Governors working on coping with drought
Govs. Jerry Brown, left, and Brian Sandoval are dealing with drought in their respective states. Photo/LTN file
By Associated Press
The governors of California and Nevada met Thursday at a forum aimed at coming up with the best ways to cope with the unprecedented drought affecting the Western U.S., now in its third year.
“I think the drought will test our imagination and our science, our technology and our political capacity to collaborate,” California Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, said in opening remarks.
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, chairman of the Western Governors’ Association, initiated the yearlong series of meetings that include senior water, energy and agriculture policy leaders from government and the private sector. The meetings will lead to a report of best practices to be released next June.
This week’s meeting in Sacramento is focused on how to manage the drought’s effect on agriculture.
“These farmers … they come to me and they feel really helpless. They don’t know what to do. And their livelihood is at stake,” said Sandoval, a Republican.
California voters last week approved a $7.5 billion water bond measure that will allow the state to expand storage and develop water management plans.
Brown noted that the proposals for addressing California’s water problems will be controversial, including his contested $25 billion plan to build twin tunnels underneath the Delta that would make it easier to pump water from the Sacramento River to Central Valley farms and Southern California cities.
In another contentious move, Brown recently signed into law the first regulations governing the use of California’s groundwater, bringing it in line with other states.
Brown said a recent flight over Northern California gave him a view of the hundreds of canals and tunnels that help the state move water. Brown’s father, former Gov. Pat Brown, built the State Water Project, an extensive system of reservoirs and canals that was considered an engineering marvel in its day but was built for a population of half the current 38 million.
“There are a lot of people who think somehow engineering water from point A to point B is somehow unnatural,” he said. “Well we long ago passed the unnatural in California.”
If anyone will screw this up Moonbutt will be the one. Droughts are nothing new…..get a clue!! At least Sandoval has spoken with Nevada Farmers. Moonbutt hasn’t a clue who our farmers are.
He wants some train to nowhere that maybe his invited ILLEGALS will ride but can’t afford a ticket. He’ll most likely invent another TAX…I mean FEE for us to pay for their ride. And what’s with the sweater around shoulders? Trying to be a Yuppy or Representing Berkeley liberal central.
Carson:
I sure there is a point in your inarticulate rant (troll).
But let’s make a couple things clear – this is the worst drought in California in the last 119 years of recorded weather history. There were 1.2 million people in California in 1890, now there are 38 million. The last serious drought in recent history was the 4 year drought in the 1970’s which was not as bad as this one, and there were only 20 million folks in California – far fewer stressing the limited water supply.
California was the only western state that does not monitor groundwater until very recently based on the recent law passed. Farmers stupidly whined about that by the way. We have never managed our water correctly as it is based on 100 years of rather bizarre laws. As the UC Davis recent study pointed out, we have over allocated available water (due to these crazy historic laws) more than 5 times – farmers don’t get their full allocation because of stupid laws they were behind.
The recent water bond, plus the ground water monitoring program (California has now joined the rest of the west) has a chance of bringing some sanity to management of water.
PS, do you have any clue of where the Moonbeam label came from. I sort of doubt it. Just so you know, the American Conservative has admitted that Jerry Brown was far more a fiscal conservative in his first 8 yr term then Ronald Reagan during his stint as gov. The last 4 yrs Brown has turned the economics of that state around and much of the state (Bay Area) is driving the economy of the Country once again.
Rick
First off “Rick”…
Your….”I sure there is a point in your inarticulate rant (troll)” Just disqualified you from even interesting me. If you can’t even use proper punctuation and immediately resort to worthless name calling….I have no interest in you or your words.
Yes anyone can turn any economics around by TAXING or FEE-ING anyone to death.
Rick needs to take his own sweater off his shoulders and get real. Hook-Beak thinks he is in the Bay no matter where he is and their values aren’t wanted outside of the Bay and anywhere else in the country.
Why don’t you list the businesses that have left Cal since Hook Beak came back from being a laughing stock? They number in the hundreds and taxing the few people paying taxes more every year for an open borders welfare state will fail and just today it was unannounced this state has a 200 billion unfunded liability. This boat is sinking and taxes drive people out and cause employers to leave. Regulating water wells doesn’t produce water, Beak’s water tunnels alone would cost billions just like his crazy train and he will derail this state unless Bummer sends him more and more federal taxes as welfare support.
Justice, you are the worst name caller, finger pointer, brown noser who posts here. Wh a t a total looser of a human you are. Maybe you should try your rant somewhere else where your kind are. Not sure what kind that is but it smells…
” Just disqualified you from even interesting me. If you can’t even use proper punctuation”
What was wrong with the *punctuation*. I see a typo (missing ‘am’).
Please elaborate on the subject of punctuation for the phrase you quoted.
cosa: I never invited you into the discussion. Have a nice day.
I just hope that Dogula reads the comments from Justice and retracts the statements about hateful “lefties”. That would be the honest thing to do. Rudeness has no political affiliation. One is either polite or not.
The truth plainly spoken with adjectives thrown in makes leftists very angry and unhinged and then crazy and yes it is a mental condition. They then attack without substance because of a lack of ability to argue anything with any semblance of reality. Their party is failing, rapidly and free falling. Wait until Illegal Amnesty for Illegals and see what happens to their support.
Their other latest greatest being their hero Gruber the Goober’s revelations about Bummer care being the lie all knew it was, and now, right on cue, Bummer denies knowing about the guy he met with and paid half a million tax dollars to and he is lying yet again. At some point even the left will have to wake up to save the remains of their party and admit their mistake in electing a complete unknown radical street agitator and media creation and fraud. Moon-Beam will do the same for their party with his open borders, state amnesty, drivers licenses for illegals, and letting all the criminals out. This leftist-progressive party is in full self destruct mode.