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| Shasta Dam Spillway Release 1998 |
So, we have 40 million acre feet falling on our state and on its way to the Pacific Ocean, many gallons get peeled off to water the crops and animals by the farmers and ranchers. Over the years, the Feds helped build some dams and reservoirs to capture water for the drier times. So did the State. People could rely on the flows to keep our state a year round growing state. California got rich with that dependable source of liquid gold. Then came two things. Growth in the human population and the EPA. More humans meant more demand for the water. So a few dams were built to accommodate the growth up until the 1970's. The second was the Auburn Dam.
The eco nuts came into their own. Lawsuits and the use of the new requirements of eco documents like NEPA and CEQA, along with court decisions changed everything. The defeat of the dam was the beginning of the end of new water storage facilities in California. It was the beginning of allocations to a useless little fish in the Delta named the "Delta Smelt". So the courts became the battle ground and liberal judges decided the fish (etal) were more important than humans and so it goes. No more dams, more water to useless fish and less for farmers and water district supplying 38 million people. Only about 2 million acre feet of storage was constructed since the 1970's or so. Enough for household use of 2 million people. The population went up 20 million.
The battles heated up in our state but since it is run by democrats, they owed their jobs to the eco nuts and their endless dollars of grant money *what a great scam they created). The farmers and the water districts were ignored as the Feds and the State sent more water into the Pacific and wasted the precious resource. We got to see the power of the dollars spread around by eco groups. They were able to keep water from being utilized in the central valley farmlands and many thousands of people were forced to leave and/or become unemployed (many illegal immigrants, you know, the favorite people of the democrat party). No water, no crops. No jobs, but the smelt got their allotment. You can still see the signs along Highway 99 and Interstate 5 pointing the finger correctly, at the stupid legislators and judges who denied people their water. I also blame the chicken shit Arnold S when he was governor.
So now we have Kevin McCarthy, Congressman from Bakersfield, pushing federal legislation to deal with this water shortage. I am actually torn about this because I like state's rights on the own lands. Jerry Brown says "butt out" but the Republican delegation to Congress says maybe not. They want more water storage and greater water amounts sent to the farmers and water districts. (I think they need to boot the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers). The state legislators are afraid of their eco donators so much that they will cause untold misery for their own voters in order to pacify the eco nuts. Now that is power! But the low information voters via the biased left news media will blame the Republicans for trying to fix the place.
So until there is some terrible incident, like, no water for Los Angeles or San Francisco, there will be no changes to the stupidity of the politicians running our once great state. (Hell, even Jerry lies about our budget deficits and the stupid press just does their stenography). Water is short because there are no new storage facilities. None since the early 70's I think. What do the stupid people in the state government think is going to happen? 38 million people get thirsty. All the businesses requiring water, farmers, food plants, cattle and the rest, need lots of water. So, maybe this is the turning point? Maybe when you start fining people for using that extra gallon of water, maybe they will change? I am not optimistic about a change here in California. I do think there will be a lot of misery and hopefully the people will boot these loony leftists out of our government and put some smart folks in. Water will be the turning point I hope.
You ignored the killer environmental impacts to CA Fisheries industry by focusing on the Smelt. The House bill perpetrated by McClintock/McCarthy does nothing but promote a political agenda. Here's the dirty little secret--ready? there is no funding, no $$ committed by the Feds to anything contained in that ridiculous- soon to die-House Bill. Going back to the old Auburn Dam dead chestnut is totally unproductive and irrelevant with this current crisis. It AIN'T HAPPENING. Senator Feinstein is coming out with her Bill in the Senate today or tomorrow, which will incentivize and put actual FUNDING behind more current initiatives like increasing access to aquifier, and water transfers among districts. House bill is a sham, a joke. Soon to die.
ReplyDeleteAs I write this comment I have just listened to the debate on the House floor on the bill. There were eight amendments proposed by the democrats of which seven were defeated and one agreed too. I was shocked to listen to the utmost absurdity the democrats were spewing. Tom McClintock, Doug LaMalfa and the other Republicans speaking for the bill were a breath of fresh air. They have common sense. The amendments proposed by the dems were all defeated by a bi-artisan vote in 2010 and are simply a lazy ass way of proposing them again. Same result. The bill that passed in 2010 has never been voted on by the Senate. Harry Reis and his Band of Nuts won't chance the fact the bill could pass so it is in his round file. Why won't he allow a vote? You seem to know, so tell us, why can't the people get a vote?
DeleteRegarding the bill. The Delta Smelt is the issue and over 800,000 acre feet of our precious stored water was released to give the Delta Smelt. The water went into the sea. The communities that are represented by the democrats in the Bay Area and from Sacramento down, dump 380 million gallons of sewage into the system very DAY!. The water flushes their crap and they use the ESA protection of the smelt as the straw-man.
Feinstein has been the Senator for 20 years now. Boxer is the Chairman of the committee on these issues. Yet they have allowed their fellow Californians, hell, their own voters, to be shoved aside for a three inch bait fish. The striped bass which is a non-native fish in the delta and bay are eating the smelt. They eat 90% of the little critters while the pumps eat 2%. So you eco nuts are protecting a bait fish eaten by a non-native bass and flush your crap with our precious water into the sea. You must think we are as stupid as you.
Nope, the smelt is a fun talking point for the Hannity watchers of the world to get their blood pressure going, but the fact is that the smelt protection is just one small part of all the larger enviromental and fishery concerns with Delta water transfers. Its called an ecoSYSTEM, a dynamic, multi-faceted thing.
DeleteDid you ever find any Federal funding in that House Bill to carry out all the massive long term construction projects it proposes? Or is it a political sham to fundraise for candidates in these farming districts?
Do you deny the smelt is protected by the ESA and the pumps are regulated to protect them? My Goodness, a talking point? Hannitty? Don't watch him.
DeleteI see you are the typical lib and never address the points that destroy your arguments. Too funny. Please keep it up, it allows the readers to see what kind of person has been wrecking the place.
We're going to have to disagree on the smelt. Yes, its protected, but water moving away from the critical Delta Ecosystem is a much bigger issue. The bottom line is that this sham House bill does nothing to deal with the current drought crisis, and does nothing to deal with real-time solutions that fund an immediate need to move water around, to fund increased well drilling and increased access to new aquifers. God forbid, you mean there might be a role for Federal money to deal with the immediate problems of access to water for people to drink and survive, much less pursue large scale corporate farming? The Bill is a sham, a return to long ago, pointless and expensive battles over projects like the never-to-be-built Auburn Dam, without any Federal money to help people in the next 3-6 months. It does none of that. Timely re-allocation of drinking water right now is more important than pushing more water to (in large part) agribusiness that, with the scarcity of this resource amidst Climate Change, has no business farming in desert conditions.
DeleteThe bill cannot make it rain that is true. What the bill does is reallocate existing water. Why do you want to drill more wells and deplete the aquifers? That is not good policy. Why is reallocation a bad idea? You want hundreds of thousands of people to suffer for a ESA three inch bait fish eaten by small moth bass apparently. My goodness, are you serious?
DeleteFederal money is 43% debt as well. Is that smart policy when the national debt is 17.5 trillion? I think not when the solution is right here right now. Reallocate. The problem is bad ongoing policies that give a fish priority over people and that will have to be solved. When your pals in the cities stop pumping 380 million gallons of crap into the delta and use our water to dilute it, then I will think you have some points. But, we all know Harry Reid and his Nuts will stonewall and kill the fixes to the problem to get their campaign money from the econut groups. You should be ashamed.
Not ashamed. I'm with the majority of Californians who understand priorities amidst climate change. Why are CA almond farmers more important than NorCal salmon fishermen and all the connected businesses and people? I say the health of the Delta affects many, many more people than a relatively small number of farms in the desert who usurp our precious water. The massive agribusiness industry, such as the Almond export business, hogging up a precious resource in these conditions has no business taking priority in this climate. Read this one:
Deletehttp://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/californias-thirsty-almonds/Content?oid=3830095
Of course you are ashamed. You are anonymous and without the courage of your convictions. You are just a ghost mouthing liberal talking points. I do agree there is climate change though. And I am glad you lefties decided to call it that. You defeated your claims about man made global warming. I want to thank you for that massive faux paux. Climate change happens minute by minute on the planet. What a hoot!
DeleteThe Delta affects a lot of people no doubt about it. Why then do they crap 380 millions gallons a day into it? You like that? Funny how the democrats were making the point today on the House floor that the bill was terrible because it took water from one group and gave it to another. You just made the point on how the Delta folks are more important. Amazing.
If you get your way about the water allocations, where will you get your food? I am laughing my butt off with your infantile view of the issues. Are you a product of public schools?
Todd,
ReplyDeletewhy are you such a dickhead to anyone who challenges your opinions? The other person has valid points in the water debate equal to yours.
Pete, I am a dickhead, thanks for alerting the readers.
DeleteHis facts don't exist. And he doesn't debate the facts he bloviates. Why don't you check the issue out and get back to the thread?
One does need a sense of humor reading about what's going on. Too funny. Salmon are more important than farmers. Not long ago the logging industry was accused of being the cause of declining salmon. When we were traveling in Canada (or Alaska) a newspaper said the salmon decline was caused by the huge population of seals eating them. The increase of seals occurred when hunting them was banned. So they were going to use birth control on the females. Sorry this was too funny, except when you consider the cost.
ReplyDeleteAnd then to save the migrating salmon we should blow up the damn dams. Aren't we glad some people have enough intelligence not to go along with it. Now, because of less water to generate electricity the power companies will have to use more gas (petro) to do the job at great cost to consumers.
BMW
BMW, yes those are just a couple of loony things people do to protect the three inch bait fish called the Delta Smelt. I am sure you noticed now that we have facts the small mouthed bass eats most of the smelt, not man or his pumps, the libs divert to other things they make up from whole cloth. Notice how the lib never answered the fact of the sewage? That is what they do. Global Warming didn't wok (snowed at my house last night) so they changed the term to "climate change". Orsell warned us all about these dangerous people.
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