Story on CA Water Conservation (Aub Jnl)

[Mike McKenzie]

It matters not whether municipalities conserve water or not within the context of this discussion. Nor does it matter if any "delta conveyance" is built or not. What is the real issue is "sustainability". Exporting ever more water from the Bay/Delta ecosystem is NOT sustainable no matter how much water is conserved in municipal, industrial or Ag. use.

Right now the argument is really about greed and converting a public trust asset into private capital. It is not a sustainable proposition. It is not a rational proposition. Under the "American capitalist system" it is generally OK to "find a need and fill it" and make a profit thus creating jobs and improving the economy.

However when attaining the "need" costs more jobs that it creates or requires huge outlays of taxpayer/ratepayer monies, destroys natural ecosystems and encourages unsustainable growth, it's not capitalism....It's theft and that's exactly what is happening with California's water.

The conversation in this thread is much too rational. Greed is not rational nor is even reasonable or prudent. That is why this whole scheme to turn the Kern Water Bank into an ATM machine for corporate Ag. to farm instead of crops isn't going to be resolved without 30 years worth of lawsuits.

Here's just a few that are working their way through the system. Read through them and you can gain a better understanding of how broken the system is and what it will take to fix it....

http://dev.calsport.org/cspa_files/C...w_links%29.pdf

http://calsport.org/news/cspa-sues-b...cts/#more-1132

http://calsport.org/news/lawsuit-fil...ver/#more-1115

http://calsport.org/news/cspa-coalit...ract-renewals/

http://dev.calsport.org/cspa_files/M...Chronology.pdf

http://dev.calsport.org/kern.cspa.7.3.10.htm

http://dev.calsport.org/publictrust.cspa.9.7.10.htm

Happy reading,

Mike

[Darian]

Here's a little something from the past that seems to fit:

"Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got til its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot"

Taken from Big Yellow Taxi, Joni Mitchell....

[Tracy Chimenti]

tHIS PARAGRAPH COPIED FROM THE NC WEB-SITE'S FIRST LISTED STORY ON THE DELTA... INASIVE SPECIES FIRST ON THE LIST... ALTHOUGH THEY DEFER THE EXPORT ISSUE, BUT CLEVERLY GIVE IT THREE LINES AS AN AFTERTHOUGHT. I guess we can't say they're ignoring the problem.

On the Verge of Collapse

The Delta is an ecosystem on the verge of collapse due to invasive species, pollution and the destruction of most of the area’s wetland and river habitat. Existing water-supply operations have also had profound impacts on the Delta. They have transformed the estuary into what is now essentially a freshwater lake and have reversed the natural direction of the rivers flowing out of the Delta. As a result of these and other issues, several native species, such as the Delta smelt, are on the brink of extinction.

[Mike McKenzie]

I'd trust the Nature Conservancy about a s far as I could throw them. If they were truly interested in "conserving nature" they wouldn't be pulling the self enriching (at taxpayer's expense) schemes that they do, nor would the be supporting the phoney Bay Delta Conservation Plan and its cohort, the Peripheral Canal (or tunnel). While they have protected several critical acreages around the Country, they've made millions of Dollars doing it by land swaps..Some good some really bad.

Mike

[Darian]

Found an article from NRDC concerning planning efforts by SoCal communities to reduce their dependence on water from the colorado River and the Delta by emphasizing local sources (called the "virtual river"). Check out the link:

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/bn...ew_wave_1.html