[morphing libertarian]

lived here since 1959. I have been around the mediteranean. Even the indigenous plants are desert,

[HotHunt]

I'm not going to argue with you but you are simply incorrect. When they refer to the "desert southwest" in this country, they are not referring to southern California.

I was born in southern California in 1948 and lived there and Arizona and New Mexico for most of my adult life. Try living in Phoenix in the summer and tell me it is the same climate as Los Angeles. It is not.

Cactus may grow in LA but there are tons of other flora from southern California that would die and shrivel up if transplanted to the Sonoran desert in the Phoenix area. Just one example, Queen Anne palms flourish in southern California but struggle to survive in the desert heat of Phoenix.

Of course Death Valley is a desert but it's not what people normally refer to as southern California. Los Angeles and San Diego are both considered Mediterranean climes.

Los Angeles Is Not a Desert. Stop Calling It One

Wikipedia--Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Is Classified As A Mediterranean Climate