A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
April 2, 2009
2. Supply –
Lift water restrictions, Southern California lawmakers tell Congress
The Riverside Press –
Commentary: Environmentalists must learn to compromise
Lift water restrictions, Southern California lawmakers tell Congress
The Riverside Press –
By Ben Goad
Calvert, R-Corona, was among a handful of California Republicans who spoke out in favor of easing the restrictions.
Pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the core of the state's water system, have been virtually halted under a federal ruling to protect threatened and endangered fish species, including the Delta smelt. The tiny silver smelt, found only in that estuary, are sucked into the powerful pumps that move water uphill into canals that carry it south.
Federal scientists say the smelt, believed to be an indicator of the overall health of the Delta, are close to extinction.
Calvert and other House Republicans said the restrictions amount to the federal government putting the well-being of fish before people, who are suffering from the affects of a third consecutive year of drought in the Golden State.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Feb. 27 declared a statewide emergency due to drought and warned of the possibility of water rationing. Meanwhile, recent estimates show that about 250,000 acre-feet -- more than 83 billion gallons -- of water have been lost to the
"Absent the federal restrictions, the quarter-million acre-feet of water could have been exported to water users throughout the state," Calvert said. "This is enough water to meet the water needs of half a million people for a year."
Calvert made his remarks during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing to address the state's drought.
Democrats, who control Congress, appeared unlikely to lift the restrictions, which were grounded in the Endangered Species Act.
Instead, the panel's Democrats pressed for a multifaceted strategy to combat the drought through water recycling, desalination and better water-storage programs.
"We must look toward a comprehensive solution," said Rep. Joe Baca, D-Rialto. "We're at a critical time right now with the drought. We have to look at the effect it's having on
Still, Calvert and others said turning the pumps back on is a needed short-term solution for a problem that is only getting worse.
He said water rationing will probably occur, and that will drive up the cost of water at a time when the state and national economies are already in crisis.
"Folks, get ready, your water prices are going to skyrocket," Calvert told reporters before the hearing.
To drive home their point, the Republican witnesses at the hearing -- who included Reps. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, George Radonovich, R-Fresno, and Wally Herger, R-Chico -- brought with them a fishbowl containing several Delta smelt and placed it on the table during the hearing.
As he finished his testimony, Nunes said he wanted to submit the fish for the official record.
"You can have them, we don't want them," Nunes told Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Santa Fe Springs, who headed the meeting.
Napolitano responded, "Thank you for your testimony, and I suggest you take the cover off so they can get some air."
Staff writer Janet Zimmerman contributed to this report. #
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_drought01.3cab0f9.html
Commentary: Environmentalists must learn to compromise
Desalination plants are necessary to quench the West's thirst
Jonathan Parkinson is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News in
One of Aesop's fables is about a dog that found a bone nearly as big as he could carry. The dog trotted home to gnaw on his prize, but on the way, he caught sight of his reflection in a stream. Convinced that he was seeing another dog -- and that the other dog had a bigger bone -- he dropped his own to seize it, and he ended up, of course, with nothing.
I was reminded of the story recently at a public meeting on
Environmental groups have filed lawsuits, challenging the project's permits. During the question-and-answer time, a committee member with the local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation stood up to recount a number of problems with the project. The company's representative, Peter MacLaggan, began his response by telling the audience he was familiar with Surfrider; in fact, he said, "We're good friends."
He was facetious; Surfrider, a $3.5 million nonprofit dedicated to protecting beaches and oceans, has repeatedly objected to the
Never mind that the power plant that already exists at that location kills more fish than a desalination facility would, and never mind that the desalination plant would be powered in part by solar energy. Many environmentalists simply don't like desalination as done with current technology. But we obviously need the water. What solution do they suggest? The usual answer you'll hear is conservation.
Conservation is a great thing, and sometimes it's been extremely successful. The city of
Would it be ideal if we shut down golf courses and tore up our lawns to plant Astro-Turf? Yes, but we don't live in an ideal world. The West has a water crisis, and it stems from a simple problem: We've built our homes in deserts where nature never meant us to live. In order to stay here, we require a mix of solutions. There's no magic bullet that will do the trick. Some solutions may have environmental impacts, but almost every human activity implies an environmental impact.
You might as well object that building a wind turbine kills some birds; it does, but just think about some of the alternatives, such as a coal-fired power plant.
Environmental impacts from desalination greatly concern several environmental groups, but it's hard to see why this is a high priority. If their concern is energy use, the
So why do some environmentalists object to desalination? I've concluded it's out of a kind of wishful thinking: If only everyone were to conserve, if the population could stay at current levels, if we could find a solution that has no environmental impacts -- if, if, if. In this respect, environmental advocates are behaving no differently from residents who object to
The debate over water use in the West has been hampered by this kind of irrational thinking for years. Ultimately, we're going to have to discard our excess fastidiousness and make use of all the options for finding water -- and that may mean turning to seawater as well. If we wait for the technology to improve, perhaps a perfect solution might come along. But that assumes that a perfect solution exists, and that we have enough time to wait for it. Sometimes, as Aesop's dog discovered, it's better to take what you have rather than end up with nothing at all.#
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