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Wednesday afternoon update: Salazar, Harnish respond to Wall Street Journal editorial

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 9, 2009 at 12:41 pm

From the Wall Street Journal,

[Ken Salazar's response to the Wall Street Journal]: “Your editorial “California’s Man-Made Drought” (Sept. 2) about the severe drought and water crisis in California argues that California’s water problems could be wished away if our nation were only willing to sacrifice an endangered three-inch fish, turn on a few pumps to move water from Northern California to the Central Valley, and wave a magic wand. The trouble is: The fish are a sliver of the problem, the pumps are already on, and pointed fingers can’t make it rain.

California’s water crisis is far more troubling than your editorial suggests. The state is in its third year of a devastating drought, caused by a lack of precipitation. In California’s Central Valley, where half the nation’s produce is grown, many farms and fields are bone dry, unemployment has surged, and the state’s inadequate water infrastructure—built 50 years ago for a population half as large—cannot handle the stress. Moreover, California’s Bay Delta, upon which 25 million Californians depend for drinking water, is in a state of full environmental collapse.

As a proposed response, your editorial asks the Obama administration to ignore science and convene a so-called “God Squad” that would override protections on watersheds and turn California’s water crisis over to the courts. Trying to force more water out of a dying system will only cause more human tragedy, while diverting attention from the governor and the legislature, who face a Sept. 11 legislative deadline to decide whether to fix the broken water system in California after decades of neglect. …”

Read more of Ken Salazar’s response, as well as Laura Harnish of the Environmental Defense Fund, and Robert Almy of the Santa Barbara County Water Agency bu clicking here.

Hat tip to Wayne Lusvardi of the Pasadena SubRosa blog, who has his own response here.

September 9, 2009 · Filed Under Drought, Weather & Snowpack

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One Response to “Wednesday afternoon update: Salazar, Harnish respond to Wall Street Journal editorial”

  1. $12bn water bill | Chance of Rain on September 9th, 2009 5:08 pm

    [...] water system in California after decades of neglect.” To continue reading, click here. Via Aquafornia and Pasadena [...]

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