And manages to say nothing of substance in 10 minutes of airtime. They started him off on the California drought. He talked about "progress" and " programs" and "Urgency". Nothing about dams, canals, wells, and allocation. The biggest water users in CA are farms, and you could turn off their water, let 'em go broke, and have enough water to supply everyone's homes. Not a word about any of this. We did learn that Jerry believes global warming is causing the CA drought. And he doesn't like Ted Cruz, they played a clip of Cruz saying that the globe hasn't warmed at all in the last 17 years (which is true, according to GISS data). Jerry doesn't believe that, and called Cruz "totally unfit to run for president".
Well, we know where Jerry's heart is. And where is head is too.
3 comments:
It seems California is going back into its normal arid climate conditions.
Too many folks seem to think that the climate there over past 100 years is normal when it has really been in a 'wet' phase. That phase is ending and is returning to its more normal 'dry' phase.
Some farms have already had their water turned off with the water going to the cities. Vast tracts of once productive farmland is now dirt and dust. Groves of trees producing fruits and some nuts are now just dried out husks that have been cut down and removed to reduce the fire hazard.
More dams and aqueducts won't solve the problem as the rivers that fill those dams and aqueducts are running low. Lake Mead in Nevada is at its lowest point since the Hoover Dam was completed. There isn't enough water there to send even a gallon more to California. Las Vegas isn't going to let itself die from lack of water just to keep California supplied, so I expect the amount of water coming from Hoover Dam and going to California will be cut back, if not stopped altogether.
The only two things California can do to adequately deal with the drought - start building desalinization plants along the coast and start enticing people in California to move out of the state to lessen the water demand. Of course I expect California will do neither and will continue to expect everyone outside of the state to make the necessary sacrifices instead.
The Wall St Journal suggested that CA farmers might switch to less thirsty crops. They say it takes 600 gallons of water to raise a pound of almonds, whereas it only takes 27 gallons of water to raise a pound of tomatoes.
Even a change in irrigation method would make a big difference. This is something the Israelis excel at and have done so for decades. But heaven forbid if the self-righteous Californian crazies should learn anything from the horrible and rapacious Israelis, right? Better to see their beloved state die from a self-imposed thirst.
Post a Comment