Posted on 09/26/2009 3:04:40 PM PDT by raptor22
Environmentalism: Sen. Dianne Feinstein votes to deny water to California's drought-stricken San Joaquin Valley. Farmers, families and food are being held hostage to an endangered fish called the delta smelt. (snip) The Senate rejected the amendment by a largely party-line 61-36 margin, with Feinstein opposing the restoration of water deliveries to farmers.
The California senator claimed she was blindsided by the amendment to the bill she was managing in the Senate, bizarrely comparing the move to a "Pearl Harbor."
"No one from California has called, written or indicated they wanted this on the calendar," Feinstein protested.
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
What I thought of when I heard of this issue...as if it was a dry run..
I found this statement in the 4th paragraph of this VDH article.
Professor Chu, Obama’s energy secretary, summed up the sense of academic disdain that permeates this administration with his recent sniffing about the childish polloi: “The American people . . . just like your teenage kids, aren’t acting in a way that they should act.” Earlier, remember, Dr. Chu had scoffed from his perch that California farms were environmentally unsound and would soon disappear altogether, “We’re looking at a scenario where there’s no more agriculture in California.”
I believe there is some reason that the Obama Administration and his Czars have a hidden purpose in cutting off the water. They want to destroy California agriculture.
But not one commenter noted the bias in the article. The 'poor' farmers are big agribusiness that took a semi-desert and applied water to it many decades ago. They saw the shortage coming and connived an underground reservoir away from the state and filled it up with 'excess' water in flush years and sold it back to the state at huge profit in shortage years, and kept the massive dividends for themselves. Before the 'farmers' came you could kayak from San Francisco to Yosemite without a single portage. Salmon and sardines was a multi-million dollar industry, as was recreational fishing. Meanwhile the 'farmers' used aerial irrigation because it was cheaper than drip, and brought in illegal aliens to work their corporate fields. And they bred like rabbits and smuggled their families in to join them, and drank water, took showers, washed their cars, ...
So over the years the population increased just only slightly slower than the stupidity and greed of the legislators. The state set up their own standards for the sustainability of the Delta, and after years of litigation and demonstrated failure of the state's ability to balance the needs of people with its stewardship of resources for all, (including Mother Nature), a federal judge found the basis of the standards laughable and shut off the pumps.
This is the third year that salmon fishing has been closed to most of the west coast, and we are expecting yet another year to come. The prime game fish are all but gone. What remains, symbolically enough, are the bottom feeders. Of course they can't be eaten because of all the heavy metals deposited in S.F. Bay over the decades.
So before you make up your mind, read a book like The Cadillac Desert. Otherwise you become a stooge of big business, and all you are to them is a target for your wallet.
BWAAAAAAA! Thanks!
****The ‘poor’ farmers are big agribusiness that took a semi-desert and applied water to it many decades ago.****
Yea, that was like for growing food and stuff. Kinda kept a lot of people alive ya know.
****They saw the shortage coming and connived an underground reservoir away from the state and filled it up with ‘excess’ water in flush years and sold it back to the state at huge profit in shortage years, and kept the massive dividends for themselves****
Yea, big farmers have some mighty big crystal balls...
****Before the ‘farmers’ came you could kayak from San Francisco to Yosemite without a single portage. Salmon and sardines was a multi-million dollar industry, as was recreational fishing****
Six of one a thousand of the other eh...There has been much more food come out of the valley than would have ever come from the fish.
****Meanwhile the ‘farmers’ used aerial irrigation because it was cheaper than drip****
No, they started with aerial because that’s all they had back then and saw no need to switch over the vast expanse to a tech that is much more suited to small areas and indoor growing.
****and brought in illegal aliens to work their corporate fields. And they bred like rabbits and smuggled their families in to join them, and drank water, took showers, washed their cars****
Most all of the workers had and still have visas. The farmer is not required to ship them home when the season is over, they are supposed to do that themselves. But I guess you leftists are now trying to tell us that you agree that there are too many illegals here eh? ya right...
****The state set up their own standards for the sustainability of the Delta, and after years of litigation and demonstrated failure of the state’s ability to balance the needs of people with its stewardship of resources for all, (including Mother Nature), a federal judge found the basis of the standards laughable and shut off the pumps.****
Which is a violation of states rights and should be ignored by the state.
****This is the third year that salmon fishing has been closed to most of the west coast, and we are expecting yet another year to come. The prime game fish are all but gone****
There are many reasons for the decline of the fish populations, one being that the feds won’t let the states remove sea lions from the fish ladders as they kill them and take a bite or two from the soft bellies and discard the rest.
Wow, very interesting. Thanks for the post. I too remember when the fishing was fantastic from the Farrallons to the Bay, on up the Delta and throughout the many trout rivers, and now all that’s gone.
Tell that to Israel.
Which is a violation of states rights and should be ignored by the state.
The operative concept is "the basis of the standards," not States rights.
Most all of the workers had and still have visas. ... ya right...
Visas? In the Central Valley? Most? Ya right...
There are many reasons for the decline of the fish populations, one being that the feds won’t let the states remove sea lions from the fish ladders as they kill them and take a bite or two from the soft bellies and discard the rest.
Sea lions are one of the least important threats when the fish are exposed to massive yearly artificial decreases in the actual amount of water they have to swim in.
Lowering the standard of living for working citizens is the main goal of Democrats in power.
Republicans have mostly went along with it also.
I can’t believe the IBD doesn’t get it so I will spell it out.
Step 1. Cut off water and drive people in to foreclosure.
Step 2. Friends and democrat cronies buy up the land.
Step 3. Turn the water back on.
Any questions?
Yes, it looks like the Republican politicians are too corrupt to stand up for the folks.
****Tell that to Israel.****
They have loose sandy soil that is perfect for drip hydro and that’s why it works so well for them.
****The operative concept is “the basis of the standards,” not States rights****
Thus the continual march to tyranny by the Feds.
****Visas? In the Central Valley? Most? Ya right****
So are illegals a bad thing then?
****Sea lions are one of the least important threats when the fish are exposed to massive yearly artificial decreases in the actual amount of water they have to swim in.****
Drama queen much? So what if there is a trade off.
Step 4. Give the land to welfare people - sort of like they did in some African countries where folks are now starving, because they don’t know how to farm.
WTH are you talking about? You think CA soil isn't ploughed? Drip irrigation goes straight to the roots, it doesn't need "sandy soil."
So are illegals a bad thing then?
The answer to your question is in the definition of the word "illegal."
Drama queen much? So what if there is a trade off
Criticising massively inefficient irrigation in a drought state, millions of criminal illegals, and millions of dead coastal, bay, delta and river fish is being a "drama queen"? LOL - sounds like you ran out of answers.
No these crooks are all about making themseleves very rich and the ruling class.
I fear there is only one way to stop this insanity.
Leftists are anti-business. So conservatives feel the need to defend the actions of business even when it is demonstrably non-conservative.
If anything is conservative, surely it is “conserving” our natural resources and environment.
I have no idea whether the particular issue here has been rightly decided by the judge. I do know that kneejerk defense of any and all business activity is profoundly unconservative.
Just as capitalists will cheerfully sell the rope to hang them with to commies, they will also cheerfully destroy the commons we all have to live in, if they can make a buck by doing so.
Capitalism, like science, is amoral. It is merely the most efficient way of allocating resources based on the demand. It does not figure issues like right and wrong into its accounting. This works just fine, as long as we don’t expect the market to do something it is not suited for.
****WTH are you talking about? You think CA soil isn’t ploughed? Drip irrigation goes straight to the roots, it doesn’t need “sandy soil.”****
You’ve never worked with drip irrigation have you? It is a pain to work with unless the soil is nice and loose. The solution also doesn’t flow well to reach all the roots unless the soil is well draining.
****The answer to your question is in the definition of the word “illegal.”****
We’re all citizens of the world right?
****Criticising massively inefficient irrigation in a drought state, millions of criminal illegals, and millions of dead coastal, bay, delta and river fish is being a “drama queen”? LOL - sounds like you ran out of answers.****
Yep, drama queen.
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