California farms turn to dust as Newsom and White House policies worsen drought effects (Sacramento, cost)

[Roboteer]

All of you who believe the lives of certain salmon, the Delta Smelt, etc. should be preserved at the expense of shutting down farms and cutting off food to millions of people, please raise your hand.

(crickets from everyone except Democrat officials in Sacramento and Wash DC, and a few outlying nutcases)

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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/n...worsen-drought

California farms turn to dust as Newsom and White House policies worsen drought effects

by Tori Richards, Investigative Reporter | | October 08, 2021 06:55 AM

After 20 years of growing asparagus in California's Central Valley, Joe Del Bosque is now resigned to watching his once-fertile fields revert to dust and dirt, courtesy of Mother Nature and the government.

The drought that has gripped the Golden State for two years has parched farms dependent on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, which is the heart of the state’s complex system of dams, rivers, and canals. But the state and federal governments, which are supposed to help by managing the allocation of water, seem to have chosen fish over farms, said Del Bosque. “We had to make a Sophie’s Choice which crop got water and which got the axe,” Del Bosque said. “One-third of my farm was unplanted this year.”

Since 2008, allocations have been cut to help preserve endangered species of salmon and smelt in the delta. Former President Donald Trump's bid to turn up the flow was thwarted by lawsuits, and now, a new review by President Joe Biden is expected to further slow the trickle to thirsty farms. “It’s quite possible that they could get less [water],” said Jay Lund, the director of the Center for Watershed Science at the University of California, Davis. “The problems of these fish are pretty complex and require decades of sincere and dedicated effort to figure it out.”

[Colorado Rambler]

The asparagus crop is worth just over $23 million to the California economy while commercially and recreationally caught salmon generate more than $900 million in economic impact annually for California. In a time of drought are you going to invest your water dollar in salmon or asparagus? Apparently republicans enjoy throwing good money after bad. Me, I pick salmon. You can take that one to the bank.

[branDcalf]

Asparagus. Really? That was one example.

The last drought, 2014-2015, cost California 5 billion and 20,000 lost their jobs. This drought, worsened by bad policy, is shaping up to be as bad.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsj...ry-11621589407

Let them (and us) eat smelt.

[sholomar]

Someone else finally brings up the fact that they keep dumping reservoir water into the ocean at a steady pace to help an endangered smelt species.