Character Study: The Tamarisk Hunter and Climate Change Impact

This essay presents a character study of Lolo, the protagonist in Paolo Bacigalupi's short story, 'The Tamarisk Hunter.' Set in a drought-stricken California of 2030, the story portrays a world where water is a precious commodity. Lolo, a 'water tick' or tamarisk hunter, struggles to survive by removing water-sucking plants. The essay analyzes Lolo's character, his motivations, and his moral conflicts, highlighting his role as a rebel against the government's control over water resources. It explores the environmental degradation and the impact of climate change, drawing parallels with other works of literature and the broader consequences of human actions. The essay concludes by emphasizing the cautionary tale of environmental ignorance and the inevitable consequences of neglecting climate change, as reflected in Lolo's ultimate realization of loss and the government's commercialization of the damage. The essay also references the assignment brief which asks to include a passage from Claire Vaye Watkins's 'Gold Fame Citrus' to support the arguments.

Running Head: CHARACTER STUDY- THE TAMARISK HUNTER
Character Study- The Tamarisk Hunter
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author's Note:

1CHARACTER STUDY- THE TAMARISK HUNTER
Introduction
The short story "The Tamarisk Hunter" by Paolo Bacigalupi shows us the land of
California at a distant future of 2030 where the Big Daddy Drought-hit Californian ground.
The value of water has turned to liquid gold and is entirely under the control of the
government. The story is told from the perspective of the main character- Lolo, who is a
professional 'water tick', a term used by Bacigalupi to describe tamarisk hunter, a plant
known to have the capability of sucking 73,000 gallons of river water. The story shows the
struggle of people like Lolo, who depends on their livelihood on tamarisk hunting. The plants
have been deemed responsible for the loss of water, which resulted in desertation of towns
and cities. The paper will show the eventual and inevitable result of the drastic environmental
change, which is considered to convertible in the beginning but ends in another
commercialization by the government.
Discussion
The story starts with the description of the tamarisk trees and their flaw of sucking
water out of the river that is the government's property. It is exerted by their hold of the
Bureau of Reclamation which is pronounced as BuRec by them. The use of this term is
shown to be a form of disgust for the ordinary people who have lost their loved ones and their
towns when they swept in to take control of the river by controlling the flow of water and
directing through the use of tunnels to send it to California. Another term which shows up in
the story is RaCAUG (Resource Conservation and Allowable Use Guidelines) who looked up
to the use of water by the private reservoirs and has been responsible for sealing Lolo's tank
when the level dropped below the Minimum Allowable Reserve (Bacigalupi).
Lolo and Annie lived a simple life in the superficial level but in the more profound
sense were living the life of a rebel. Annie stole water from the river for their use and stock
them in the secret underground cistern they have made away from the sight of the RaCAUG.

2CHARACTER STUDY- THE TAMARISK HUNTER
Lolo is not only a rebel but a man of substance who shows the calibre of surviving in the
most uncertain situation and earning from the very people who were stealing their water.
Even though they created unmeasurable scales to make sure that the water ticks get paid only
if they helped in saving water from tamarisk, Lolo had found a way to keep his profession
alive. He had invented a method of planting tamarisk along the ridges away hidden from the
guardie as well as other tamarisk hunters. He called this as his insurance policy which will be
his assurance till the time the drought does not break. The struggle for the tamarisk hunter is
shown by the rules that they are meant to follow. Lolo was required to record before and after
photographs and then uploaded from the GPS'D camera for inspection (Bacigalupi). He has
found a way which will ensure that the BuRec will pay to him as when he cut down the
tamarisk, he also went on planting it along the edges and the hidden corner away from the
eyes of other hunters. But, his realization and conscience is shown to be living and breathing
for he calls himself a water thief and hides his action from his wife as well.
The tamarisk hunter Lolo, and the caring and the grateful husband Lolo are shown to
the reader as the different side of the same coin. He validates his action of deceiving and
keeping the growth of tamarisk alive when he recalls his wife nightmares about the loss of
town and her loved ones which keeps her awake at night: "And if she has nightmares
sometimes, and can't stand being in towns or crowds and wakes up in the middle of the night
calling out for family she'll never see again, well then it's all the more reason to seed more
tamarisk and make sure that they never get pushed off their patch like she was pushed"
(Bacigalupi). We see the fear in him of losing his patch, and the readers are given a glimpse
of the deserted town which he and Travis view from the top of the mesa. They recall how the
city was up and growing and building of mall and complex were a common thing. Bacigalupi
shows the environmental destruction which was not realized even when the signs first set in
and the governmental control started, people adjusted and begged for the water until the time

3CHARACTER STUDY- THE TAMARISK HUNTER
the complete river was taken under the power of the Californian government and was turned
into STRAW.
The author here shows the greed of the human civilization at its peak when the
scarcity of water was turned into an industrial process and was taken up by the government to
provide it to the people they deemed fit. The division of the society shows this into two
economic classes; people living with swimming pools and people who had to steal water to
drink. The hatred which is evident from the use of terms like 'Cali' and 'enviros' who were
considered to be people who had the privilege of fighting for what they call their right
(Bacigalupi).
The author shows the environmental degradation, which resulted in the formation of
the two parts of the same human civilization fighting against each other basic human need-
water. The tale of the people like Lolo is the only version present in science fiction. The short
stories, "The Drowned' by Ballard and "Gold Fame Citrus" by Claire Vaye Watkins shows
the irreversible and uncontrollable situation which arises due to the unawareness and
ignorance in the society regarding the change in the environmental condition. The story of
Lolo serves as the counter-narrative of the illusionary thought process among us, which lets
us live in the present without paying attention to the fact that we are responsible for the
consequences (Bacigalupi).
Lolo's character shares a certain similarity with the main character of Ballard's 'The
Drowned' when we see him wandering mindlessly in the deserted and flooded land of
London for he still believed that he would be able to find an illusionary post-human paradise
which does not exist. The same way, Lolo's illusion is broken by the offer given by BuRec to
sell his patch for the small amount of five hundred dollars rendering all his tamarisk
insurance to vain (Bacigalupi). The tale shows the irreversible effect towards which the world

4CHARACTER STUDY- THE TAMARISK HUNTER
is approaching due to its ignorance and the thought process that nature will heal itself from all
the wounds we are inflicting on it. There is no going back for Lolo at the end admit to
understanding that even he now knows that the drought will not break and the diversion of
the water from the river has only resulted in the acceleration of the process.
Conclusion
The end of the story shows the realization of the loss of the time, and opportunity and
Lolo represent the society as a whole when he laments the loss of the only possession he held
dear his entire life. The government and the use of commercialization of the damage also
draws a parallel from 'The Drowned'. Strangman is sent by their government to gather
resources and riches buried in the ruins of London. In 'The Tamarisk Hunter' the government
instead of fighting the environmental changes is shown to divert the water to cities. In the
end, he is asked to give up his land and move north. The story shows the inevitable result of
the ignorance of the human race towards environmental hazards and visible changes.

5CHARACTER STUDY- THE TAMARISK HUNTER
References
Bacigalupi, Paolo. "The Tamarisk Hunter". Hcn.Org, 2006,
https://www.hcn.org/issues/325/tamarisk-hunter-Bacigalupi.