to help if we don't live in a drought stricken area?

It seems the drought is happening all over the world. Brazil, Korea, Thailand, among many others.

Every solution we have is temporary, even extra-planetary colonization is temporary.

If our population keeps growing and our water supply stays the same life is going to get pretty bad in the future. These videos are an image of our future.

Mr. Pool, do you feel that water fulfills you?

water? like from the toilet?

Are you doing your own thing now away from larger media outlets? What challenges are associated with gaining revenue from your youtube videos?

I'm actually working with Fusion. I've done several TV specials for the cable channel but my main focus is my Timcast channel on Youtube. Monetization is not the most difficult thing in my opinion. If you make good content you will attract an audience and sponsors.

The goal is to make sure the sponsor messages are unobtrusive and don't contradict the message of the content you make. Youtube ad revenue doesn't seem to be worth it for smaller channels, so the challenge there is building a large enough audience so that you can solve the monetization issue without starving.

EDIT: grammar

So working with Fusion gives you the freedom to expand your own channel and content that isn't tied to them?

It is tied to Fusion. It's all Fusion branded and my channel is a part of the Fusion MCN on youtube.

Additionally most of the content I make that lives on youtube gets used for the Fusion cable channel

I've noticed that many multi-million dollar homes in Napa and Sonoma that are on private wells are for sale. It occurred to me that someone probably wouldn't build their dream house then dump it without good reason. Exactly how bad is the drought and how empty are the aquifers?

Most metropolitan areas seem to be doing ok but the surrounding areas are suffering. Across the street from dry homes in E. Porterville is a golf course. Its crazy to see people act as though there is no drought when all the hills are brown and catching fire.

No one knows how much groundwater is left. We got varying estimates of 5 years to "it could run out tomorrow"

But California is huge and some areas have more water than others, its just really complicated because of the politics and ecology.

Hey Tim, Why did you leave VICE?

Fusion offered me a chance to build more and do more. VICE has a large audience but my main concern is always doing the work I feel most passionately about.

Vice let me cover great stories for a big audience but with Fusion I get more control over my content and more technology development opportunities.

Hello Mr Pool. When you are abroad doing that news thing, what's in your gearbag?

18000 Mah battery.

Sony Xperia, iPhone 6

Omate Truesmart watch

XF105 "run and gun" camera

Livestream Broadcaster box.

Olloclip

You seemed to predict what would happen to Ellen Pao in the videos about her, what do you predict will happen with reddit in the coming months?

It's hard to say really. There seems to be a 'too big to fail' point for social networks. Steve's AMA didn't really say much either.

There is this term called 'white flight' that originally meant white city dwellers fleeing minorities but recently has been used to reference white educated superusers who build online communities but eventually leave causing collapse.

For what its worth I'm simultaneously doing the AMA on Voat as well.

Hey Tim! I've been a follower for a good amount of time, I love your journalism.

My question(s) for you is just on how you started as a journalist, what got you noticed, and what makes the profession worth it to stay in?

If it helps you answer any more specifically, I'm asking for my girlfriend who has wanted to be a fellow journalist, but doesn't know how to get exposure in the industry and isn't sure of the long-term stability of making it her career. Any advice would be awesome!

I have always traveled and always told stories. Occupy wall street got me a lot of attention. Its worth doing because I love learning and traveling.

My advice is to just go do journalism. Fly to Japan right now and cover the anti war protests.

Also, make a youtube channel, start now!

I was going to post this separately, but it makes more sense to add onto this thread.

My advice is to just go do journalism. Fly to Japan right now and cover the anti war protests.

I love this advice. However, one issue I've had is the going to other countries part. I've been on regular trips when suddenly a wild protest appears — recently, Hong Kong. They're my favourite thing to photograph, but I'm always cautious if it's not in Canada, resulting in bad photos.

When you go to other countries, do you apply for a journalist visa or just enter with a regular tourist visa? Would you worry about shooting something for journalistic purposes if you're in a country on a tourist visa?

Many countries are cool with breaking news being done on a tourist visa, it just depends on their view of the country you come from and the press. Many countries require journalist visas if you intend to stay for a while and work out of a bureau.

What do you think the future of journalism holds? I've been following Timcast for years now, and I, and many people from our generation, mostly consume news that doesn't follow the traditional 'objective' model, where the journalist tries to mute their voice as much as possible. You, and other journalism pioneers like yourself, have undermined this orthodoxy by pointedly introducing your perspectives. How do you think this will change how journalism is consumed and judged? Will venerable institutions like the Columbia Journalism Review have to develop new modes of critique and 'best practices' to accommodate this new trend, or is this type of journalism incapable of being regulated in such a manner?

Thanks for all your hard work!

Its changing and the scariest part is that 'journalists' are using this as an excuse to lie. We have to have perspective, my hope is that this distributed model will allow us to see more perspectives and thus get closer to true objectivity.

Older institutions are lagging behind and probably always will. But as a non traditional journalist I really dont know what they will do.

Hey Tim big fan. Are you currently working on any cool stories?

I'm going to DEFCON and Blackhat in a few weeks! So Expect videos about hackers revealing serious vulnerabilities. I think one group is showing a demo of how to blow up a gas pump remotely, scary stuff!

Thanks for the AMA Tim! I've always wondered, how much pressure do journalists have in terms of political motives? Are there people telling them what or how to write about a particular event? Is it even possible to do unbiased or neutral reporting in this day and age?

It depends, its usually coming from people who are heavily politically motivated. I have been attacked for refusing to make propaganda for people.

I didn't realize that was an occupational hazard, could you give an example? I'm sort of moving in the direction of journalism in a way with my YouTube channel and would like to know about this.

It depends on how much people pay attention to you. I had a lot of attention so people accuse you of being the 'enemy' of whatever their ideology is. An american activist accused me of being CIA on twitter while I was in Caracas. A Venezuelan pundit saw it and called me out forcing me to flee the country due to death threats

1) Would you like to see everyone stop watering their lawns?

2) How much water is being used by golf courses?

3) I've felt like tap water tastes extra bad lately, even after filtering it with a Brita filter. Should we get a reverse osmosis filter instead of buying bottled water? I don't know if that will make it taste better but I'd assume it would.

4) What long lasting effects do you think might arise from all this ground water drilling?

1) Personal opinion, yes. Its ornamental vegetation that we literally just cut off and throw away. We need to learn to save water because the supply is not infinite.

2)I don't know the exact numbers but it was insane to see golf courses in the Imperial valley running sprinklers. The course in Porterville had cut back around 60% of their water use and said they were going to cut back further due to the drought.

3) I drink a lot of bottled water but thats because I travel all the time. I really don't have too much of an opinion but water filters always seem like a good idea.

4)The ground is sinking! But its really about long term affects caused by short term losses. These farms could go out of business and then food becomes more expensive and less available.

Knowing what you know about the drought, would you move to California right now?

noooooo way.

Hey Tim! I met you a few times in Occupy and tagged along with you when you went to Montreal once.

How do you feel about Bernie Sanders? Will you be covering any of his campaign?

I don't trust politicians. Everyone always gets there hopes up and the president ends up being the same. I just avoid the politics and try to learn as much as possible so I can make the best decisions I can to make the world a better place.

I live in Arizona, which is also largely watered by the Colorado river basin and facing many of the same problems as California. To what extent would you say the drought and ensuing problems in Calfornia is different than what is being faced in Arizona & Nevada?

Most of the Colorado river water goes to the Imperial valley for farming. Because of that and other pre 1914 water rights many areas are left without water. There are similarities but California produces a good portion of our food, if the farms can't sustain themselves it will affect the whole country.

I feel like in general, journalism has suffered a lot and become nothing but a copy/paste clickbait machine - what's your spin to this?

The sad thing is that it works. Its more of a fight for the most eyeballs so its cheaper to make "churnalism" than to actually do real reporting.

Have you though about getting a worldwide passport? - http://www.worldservice.org/docpass.html

Unfortunately they don't work most of the time.

Why not?

Its a private non profit that issues them and most countries dont recognize their authority

First off, hilarious proof picture.

Tim, I've been following your work for sometime and I love what you do. I'm a self made journalist myself and have been following your model more or less. How do you overcome the stigma from "trained" journalists who may question your validity in the field? You know who I'm talking about, the TV reporters and high profile newspaper reporter types.

Also, I love your work on the California drought. Its a very serious issue that seems to be ignored.

I think older people tend to think they are right because they make content for their peers who expect a certain style. Traditional journalists are part of a culture and they think they are right to do what they do because it works for their audience.

But there are so many subcultures and small audiences who expect different styles. I overcome the stigma mostly by proving it works, just go do things and don't worry about the haters.

What event have you covered that felt most important to you, that you really felt like you were part of something big in history just being there?

And feel free to ignore this question, as I'm not sure you would know much about this, but do vice docs ever exaggerate/falsify things to make them more interesting? I find all of them fascinating, but sometimes it seems too good to be true that the production crews got cooperation and information from the individuals that they do.

Egypt. Watching the revolution and fireworks was absolutely incredible.

As for VICE all I can say is CJR had an article that talked about that. http://www.cjr.org/analysis/the_cult_of_vice.php

First of all Tim, thanks for your work. Huge fan here. Question, how difficult is it for you to enter the countries you typically work in, and do you ever feel threatened by your mere existence there?

Venezuela was the only place I was worried about entering. I was correct to think so as I got accused of being a spy by a Venezuelan pundit and forced to flee the country.

For the most part, many countries allow Americans visa on entry, you can just walk in basically. I always try to blend in when covering stories on the ground.

I used to use VisaMapper but it looks like its out of service unfortunately. Google works easily if you need to find out if you need a visa in advance though.

Hey Tim,

I've been watching your reporting for a while now. I wanted to know how did you get started in your style of citizen journalism? Was it difficult getting started traveling to city to city or country to country?

P.S What do you think will be the next big tool for journalists will be in terms of being able to make your content?

I've always traveled and shared stories so it just naturally happened. It wasn't hard traveling because I save all my money from work, I only spent it on travel.

The next big tools will be social mobile tools for quick sharing and editing as well as digital rights management for the everyday user to protect their videos. We are all become journalists and our photos an videos are eyewitness accounts, we need to find a way to stop the theft from individuals.

So I just visited Lake Tahoe for vacation and went hiking at Squaw Valley. There were multiple water trucks at the top of the tram that were spraying water on the roadway/hiking trail, even though it wasn't dusty and we only saw one other vehicle (a security truck) use the road. What gives? The state has no water, but they're needlessly dumping water on a hiking trail.

I usually give the benefit of the doubt when I see things I don't understand. It could be that it wasn't dusty because they dump the water.

I will say though, swimming pools were full, sprinklers were running, and many people seemed oblivious.

Hello, Tim - I have watched you since the Ustream days and have been following you since you covered OWS:

What event, conflict or protest have you connected to the most, and has gotten your heart pumping the most, in all of your years of journalism so far?

Also, what camera do you use these days?

Ferguson probably, it was so insane to see this kind of intensity happening in the US. I was pinned down by active gunfire several times, got gassed and shot at by Cops.

Traveling overseas makes it hard to connect with because you always feel like an outsider.

I have a range of new gear. C100 for documentary, 5D for Youtube, iPhone for social video, and Sony Xperia for livestreaming.

What possible solutions are there to reverse the drought?

The only thing I was told is "pray for rain." People talk about cloud seeding and such but for the most part it seems like better Urban management could save a lot of water.

Hey Tim! We met during Occupy and you helped me break the story about the activists from San Diego who were kicked off the Greyhound. Thank you! My question for you is - what do you consider the most important topic you've covered up to this point?

I don't know what the most important is but I have a passion for covering stories on privacy and technology. I've got a bunch of videos about that issue

I've heard rumors that the severity of the drought is largely exaggerated, and that investors interested in purchasing huge swaths of land up and down California are actually to blame.

According to rumor, this land is needed for several big-money future projects (bullet train being one that I remember). Farmers weren't/aren't cooperating with buyout deals, and thus, these investors began buying huge amounts of water rights and shipping it elsewhere. A farm in a dry dessert is worthless, and can be picked up for pennies-on-the-dollar down the road.

I have no idea of the validity of this, but knowing big business, and knowing about at least one individual who made big money in similar deals (had insider info of the NAFTA deal, bought up a ton of land along the still-to-be super highway run that will go from Canada to the Panama canal, sold property rights to the government for huge profit), it doesn't seem implausible.

Does any of your research seem to validate this?

My opinion is that its not the case. The areas hardest hit are central and eastern CA. The hills are all brown, farmers are pulling groundwater faster and faster, record low wells are being drilled.

I mean, the hills are always brown here (at least in the 20+ years I've been around to see).

And there's no doubt that being the largest food producer takes a lot of water.

I was hoping for more facts/info, or a clear reasoning. What you stated would be true regardless of drought conditions, so I guess nobody really knows the answer. The canal is still full, which is the source of most Ag water (not ground wells, though I know they are used to some extent as well). We've drilled lower wells each year too, drought or not, so that doesn't say a whole lot either.

I've literally seen "congress created dustbowl" signs on farms for about 10 years, so this isn't the first time water has been in short supply. Apparently the biggest users feel it's a legislative issue, not a drought issue. But they also have bias in the situation.

This does not reinforce the rumors of water export either, it just doesn't disprove it.

So what actual journalism/fact-finding have you done on the matter? From the answers I've read (most of which haven't dealt with the drought at all), I've seen that the hills are brown and golf courses are green. Again, that's just always been true here - central CA is high desert, not lush and temperate. I feel like everyone is just parroting the same info, but nobody really knows what's going on.

Certainly we can't turn a desert into the biggest food-exporter in the world without consequence, I'm just not sure we're getting all the info.

Surface water in Tulare county is mostly gone. The Tule river has been dry for about two years. The farmers do have some access to surface water but it has all been sold already.

There is a lot of water in the Delta that people want access too but pulling out that water will result in salt water flooding the delta from the bay. This will turn Delta farmland into a salt marsh and it will wipe out a few towns.

The locals in Porterville told me that the hills are usually green and in the past few years there have been fires as the hills dry up.

Lake Success is also really low and is getting lower.

Surprisingly the Imperial Valley is not worried about the drought because its water comes from the Colorado river so the issue of farming in a desert isn't the issue. In Tulare they had mountain run off that just isn't there anymore, the surface water they do get is being exported due to long standing water sales.

This is resulting in record low wells, some as low as 2,200 feet. As the farmers drill deeper, locals who have wells around 30 feet lose their water and end up in dire straits.

There is no snow in the mountains, no run off, little rain. To make it worse the little rain they do get just causes crops to rot.

It is a drought, it is bad. It isn't the first and it won't be the last.

Can you elaborate on the long-standing water sales? This is exactly the issue I was hoping to hear more about!

Who are we selling water to, and why are they buying it from a state notorious for low water levels?

Basically, certain farmers have water rights that go back before 1914, the deal was that farmers would do all the work building out the land and levees in exchange for rights to the water forever.

Some areas have water transfer deals where they send water to Urban centers. The best example is the QSA in the Imperial valley. They are transferring 500,000 acre feet of water from their allotment to San Diego.

In terms of bottled water, they are taking a relatively small percentage of water and many places like Modesto claim that its no more water than any other industry would use. However one of our experts told us that its small in terms of all of CA's water and that we have to look at how much water they are taking relative to the area its taken from.

TL;DR: We are selling water to Urban Centers. Most water transfer is for Urban use, bottled water is much much less but still makes people angry. Bottled water is sold regionally.

I heard almonds take up lots of water to grow and california is a huge almond producer. Is this true? And if so, is anything being done about it?

Yea I was told the same thing. A farmer told me its around 1 gallon per almond. The only real solution is to stop growing almonds.

When you were in Ferguson and got hit with tear gas and were stuck on someone's lawn getting milk poured on your face and then, out of nowhere, you were asked if you wanted a freezie pop and you all started laughing, was that the best moment of your career or has something even better happened?

ha, it was definitely a high point. That was the silliest thing that has ever happened for sure.

Hello! I'm not sure if this AMA is active still but I'm actually working on writing a paper on the subsidization of water for agricultural use in California and it's impact on the drought. In your opinion, do you think cutting subsidies that allow water to be obtained by farmer's below market price could be a possible longterm solution lowering water use in California and encouraging investment in more sustainable practices?

I don't think the farming is the problem. I think the first thing we need to do is better regulate urban use. People in cities take long showers, water lawns, etc. Farmers don't want to waste water for the most part because it costs them money, the average person doesnt feel direct impacts.

Hey, you have such a large following on Twitter and Facebook. What advice would offer for other journalists on how to cultivate an online following?

Be active and engage your audience. Always remember to let people know where to find you! I basically am starting over with Youtube. Its a grind but it grows exponentially.

Hey Tim, how different is it to you, as a journalist, using technology (like the drones you mentioned) from being actually physically there while covering a story? And if it's war/conflict-related, how dangerous is it and how do you manage safety/health/life?

Staying healthy is hard what with tainted water, parasites, and bullets. I really don't know how I do it, ha. But it is all extremely dangerous. I have had men screaming at my while holding molotov cocktails up to my face. I have had people shoot at me, attack me, and police doing both.

In terms of avoiding gunfire and serious danger, I do parkour training.

But using drones you still have to be within 50 meters, it just allows you to be safely behind a wall when bullets are flying or makes it easier to see overhead for crowd shots.

Due to being such a tremendous figure in the Occupy Movement, what's your opinion on the apparent failure and/or shortcomings of the movement?

It worked in my opinion. A large protest changed the conversation, the DNC moved its money to Amalgamated Bank, and now Bernie Sanders is growing wildly in popularity.

Starting a discussion is the first step in getting changes made.

Hi Tim,

I remember the Occupy demonstration in NYC... I was watching live from the UK. It was my understanding you were the camera/tech guy but got separated from your presenter, then you just started doing it yourself... and well, some would say better ;)

There I was trying to engage with the Occupy event and your livestream, but getting very distracted by the story unfolding beneath.

Did you expect anything like that to happen that day?

No, it all just fell into place. But it ended up making sense to do things the way I did.

What do you think is the link between climate change and the drought in California?

I really don't know, there are people making the connection that climate change equals more extreme weather. Others say that California has droughts.

Many experts and scientists told us it was more about water mismanagement and that droughts happen.

Interesting I heard on this side of the pond a few scientists at my uni discus that they thought it had a lot to do with shifting rainpatterns due to climate change. Might be a difference depending on whom you ask.

I think it may have to do with the fact that they were local and wanted to focus on immediate things that could alleviate the problems. But it is interesting to see all the other droughts around the world right now, particularly in southeast asia

How bad do you think it wall have to get in California before people start making enough significant changes to their lifestyle/usage in order for there to be enough for everyone, or do you think that is even possible?

I dont think it can happen because of the infrastructure. There is no way to stop people from over using water, short of restricting the supply which could cause panic.

Hi Tim - love your work! Question - have you ever thought of starting a school to teach basic citizen journalism? Not as a profit making effort, but as a social good. There are so many issues and places and situations that really need to be illuminated. Clicking and liking isn't enough. We need more boots in the ground Indy journalists especially at the local and neighborhood levels. Thanks again and keep up the brilliant work!

I have but I have so little time for anything its hard. My friend Luke has a journalism school though.

As long as you don't mind the politics he has really good advice http://wearechange.org/change-media-university/

I dont agree with most of Luke's politics but he knows a ton about journalism, social reporting, and youtube.

Where do you think California will be in 20 years in terms of water? Will LA be in trouble?

20 years? Bad shape probably.

The issue is that Urban Centers are rapidly expanding and easily outvote the rural farm areas. I think they will do nothing to mitigate the water problem then at the last minute vote to take more rural water and river water causing damage to the farms which will slowly kill the economy.

I've noticed you're quite active on snapchat. Do you see this being used as a new medium for journalists?

Also, I think I remember you collaborating with Casey Neistat at one point. Will you be using his new app (if you've even heard of it)?

We collaborated in Ferguson for a little bit. I've messed around with Beme but only time will tell! Its still a new app.

Snapchat is super fun and has a ton of immediate viewership so I really like it. I don't think journalists will adopt it because of its ephemeral nature

Is there anything surprising about the California drought that you learned?

Most people are oblivious, most people I met use water like normal, and in Porterville swimming pools were full and golf courses were still being watered.

It was crazy to see homes without water across the street from a golf course.

Just how bad is the drought in California and how are the people coping with restricting their usage of water?

Well its a historic drought, the hills are all brown and groundwater is rapidly depleting in some areas. People who have run out of water are relying on emergency non-potable water, but they can't drink it.

There are flyers telling them to buy bottled water from stores.

I first found you during the events of Ferguson last August. I thought your take on a first-person, no dialogue style was great. Politics and everything else aside, I'm curious to hear what you thought of St. Louis despite the Ferguson drama? I understand a lot of out-of-towners didn't get a chance to see the city itself which is a shame.

Best bbq ever. I went to the Arch every time I was there, ha I don't know why but its fun.

How was the experience of meeting kimdotcom? I was JEALOUS!!!! We are actually friends on Facebook lol I was a admin for Occupy Unity and helped get the message out that you needed a battery pack.

Kim is a rad dude. The whole case against him is just crazy to me. Hanlon's razor suggest that the US is just incompetent and causing him grief.

I just moved to Santa Maria. Is it true that there is decent ground water here that "sort of" makes the drought not as much of an issue?

I can't speak for Santa Maria but in Tulare County they are pulling groundwater so fast the ground is sinking. They can run out at any moment and then the area dies.

In this technological age where information can be spread almost instantaneously to the unwashed masses with the press of a button what is your take on traditional journalism vs the contemporary concept that we are all journalists with our smartphones and internets?

I would alter the definition slightly. We are all witnesses sharing out perspective. Journalists need to curate and investigate to get the bigger picture.

I've had an interest in conflict photography for quite a while, but never really done anything about it. I'm coming towards the end of a degree and part of me just wants to jump on a plane, head to some place where a bit more action is going on and give it a crack to put a portfolio together. Does this sound like a feasible idea? Any tips or recommended methods of breaking into the industry?

Get on the plane.

You have to be very active on social media, use hashtags, post photo and video.

I haven't hired a photographer in a couple years, we just use local photos. The best thing you can do is learn to shoot video on a DSLR.

Did you ever get your head cut off by terrorists?

No but a bomb went off near me and I got shrapnel lodged near my heart. I had to create a miniaturized arc reactor to power an electro magnet to keep the shrapnel from entering my heart.

As a young journalist just getting my start, I was wondering what your experience was like when you first started out. What was the job market like? How long did it take get into your first full-time job?

I worked for 2 years independently because I don't like the idea of a job. I only got a job after I had proven my work and methodology.

If you take a job right away you'll just end up doing what someone else wants you to do, you likely won't travel or work on stories that interest you.

My advice is go save money, travel and create videos and articles, then after you have built up your brand and portfolio pitch a company for work.

On Ferguson what did you make of the town itself? Did you report on any of the white people who left the town? Have you heard of Steve Sailer? Read his blog? http://www.unz.com/isteve/ferguson-is-a-story-of-the-section-8-era/ What do you make of the idea that the unrest in Ferguson is the fault of the feds for moving so many blacks into a relatively small town?

I checked out a local mall where more than half of the shops had closed. Many shops refused to renew their leases and the mall is dying. Property value dropped by close to 50% after the rioting.

I also heard reports of blockbusting happening around Ferguson.

Hello! What is something that you like the most of your traveling in Venezuela?

I didnt get to stay there long as I was forced to flee the country after getting a ton of death threats. Arepas are pretty great though.

How did you manage to investigate the drought without getting your nostril cut?

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a0/Nose_Armor.jpg

Scariest thing you face as a journalist? Is it that House of Cards sorta things or is that when you cover risky stories so to speak

For a while I could not turnoff my phones. My iPhone would always be on no matter what I did, my android I would take out the battery.

I have been "randomly" flagged at airport security and searched only to find my USB drives were gone.

I have been pulled over at gunpoint and illegally searched and interrogated. Covering conflict is dangerous not just because of the actual physical danger but that you start to piss off people with power.

Yes or no. Do you consider Fox actual news?

My opinion is that it is mostly not news. They do report some stuff correctly but for the most part Fox and MSNBC are opinion shows.

Serious question here, waffles or pancakes?

waffles, tasty waffles, with lots of syrup

Do you feel people who use an ad blocker to watch your videos are thieves and/or deserve jail time?

My videos aren't monetized so, nope.

Tim, which do you like best: Cats or sushi?

Sushi, high in protein. Cats are cool but they get hair all over my clothes and I only have so many lint rollers.