Posted on 02/20/2010 7:04:23 PM PST by blueyon
This is what’s happening now. The same thing happened in the Klamath Basin. It must be stopped.
If you have to get your food, water, home, and medical care from the government, then the government decides who lives or who dies. Totally unacceptable in a free society, don’t you both agree?
They give the rest of the country all of these wonderful environmental laws. They just love coming up with all of these novel concepts like banning smoking, and gay marriage (even though they didn't pass it). Anything to get the rest of the country to confrom to their "enlightenment." But, when it affects them directly when it affects their bellies and their pocketbooks, and they realize that maybe they took it just a little too far..... well then its hands across America we got to do something.
Yeah, I agree, the law is stupid and should be changed. I agree people are of higher value than a fish. And, I understand the concept of "when they came for the Jews [read smoker, or business owner] I did nothing because I wasn't a Jew and when they came for the Christians [read farmer, or someone with a fireplace] I did nothing.....
But, when you're a Jew [business owner/smoker/heterosexual/farmer or some other pet target]and you're advocating the SS to come and take your brothers, when you're appeasing an alligator hoping he'll eat you last.... WTH should I have empathy and sorrow on your behalf?
Wasn't California also the state that said they couldn't build anymore coal power plants, or nuclear power plants? Weren't they ones that said solar power was the way to go.... even though they were having rolling brownouts? Didn't they spend two years doing an environmental impact study in an arrid region only to decide NOT to build the solar panels because it might make the area desertER? Where have you demonstrated my efforts or contributions won't be in vain? Would my time not be better spent planting my own fruit and vegetables? Would my money not be better spent maintaining my own well and irrigation?
Yes, I agree that is a selfish mentality. But how long has the liberal mentality (and it isn't just California, and yes I know it isn't all Californians) been foisted upon us?
Stupidity should hurt. Elections have consequences. When is it time to go Galt and say "you made your bed now sleep in it?"
/rant
BTW, I hope they get this fixed and the farmers get some relief.
The problem is that water in the west is not owned under riparian water rights as on the east coast. Under the riparian principle, all landowners whose property is adjacent to a body of water have the right to make reasonable use of it. If there is not enough water to satisfy all users, allotments are generally fixed in proportion to frontage on the water source. These rights cannot be sold or transferred other than with the adjoining land, and water cannot be transferred out of the watershed.
Wyoming v. Colorado (1922) established the legitimacy of prior appropriation water rights, or “first in time, first in right” theory (the theory found in mining law and the Homestead Act). The legal details vary from state to state; however, the general principle is that water rights are unconnected to land ownership, and can be sold or mortgaged like other property. The first person to use a quantity of water from a water source for a beneficial use has the right to continue to use that quantity of water for that purpose. Subsequent users can use the remaining water for their own beneficial purposes provided that they do not impinge on the rights of previous users. Beneficial use is commonly defined as agricultural, industrial or household use. Ecological purposes, such as maintaining a natural body of water and the wildlife that depends on it, were not initially deemed as beneficial uses in some Western states but have been accepted in some jurisdictions. The extent to which private parties may own such rights varies among the states.
Actually, the problem isn’t that western laws are quaintly derived from old miners using mining law as the basis of every other law, it’s that change would probably destroy Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The conservative/libertarian solution would to be to let water go to market level, and if that leads five million people to go back to New Jersey, then that’s their choice, not Obama’s.
Oops, yeah, I probably should have mentioned the tragedy of the commons. Thanks for covering!
I’ve had some questions about how “native” the delta smelt is too. The comments to the original article bring it up a couple of times & there are those who say it is native. However, I have also read that there have been at least 15 species introduced so that it is probably not “pure” delta smelt.
There were other comments about the overall health of the delta but previous discussions (I have been to 2 of their events) about the raw sewage being dumped from Sacramento & other cities in the area as there apparently is no sewage treatment plant. But their research does not take that into account.
There are also comments about the salmon. However, it appears that wild salmon are threatened in the UK, the NW Coast & in Norway & that has been attributed to nearby fish farms which harbor disease the wild salmon can’t survive.
One can only hope that Obama will sufficiently piss off California. Only a stupid tyrant angers his base.
First they divert corn for biodiesel, and now this. Is anyone else seeing a trend?
bkmark
Wee wee on the people...
Since it’s a privilege....hows abouts we ONLY give the terrorists their rights, and withhold any “privileges”......
just sayin’......
Hope G-d let’s it rain there often so their crops grow nice and big!
Exactly! In the area I was raised, over the past 50 years there have been people killed over water (Mesa region east of Trinidad, CO). Cripes, my father deals with neighbors who will open their boxes (off of the ditches) wide open at night and then return early in the morning to shut them to “normal” levels before the ditch boss makes his daily run along the ditch. Oh, there are lots of stories!
Ping
>Bhoy, could California build some desalinization plants to help with the water problem???
Not really; from my understanding desalinization is pretty expensive and/or requires a lot of upkeep.
Can you explain what you just said to someone who knows zero about anything west of Indiana? TIA!
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