We are most certainly not the only region with water problems. Apparently, California is going dry (-er than normal). I found the following useful bit from bannination recently. This references Newsweek article, as journalistic contrast to some blathering on the subject.
Couple of facts:
- The San Joaquin Valley, in case anyone out there doesn't know, is a completely unnatural agricultural environment. Less than a century ago it was largely a dustbowl with a couple of scattered farms centered closely around the few local water supplies of the area. It was only because of efforts brought about by water works initiated during the New Deal that the Valley became a sustainable agricultural area.
- The area is now in its 3rd consecutive year of drought. This has caused an unsustainably growing increase in water needs for farmers in the area which goes head to head with Environmental Protection Act. As it is, the increase demands would not only have an impact on the minnow in question, but many other species including trout, salmon and sturgeon.
- The issue isn't really so much about the environmental regulation in and of itself (regardless of what Hannity would like everyone to believe), but because of a tragically fucked up water distribution system that has been in place for years that allows farms larger allocations of water based on what is known as "senior water rights". As a result, as the article states "...four other contractors are getting a full 100 percent of their water allocation this year, despite the drought..The result is a patchwork valley, where a Westlands farmer like Mark Borba is forced to fallow land while his neighbor has excess water that he can sell at a hefty profit."
Oh, and take in mind that the drought is not expected to magically get better any time soon, so basically even if these idiots use a minnow as a excuse to trash the environmental protection act, it is a temporary fix, as more and more water will be needed to sustain this area and more species will become threatened.
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