Editorial: Politics won’t solve California’s drought
Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the Feb. 3, 2014, Los Angeles Times.
As California’s drought continues, and more than a dozen rural communities ponder what to do when their drinking water runs out sometime in March, it would be nice if the state’s Republican politicians brought some straightforward plans for relief to the table. But what many of them are bringing instead is a tired political tactic barely, and laughably, disguised as a remedy for the lack of rainfall.
The “man-made California drought” is the term House Republicans use to describe the state’s current dry condition, as if it were somehow the hand of humankind, environmentalists or, even worse, Democrats that has stopped the snowfall over the Sierra and kept the dams that store water for fields, orchards and homes from being replenished. Funny, isn’t it, that folks who question man’s ability to affect the global climate are so quick to assign human causes to the drought?
…very sad indeed when egos replace intellect. Politicians representing those rural communities should be placed on the same water distribution as those who stand to lose their water resources. It’s the same old story…..the public gets one program and the politicians get another (e.g., Social Security, health care, etc.).
“Politics won’t solve problem…” followed by an article that inserts politics into an apolitical problem… Everyone is affected by water issues, not just Republicans or Democrats. There is plenty of blame to go around.
Take a look at Folsom Lake and then tell everyone it is a “man made” drought. Why did’t agri-business plan ahead for this? Rice paddies in Sacramento? How much water does a cow drink every day? Leaving major aquaducts open and subject to evaporation? These little things add up to acres of water wasted. Recycling agri-business water and desalination to restore underground reserves will help now and in the future. Aquaducts should not be open air. Crops that use less water. There are answers, or just keep pointed fingers and yelling.
The author of the article himself is a finger pointer… all else fails blame the other side right? Which party is running the state anyway? When was the last damn or reservoir built in California? Oh wait, that might require cutting a tree down or disrupting a frog or something. Put everything else ahead of the people who need the water California. Blaming on the republican’s is moronic at best…
So building more dams that can sit empty, yeah, thats a good use of tax dollars because we know no private industry would invest their vacation money on something the gvmnt will pay for.
If the predictions are correct that the snow line will migrate up to around 8K feet before the century is done, means there will not be as much snow pack around 6K-7K feet to feed the reservoirs in the spring time. Not to mention much more water gushing into the flats during the winter as less of it probably will be frozen in the mountains.
Dang. We have over 2700 dams and reservoirs built now. The Colorado river is the most controlled river in the country and yet here we sit. How many dams and reservoirs do you propose to build? Where? Collect what rainfall? Who will pay for the construction? This is not a bumper sticker issue, we need more fresh water not more storage.