Christian Democrats in the United States
Domestic Issues - Environment Please tour our lovely National Park System and reflect upon our choices in this great Eden.We support organic farming methods since the use of synthetic chemicals in agriculture incurs disproportionate health consequences on the uninsured poor. We support all efforts to develop sustainable fuel and materials sources from agriculture. We must take every possible measure to ensure that companies producing goods in America do not pollute our air, land and water. We need to solve the energy crisis, but are extremely skeptical of nuclear power's ability to do so.
Also see Global Warming
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
11:33 PM
There is a massive campaign, supported by the Governator, that says Congress created a "dust bowl" in California. This is such a typical Republican strategy of twisting the facts and telling outright lies, manipulating select interest groups with a distorted wedge issue, trying to associate it with the Dust Bowl of the midwest in the 1930's.
The original Dust Bowl happened because of a prolonged drought, coupled the removal of the native tall prairie grasses, which allowed the topsoil to be caught by the wind and blown away.
The central valley of California, especially south of Sacramento, has always been a dust bowl. It is a desert, dry as a bone. There is no water there naturally, save for what is imported by that massive engineering project, the California aqueduct. Farming in the southern parts of the central valley is totally unnatural.
The fact is, the nation is still growing, California will continue to grow, and there is simply not enough water here for everyone to drink. Congress and the President had to make a difficult choice. What about the jobs for our fisheries and canneries? They are equally important.
The difference between farming and fishing is, if fields go without water, it is easy to restore crops when water is restored. But if rivers go without water, it is very difficult to restore fish when water is restored. Besides, if we allow farms and cities to take too much one year, they will not be willing to reduce their use in subsequent years.
Unfortunately, Governor Schwarzenegger and the Republicans have twisted the facts to turn this into a blind wedge issue, manipulating the sentiments of the rural population to make them angry, instead of working toward actual solutions.
The fact is, there will not be enough water in California to meet our future individual use demands and to keep our farming economy thriving, which is important for the whole country. Desalination is still extremely expensive, and without virtually free electricity from theoretical nuclear fusion, it probably is not a viable solution.
Yet we cannot continue to restrict access to water, or there will be extreme social unrest. When we run out of water, if the farmers don't revolt, the thirsty people of Los Angeles will.
Certainly, measures like requiring waterless urinals in all public restrooms, banning lawns in desert areas, and other conservation steps should come first, but these measures are not going to meet the projected demand.
We need to think bigger.
There is plenty of water in the Columbia river. It sounds extreme, but what California needs is a massive engineering project in Oregon to pipe water from the Columbia back up through the Cascade Valley and into the Klamath basin, which drains into California.
If properly designed, once filled the pipe could draw water with subduction, like emptying a fishtank with a hose.
A lot of the power needed can be recovered by hydro-electric generation at Klamath and lower, from the increased flow.
It's the only solution that will ensure water for fish, water for farmers, and water for people.
Obviously, California is going to have to give a lot to Oregon to make this happen. But it has to happen, or California's economy, environment and social structure will break down, and that would be bad for Oregon and the rest of the nation.
I am pessimistic, however, that the Governator, the President or Congress have enough imagination to consider this idea and not laugh it off as the crazy ramblings of an Internet crackpot.
congress did not create a "dust bowl," it was already there
In California, many farmers in the central valley are distressed because the U.S. Congress has decided to retain the minimum river levels in the Sierra Nevada necessary to preserve our stocks of salmon and other fish.There is a massive campaign, supported by the Governator, that says Congress created a "dust bowl" in California. This is such a typical Republican strategy of twisting the facts and telling outright lies, manipulating select interest groups with a distorted wedge issue, trying to associate it with the Dust Bowl of the midwest in the 1930's.
The original Dust Bowl happened because of a prolonged drought, coupled the removal of the native tall prairie grasses, which allowed the topsoil to be caught by the wind and blown away.
The central valley of California, especially south of Sacramento, has always been a dust bowl. It is a desert, dry as a bone. There is no water there naturally, save for what is imported by that massive engineering project, the California aqueduct. Farming in the southern parts of the central valley is totally unnatural.
The fact is, the nation is still growing, California will continue to grow, and there is simply not enough water here for everyone to drink. Congress and the President had to make a difficult choice. What about the jobs for our fisheries and canneries? They are equally important.
The difference between farming and fishing is, if fields go without water, it is easy to restore crops when water is restored. But if rivers go without water, it is very difficult to restore fish when water is restored. Besides, if we allow farms and cities to take too much one year, they will not be willing to reduce their use in subsequent years.
Unfortunately, Governor Schwarzenegger and the Republicans have twisted the facts to turn this into a blind wedge issue, manipulating the sentiments of the rural population to make them angry, instead of working toward actual solutions.
The fact is, there will not be enough water in California to meet our future individual use demands and to keep our farming economy thriving, which is important for the whole country. Desalination is still extremely expensive, and without virtually free electricity from theoretical nuclear fusion, it probably is not a viable solution.
Yet we cannot continue to restrict access to water, or there will be extreme social unrest. When we run out of water, if the farmers don't revolt, the thirsty people of Los Angeles will.
Certainly, measures like requiring waterless urinals in all public restrooms, banning lawns in desert areas, and other conservation steps should come first, but these measures are not going to meet the projected demand.
We need to think bigger.
There is plenty of water in the Columbia river. It sounds extreme, but what California needs is a massive engineering project in Oregon to pipe water from the Columbia back up through the Cascade Valley and into the Klamath basin, which drains into California.
If properly designed, once filled the pipe could draw water with subduction, like emptying a fishtank with a hose.
A lot of the power needed can be recovered by hydro-electric generation at Klamath and lower, from the increased flow.
It's the only solution that will ensure water for fish, water for farmers, and water for people.
Obviously, California is going to have to give a lot to Oregon to make this happen. But it has to happen, or California's economy, environment and social structure will break down, and that would be bad for Oregon and the rest of the nation.
I am pessimistic, however, that the Governator, the President or Congress have enough imagination to consider this idea and not laugh it off as the crazy ramblings of an Internet crackpot.
> detail, links and comments >>
Comments:
<< HomeArchives May 2007 / December 2008 / June 2009 / September 2009 /